Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced recently two important additions to his administration: the appointment of veteran municipal financial expert and former State Treasurer Jay Rising as the city’s acting Chief Financial Officer [CFO] and the hiring of former Detroit Receiving Hospital CEO Dr. Iris Taylor to be the director of Nursing at the Detroit Health Department.
Rising replaced Dave Massaron, who recently was selected by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to serve as state budget director. Taylor fills a leadership role at the Health Department that has been vacant since August 2019.
Rising has a lengthy, notable career of working at the state level, having served under three governors, as well as a career in the private sector. Most recently, he served as Cabinet Secretary for Gov. Whitmer, according to a city press release.
Rising becomes acting CFO as the Office of the Chief Financial Officer [OCFO] continues to manage the pandemic-driven revenue shortfall, sells bonds to support the voter-approved Neighborhood Improvement Plan, and maximizes the use of federal stimulus revenues to support the City’s COVID-19 response, the release added. Early in his tenure, Rising will be tasked with working at the federal and state level to gain financial support for the City’s COVID-19 response and economic revitalization efforts. Under the terms of the State Financial Review Commission, a permanent CFO must be approved by City Council within six months of a vacancy, according to the press release.
“Jay is the most knowledgeable person in Michigan on federal and state funding and will be enormously valuable in our efforts to secure funding from the Biden and Whitmer administrations for programs that directly affect the residents of Detroit,” said Mayor Mike Duggan. “We are fortunate to have someone of his experience and accomplishment join our team. At the appropriate time, I plan to submit Jay to City Council for approval to become our permanent CFO.”
From 2006-2015, Rising helped to lead Detroit Medical Center back to being profitable after it came from near bankruptcy and the near closure of several of its flagship hospitals in 2002, according to the release. Rising served as DMC’s CFO until 2013 and stayed with the DMC in various executive leadership positions until 2015.
As State Treasurer from 2003-06, Rising was one of Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s first appointees serving as the State Treasurer overseeing the administration of Michigan’s financial systems during the state’s financial crisis. Under his leadership, the treasury department streamlined tax processing and implemented a $1 billion investment fund aimed at diversifying Michigan’s economy. In his capacity as Treasurer, Rising also served as the sole fiduciary for the $50 billion public employee retiree pension fund.
Earlier in his career as Deputy State Treasurer under Gov. James Blanchard from 1983-91, Rising helped to create the extremely well-known Michigan Educational Trust college scholarship program, which has helped more than 7,000 Michigan families afford college education for their children by allowing them to secure present-day tuition rates for future academic years.
“Under Mayor Duggan and his team’s leadership, Detroit has made tremendous progress managing its finances in a responsible way to provide a greater level of service to residents and prepare for the uncertainties of the future,” said Rising. “I am excited to build on the work that already has been done and to leverage my experience to bring more state and federal resources to bear in Detroit.”
Rising begins his new job on Monday, January 18.
Mayor Duggan announced a well-known name as new nursing director for the Detroit Health Department. In this position, former Detroit Receiving Hospital CEO Dr. Taylor will take the helm as public health nurse for the department providing strategic oversight of all clinical operations, including the management of staff, procedures related to clinical programs and public outreach. Taylor also served as president of the Detroit School Board from 2017-2020.
Dr. Taylor’s career in healthcare began in 1975 as a head staff nurse at DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital and University Health Center until a series of promotions placed her in the role of director and vice president of nursing services and eventually CEO. Taylor retired from her post as CEO in 2015 after guiding the hospital through an expansion of its service lines beyond emergency care to include geriatrics, urology, neurosurgery, palliative care and other specialties.
“Dr. Taylor fills a critical position within the Health Department as we continue to build our clinical operations,” said Chief Public Health Officer Denise Fair. “We are fortunate to have someone of her caliber, experience and deep level of community trust join our team.”
Dr. Taylor’s career has included a variety of positions including that of practitioner, educator/consultant, and administrator. Having dedicated most of her life to patient care, she was responsible for nursing and patient care services for the DMC healthcare system, an academically integrated network of nine hospitals, two nursing centers, and more than 50 primary care practices located throughout southeast Michigan.
Dr. Taylor has served two terms as President and as CEO of Detroit Receiving Hospital and University Health Center from 2005 to 2010 and 2012 to 2015. She served as Chief Business Officer for the Detroit Medical Center from July 2010 to 2012. From 2002 to 2004, she was president of Harper University Hospital and Hutzel Women’s Hospital. Taylor left her position as President and CEO of the Detroit Institute for Children in June 1999 to assume the role of DMC’s Chief Nursing Officer.
“Dr. Taylor was an outstanding leader at Receiving Hospital as we rebuilt the Detroit Medical Center and will help strengthen the outstanding team we have at the Health Department under Denise Fair,” Duggan said. “She is greatly respected across Detroit and will serve this community well.”
“There is no better time in our City’s history than now to serve our community during this pandemic,” said Dr. Taylor. “I’ve spent my life’s work in public service and healthcare and I’m exited to join this hard-working team. It feels good to continue giving back to the city I love.”
Dr. Taylor received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing and her doctorate of philosophy from Wayne State University. She also completed her management fellowship at the Wharton School of Business.
Dr. Taylor, a Detroit resident, started her new position on Monday.
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