Botsford Hospital Names New Board Members

Former Farmington Hills mayor Jerry M. Ellis and the Honorable Kathleen J. McCann, 16th District Court, have been named to the Board of Directors. 

Board chairman Steve Barnaby said the new members' expertise "honors our continuing commitment to excellence and quality in the delivery of personal and compassionate health care. Our board members ... serve tirelessly on a volunteer basis and are charged with making decisions that help enhance the health care landscape in Botsford Hospital's service area."

Ellis served terms as mayor, mayor pro tem and council member in . He chaired the  and is the immediate past president of the board of the . He is a shareholder of the law firm  

The Farmington Area Jaycees 1990 Distinguished Citizen of the year, Ellis is a twice-named Michigan Super Lawyer by Michigan Super Lawyer magazine, and was named as one of the Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit - 2010 in the November/December 2009 edition of dbusiness. He gained health care governance experience during his five-year tenure as a member of the Oakland County Community Mental Health Board. Ellis lives with Mary, his wife of 46 years, in Farmington Hills. They have two children, Andrew and Evan, and four grandchildren.

A lifetime resident of Livonia, McCann serves as the chief judge of the 16th District Court in her hometown, handling civil and criminal cases. Since taking the bench, she has been an active member of the Legislative Committee of the Michigan District Judges Association, including a term as president. McCann also has served as the District Court representative to the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission and chaired this commission for two years.

Her prior employment includes serving as special assistant prosecutor in Wayne County, being a partner in the domestic relations law firm Ribitwer and McCann, and teaching junior high students. McCann lives in Livonia with her husband Norm Nicklin. She has one son Chris and two stepdaughters, Amy and Jodi.