Regents hear public comments on gender‑affirming care, nursing staffing and local site concerns
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Summary
During the public comment period, speakers urged the Board to take up gender‑affirming care, described nurse staffing shortages on a transplant unit and asked the university to relocate a proposed supercomputing site in Ypsilanti Township.
The Board of Regents heard a range of public comments in February, with multiple speakers urging action on health care access, staffing and local siting decisions.
Kim Dorey, a parent of two transgender adults, urged the regents to hold an "open vote" on gender‑affirming care and described the consequences when families lose access to care. "Will you work with us to plow a path forward for these families?" Dorey asked, and she urged regents to answer community questions about legal and policy steps required to reinstate care.
Donald Levitt of Maize and Blue Courage asked the Board to affirm academic freedom and institutional autonomy; he reported recent advocacy events and said the group will continue to solicit signatures for a letter the organization submitted to the regents.
Josie Morehouse, a nurse on the adult bone marrow transplant unit, testified about chronic understaffing and its effects on patient and staff safety. She said the unit has been short "on average 15%" per week (transcript phrasing), describing a New Year’s Eve shift when the unit was two nurses short and a code blue occurred. "Our patients and their families deserve better," she said, and she urged support for bargaining team efforts to protect staffing contractual safeguards.
Brenda Stumbo, supervisor of Ypsilanti Township, asked the university to consider moving the proposed University of Michigan computation center away from the Huron River site to a former GM brownfield (the American Center for Mobility), arguing the brownfield would be a more suitable industrial location and would reduce impacts on nearby vulnerable residents.
Other public speakers addressed student government fee proposals, student basic‑needs supports, blood‑drive partnerships, disciplinary decisions related to protests, and veteran recognition; the Board closed public comment and adjourned.
Regents responded at times with brief acknowledgements; for example, one regent said staff are reviewing the computation site options and noted negotiations with local and state officials are ongoing. The transcript does not record any immediate board actions directly tied to these public comments.
