University of Michigan Health Systems

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

When Metro Health moved to Wyoming about nine years ago, it was tasked with not being just a boutique hospital in a suburban community, but a catalysis to bring quality care to not only its immediate community of Wyoming but the West Michigan region. With Metro Health’s affiliation with the University of Michigan Health System, Metro Health President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Faas believes the hospital has achieved that.

Metro Health President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Faas

“We were faced with trying to clinically integrate and grow while at the same time maintain services and infrastructure that we have,” Faas said during a recent interview about the new affiliation between Metro Health and U-M. “There is having more importance to the community, more market share, more money and new buildings and as these issues kept circling we knew that we needed to get a lot bigger and more significant for some of these things to happen.”

To achieve this, according to Faas, Metro Health started exploring the possibility of a partnership with another institution. Metro Health officials first went to non-profit U-M as the hospital had formed a relationship with U-M providing radiation oncology. However, Metro Health ended up courting a few other possibilities including the for-profit Tennessee-based Community Health Systems. The deal with Community Health Systems did not happen and Metro Health officials began to look at other possibilities.

“We knew one day it could happen,” Faas said of Metro Health’s affiliation with U-M. “We had favored that one the most because we felt it was the best match. Good things came to fruition for all the right reasons.”

In fact the affiliation between U-M and Metro Health is not that unusual especially as hospital officials deal with the many challenges in health care from reform efforts to becoming more clinically integrated. Just recently, Grinnell Regional Medical Center in Toledo announced negotiations with UnityPoint Health Des Moines and University of Iowa Health Care. Several hospitals in the Upper Peninsula have similar partnerships.

While Wyoming City officials have not had any meetings with Metro Health or U-M on the affiliation, City Manager Curtis Holt said he sees it being a great thing for the community, especially since health care is one of the fastest growing industries.

“I have said ever since Metro Health came to Wyoming that it is a great addition to the City of Wyoming,” Holt said. “They do a great job. I think they are beneficial to our community and to our residents which is the most important thing.”

Holt said he is cautious over the dollar value that the new affiliation will bring to the city since it is a non-profit venture and collection from this type of development is limited. The city could benefit from the spin off ventures such as restaurants, stores, commercial businesses and other small industries that develop from the affiliation, he said, adding that he is looking forward to meeting with Metro Health officials in the coming weeks to discuss Metro Health/U-M’s plans for the future.

“I believe that [Metro Health] has been so focused on getting this affiliation in place, and now that it is, they can start to focus on how they are going to make a difference in the community,” Holt said.

Which is exactly correct according to Faas. Now that the affiliation is in place, plans will begin to move forward on various projects which will include the building up of the Metro Health Village. However, the biggest change area residents will see is that for the first time in awhile, there will be a real choice in health care services in West Michigan, Faas said.

“U-M has been providing health care to all the residents of Michigan for more than a century,” Faas said. “Now with this relationship with Metro Health, U-M health care is more accessible, more convenient, and less expensive then everyone driving to Ann Arbor.”

By: Mike DeWitt

Mike.DeWitt@wktv.org

Amongst all the medical facilities and providers in the greater Grand Rapids area, Metro Health Corporation can now be considered one of the ‘Leaders and Best’ after recently announcing their intent to join the University of Michigan Health System.

Both organizations signed a letter of intent to bring Metro Health’s hospital and network of doctors, nurses and other providers together with U-M (health system), expanding this academic medical center’s care in western Michigan.

“The U-M Health System is a top-ranked academic medical center with a world-class medical school, extraordinary hospitals and clinics, and groundbreaking research facilities focused on moving cutting edge discovery to patients’ bedsides in order to improve lives,” said Marschall Runge, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president of medical affairs and Dean of the U-M Medical School. “We are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with Metro Health’s expert physicians and health care professionals in stepped up ways.”

While Metro Health already partners with U-M for clinical services like radiation oncology, this affiliation agreement gives U-M its first hospital near Grand Rapids.

Michael Faas, President of Metro Health, added that joining with the U-M clinical enterprise will bring additional options for complex care to Metro Health patients and to the greater Grand Rapids community.

“It is no secret that U-M has some of the best providers in the state and country,” said Faas. “By joining the ‘leaders and best’ we can build on our existing expertise and provide our patients and community with enhanced access to specialized health care services, scientific discovery and advanced technology.”

The letter of intent signed by both organizations is not a sale and no layoffs are expected at either health system. Also not expected, a U-M satellite medical campus like Michigan State University has with Spectrum Health.

“There are currently no plans for a medical school to come as a result of the partnership,” said Metro Health spokeswoman Ellen Bristol.

The partnership with U-M comes a year after a proposed partnership with a for-profit Tennessee-based hospital chain dissolved. The Tennessee organization was to contribute between $100 to $125 million in capital to Metro Health.