Sylmara E. Chatman, MD

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Get to know Family Physician Dr. Sylmara E. Chatman, who serves patients in southeast Michigan.

Family physician Dr Sylmara Chatman who practices in Southfield, Michigan, designed her family practice with the patient in mind. With more than 27 years of experience, she treats each patient with an approach that takes into consideration the mind, body, and soul, and offer a wide range of weight-loss and nutritional services to help men and women in Southfield and the surrounding communities look and feel their best.

Launching the “Perfect You Lifestyle Wellness Program”, Dr. Chatman uses a comprehensive and refreshing approach to body transformation which addresses mind-set, nutrition, fitness, and hormone balance. She incorporates traditional and natural medicine, education, hormone balance, and permanent weight control to customize a lifestyle program uniquely for each patient. A majority of her patients report a minimal 10 lbs or more in weight loss, in less than two months, improved sleep, improved blood sugars, reduction in prescription medication, and an overall improved sense of well-being, just to name a few.

Having been practicing medicine in the Detroit area for more than 20 years, Dr. Chatman received her medical degree from the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in 1987. She then went on to perform her residency in family medicine at St Joseph Hospital.

In 1995, she was the first African-American female to join the medical staff at St. John Hospital and Medical Center’s Department of Family Medicine. She developed and implemented their first School Based Health Center Program which opened in September of 1995. The school- based programs were groundbreaking and among the first in the city to place doctors inside an elementary, middle, and high school. Her primary focus was preventative medicine and health education, with a focus on childhood asthma and pregnancy prevention. Using a combination of interactive group sessions, hands-on teaching programs like “Baby Think It Over”, and comprehensive medical care, Dr. Chatman and her staff touched the lives of over 10,000 students, reduced absenteeism and emergency room visits and enhanced the overall wellness of the students that participated in their programs.

In 2003 and 2004, Dr. Chatman published her research on asthma in the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology. Due to the success of her wellness programs, she was inducted into The Leading Physicians of the World in 2018; Trademark Women of Distinction, Honors Edition 2018; Healthcare Innovations Award at the Harvard Club of Boston in July of 2018; as well as shared the stage with George Ross of the Apprentice and Catlyn Jenner in July of 2018. She also made numerous television appearances as a medical expert for Channels 2 and 4, in which she discussed current health topics and relevant preventative health and wellness recommendations.

A member of the Michigan State Medical Society, Dr. Chatman wrote the ‘Ask The Doctor Column” for the Michigan Chronicle Newspaper for over nine years. She was given the National Congressional Leadership Award in Washington D.C. in 2003, the Detroit Urban League Community Service Award in 1998, and The Michigan State Senate Physician of the Year Award in 1997. She is also listed in the Library of Congress. 

Family medicine is a medical specialty devoted to comprehensive health care for people of all ages. A family physician is often the first person a patient sees when seeking healthcare services. They examine and treat patients with a wide range of acute and chronic medical conditions.

In her spare time, Dr. Chatman enjoys traveling and the Arts.  

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