Michael Paletta, MD, FAAHPM
Chief Medical Officer and Corporate Medical Director Executive Director, Maggie Allesee Center for Palliative Care Research and Education

As Corporate Medical Director for Hospice of Michigan, Michael J. Paletta, M.D. provides medical oversight for the statewide organization and provides consultation to physicians who refer patients to the organization, which provides end-of-life services for approximately 950 patients each day in 56 counties around the state. He is a distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

As a full-time hospice physician since joining HOM as Medical Director in 1997, Dr. Paletta is involved in palliative care research and education. He was a co-investigator in the Palliative Excellence in Alzheimer’s Care Efforts (PEACE) Project, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which investigated the benefits of palliative care for patients in the advanced stages of dementia. As Maggie Allesee Center director he guides the development of evidence-based improvements in end-of-life care for HOM patients and families.

Before coming to Hospice of Michigan, Dr. Paletta spent eight years with the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, serving as senior staff physician in geriatric medicine and Director of Geriatrics for the Northwest Region. He served for a time as medical director for the HFHS-West Bloomfield hospice team.

Dr. Paletta is a graduate of Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit. Residency at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak led to Board Certification in Internal Medicine, after which he was awarded fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, acquiring certification in Geriatrics in 1990. He received certification under the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine in 1998 and re-certification under the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABIM) in 2008.

A parallel military career in the reserve forces has included training at the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine and an aeronautical rating of Chief Flight Surgeon. He has logged operational flying hours in a variety of fighter and attack aircraft and has commanded military medical detachments in Europe and Central America. He currently serves Surgeon General for the Michigan Air National Guard, headquartered in Lansing. Decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Force Achievement Award, the Iraq Campaign Ribbon with combat device, the Presidential Unit Citation and the National Defense Ribbon. He is a graduate of the USAF Air War College. In 2007, he served a tour of active duty in Iraq.

Dr. Paletta serves on the Michigan State Medical Society's Hospice Medical Directors Committee and Pain Management Task Force. He lives in Northville, MI, with his wife, Cheryl, and two sons.