Dr. Sasha Savage

Chief Health Officer
As Chief Health Officer, Dr. Sasha Savage, M.D., is focused on the health and well-being aspects of THRIVE, the Michigan Health Improvement Alliance’s strategic framework. This includes key messages, achieving intended outcomes and informing the actions and progress during the multi-phased implementation. He co-chairs the Patient Safety Task Force with our Deputy Health Officer, Mark Kato.
Dr. Savage’s compassion for people is a result of his childhood. A native of Michigan, Dr. Savage was raised in Kalamazoo. Serving the public and helping others was deeply ingrained in his upbringing. His father was a teacher of the deaf and blind and actively demonstrated the compassion and hard work involved in helping others. His parents invested in a more economically challenged area and worked as a family to repair homes in order to make them available to rent. For Dr. Savage, working on properties in the summers and being aware of the financial struggles of tenants brought him, from a young age, a deep understanding of the issues facing families.
Currently, Dr. Savage works at MyMichigan Medical Center, where he serves as the medical director of the Family Practice Center. He is involved in leadership and ethics at his employer. He provides peer leadership support as a Physician Dyad, and is active in the system redesign incorporating the Quadruple Aim with a specific focus on provider wellness. More recent contributions have included pioneering leadership concerning the issue of provider burnout, system wellness reform, and enhancing provider resiliency.
Prior to his current position, he served as chief of staff within the hospital and was instrumental in graduate medical education in a variety of roles: he was the chairperson of the Department of Family Medicine, and from 2013-2018 served as the inaugural chair of the Ethics Committee. In 2002, he joined the faculty in Midland and was honored by the residents with the Teacher of the Year Award in 2007. Rounding out his recognition within the MyMichigan Health System, he was the first physician ever to receive the Bernard E. Lorimer Award for outstanding lifetime achievement. Early in his career, Dr. Savage served as the primary architect of the Patient-Centered Medical Home, the model of care that is now the standard across the MyMichigan Health System.