New Services Better Serve Patients and Families
by Ellen Bristol
Metro Health is growing again.
The award-winning leader in community healthcare has four expansion projects in the works including breaking ground on a new construction project, building out another facility designed to meet the growing needs of patients, families and physicians, and opening a new office building. Metro Health also opened its new outpatient surgery center late last month in the Metro Health Park East.
When all four projects are completed, Metro Health will have added more than 230,000 square feet of new space for surgery, family and specialty practices, urgent care, medical and staff offices, conference rooms and additional needs.
“This investment in new convenient and accessible facilities will allow us to accommodate our continued growth,” said Mike Faas, president and CEO of Metro Health. “Our new Metro Health Park East location, which joins our network of neighborhood outpatient centers and a surgery center in downtown Grand Rapids, exemplifies our philosophy of meeting patient needs close to their homes.
“Anchored by our hospital and Village in the South, Metro Health continues to add facilities, programs and specialty practices to provide our community with choice in where – and from whom – to receive healthcare services. Our new facilities will give us room to grow in the coming years.”
The new projects are:
• Metro Health Park East, which will initially occupy 20,500 square feet – or a quarter of the existing facility at 4055 Cascade Road in Grand Rapids – with its new ambulatory surgery center. The new facility, which will hold an open house for the public and employees on Tuesday, Jan. 14 from 3-8 p.m., features three surgical suites, 23 pre- and post-op beds and space for additional growth. Later this year, Metro will open its second Wound Healing Center in the new facility as well as its first urgent care center. By the close of 2016, Metro will have moved into the remaining space as the sole occupant of the facility, which was built in 2007.
• Expansion of the current Professional Building at the Metro Health Village in Wyoming. Metro plans to break ground on a new 99,400-square foot building later this month and anticipates a move-in date in early 2015. Located at 2122 Health Drive SW, the expansion will join the existing 60,000-square foot Professional Building, which is home to medical services such as neurology and neurosurgery, pulmonology, spine care, infectious disease and the original Wound Healing Center. In addition to medical facilities, the building also houses many support functions for the hospital, including risk management, legal, marketing, development, volunteer services and physician services.
• Relocation of the Metro Health Community Clinic to a new facility it will share with Hope Network at 781 36th Street SW in Wyoming. The Community Clinic currently provides comprehensive medical services to the under-served in West Michigan, including low-income women and immigrants. It is also home to Metro’s residency programs, which has 40+ doctors in family medicine, internal medicine, ob-gyn, general surgery and urology. When completed in May, the Community Clinic will occupy more than 16,000 square feet of space in its new location and continue to provide ultra-sound, X-ray, urology and other healthcare services. The Community Clinic offers a maternal-infant health program, emergency food pantry, on-site social worker, prescription assistance program and others. Mercy Health Saint Mary’s Hospital will provide dental services at the location, while Ferris State University provides hands-on teaching experience for its pharmacy students.
Additionally, in December, Metro Health moved into its new Innovation Center at 985 Gezon Parkway SW in Wyoming. Metro has signed a long-term lease for 33,320 square feet of office and conference room space in the new facility, which is a short drive from Metro Health Village. The Innovation Center will allow Metro to consolidate support functions such as information technology, billing and patient financial services, the professional health organization and medical group operations, among others.
“We are committed to partnering with other innovative leaders to provide healthcare services to our patients, and the relocation of the Community Clinic is testament to that,” Faas said. “We are also committed to expanding our geographic footprint to better serve our growing patient base and are in the position of strength to do so. These new locations help us focus on how healthcare should be delivered in the future, as well as making sure the healthcare of today is accessible, high quality and financially efficient.
“We posted strong financial results in 2013. We added new patients and physicians, expanded our services, posted excellent outcomes and gave back to the community. We have made ourselves ready to tackle the new challenges of healthcare reform and are investing in the people, equipment and facilities that will help us remain a healthcare leader in West Michigan.”
