McLaren Health Care, the statewide health care provider with 15 hospital-based and freestanding emergency departments, has established the position of Chief Medical Director of Emergency Services with Crystal L. Arthur, MD, FACEP, joining the system to assume the newly created role.
Through her leadership, Dr. Arthur will collaborate with emergency providers and leaders of McLaren’s emergency departments to advance the care and experience of patients, focusing initiatives to bolster and enhance patients’ clinical outcomes and experience while maintaining operational efficiency.
“The presence of a skilled physician leader, one with firsthand, frontline experience, can effectively enhance the care and experience of both the patient and the provider in the emergency department,” said Dr. Binesh Patel, McLaren Medical Group President and CEO. “Dr. Arthur possesses an impressive combination of experience as a provider and leader. She has demonstrated that capacity throughout her career, and we are fortunate to welcome her to our organization.”
In the summer of 2023, the majority of McLaren emergency departments transition from contracted emergency medicine providers to direct employment with McLaren Medical Group. This allowed for greater collaboration and operational alignment between the provider staff and McLaren system and subsidiary leadership.
Treating nearly 400,000 patients every year, McLaren provides emergency services at 11 of its inpatient hospitals and four freestanding emergency departments throughout the state, the most recent of which — McLaren Oxford — opened in September. McLaren Grand Ledge, a medical office building anchored by an emergency department just west of downtown Lansing, broke ground this summer and is scheduled to open in late 2025.
Dr. Arthur brings extensive experience to her new role, with nearly 20 years in clinical practice and several in physician leadership positions. Most recently serving as an attending physician at multiple Metro Detroit emergency departments, she spent the previously 16 years with the Detroit Medical Center, ultimately leading as Chief of the Emergency Medicine Department at multiple hospitals, including Detroit Receiving, Harper University, and Hutzel Women’s. It was at the DMC that she oversaw the daily operations of emergency departments caring for 55,000 patients annually, as well as serving an integral role in the planning of a multimillion-dollar expansion project.
Dr. Arthur earned her undergraduate and medical degrees from Wayne State University and completed her emergency medicine training at Detroit Receiving Hospital, rising to Chief Resident. She continued her education and training by completing the Michigan College of Emergency Physicians Leadership Development Program as well as both phases of the American College of Emergency Physicians ED Directors Course.
View all McLaren emergency departments and check-in online at mclaren.org/ER.
About McLaren Health Care
McLaren Health Care, headquartered in Grand Blanc, Michigan, is a $7.3 billion, fully integrated health care delivery system committed to quality, evidence-based patient care and cost efficiency. The McLaren system includes 13 hospitals in Michigan, ambulatory surgery centers, imaging centers, a 640-member employed primary and specialty care physician network, commercial and Medicaid HMOs covering more than 732,838 lives in Michigan and Indiana, home health, infusion and hospice providers, pharmacy services, a clinical laboratory network and a wholly owned medical malpractice insurance company. McLaren operates Michigan’s largest network of cancer centers and providers, anchored by the Karmanos Cancer Institute, a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. McLaren has 28,000 full-, part-time and contracted employees and more than 113,000 network providers throughout Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. Learn more at mclaren.org.
About McLaren Medical Group
McLaren Medical Group manages the corporate ambulatory network consisting of over 150 primary and specialty centers located throughout a 26-county region employing over 600 health care providers including physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and nurse midwives. Its nearly 300 physicians are among the top admitting and referring physicians for McLaren hospital subsidiaries. MMG has earned Patient Centered Medical Home designation by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for many of its practices and manages over 30 Rural Health Centers, providing primary healthcare in rural communities throughout Michigan. Learn more at mclaren.org/mmg.