Michigan Medicine plans to significantly expand its specialty and mail order pharmacy program at a Dexter facility, after approval from the U-M Board of Regents.

The Regents approved the $6 million purchase of an industrial building and land at 7300 West Joy Road in Dexter, as well as the $52 million renovation needed to grow pharmacy services and update the entire building.

The expansion will allow Michigan Medicine to more than double the number of prescriptions it fills each year through its existing in-house pharmacy.

Michigan Medicine leaders say this will provide higher quality and more convenient care for all patients. The expansion will also contribute to financial sustainability across Michigan Medicine.

“Our specialty pharmacy serves patients with complex and rare diseases – and as medicine advances and more patients seek care from Michigan Medicine, our pharmacy must also expand to meet growing needs. We are focused on ensuring every patient has access to high quality and convenient pharmacy care,” said Dana Habers, interim chief operating officer for pharmacy at Michigan Medicine.

“The new facility is just one component of our plans to modernize and stay market competitive for patients choosing where they receive their pharmaceutical care.  We are also focused on a deeper integration of our pharmacists with the patient care teams to lend expertise, provide a stellar patient experience, leverage the whole patient lens through our electronic health record, and ultimately improve patient outcomes.”

The renovation project includes architectural, electrical and mechanical work and funding will come from University of Michigan Health resources. University of Michigan Health is the clinical division of Michigan Medicine, which is the academic medical center of the University of Michigan.

The building at 7300 West Joy Road is 144,300 square feet, situated on 23.57 acres of land.

The project is expected to provide an average of 103 on-site construction jobs. Construction is expected to be completed by summer 2023.

About Michigan Medicine: At Michigan Medicine, we advance health to serve Michigan and the world. We pursue excellence every day in our five hospitals, 125 clinics and home care operations that handle more than 2.3 million outpatient visits a year, as well as educate the next generation of physicians, health professionals and scientists in our U-M Medical School.

Michigan Medicine includes the top ranked U-M Medical School and University of Michigan Health, which includes the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital, University Hospital, the Frankel Cardiovascular Center, Metro Health and the Rogel Cancer Center. The U-M Medical School is one of the nation's biomedical research powerhouses, with total research funding of more than $500 million.

More information is available at www.michiganmedicine.org