Spectrum Health Medical Group Expands Neurology Team

The Spectrum Health Medical Group continues to expand access to Spectrum Health clinical neurosciences programs and services with the addition of three board-certified neurologists.

Neurologists Shan E. Abbas, MD, and Ayman Haykal, MD, are fellowship-trained epileptologists. They will see patients in Grand Rapids and, beginning in September, also at Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial in Fremont. Cynthia Hingtgen, MD, PhD, specializes in neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that affects the peripheral and central nervous systems. Her office is located in Grand Rapids.

Dr. Abbas earned his medical degree from Dow Medical College, University of Karachi in Pakistan, and completed a fellowship in clinical neurophysiology (EEG/epilepsy) at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. His clinical interests include exploring the bio-psycho-social implications of neurological disorders and epilepsy, as well as surgical options for the treatment of epilepsy.

Dr. Haykal earned his medical degree from Damascus University School of Medicine in Syria, and completed a fellowship in clinical neurophysiology and epilepsy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, where he served as chief epilepsy fellow.

Dr. Hingtgen earned her doctorate and medical degrees from Indiana University. She is a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.

Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit health system in West Michigan offering a full continuum of care through the Spectrum Health Hospital Group, which is comprised of nine hospitals including Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, a state of the art children’s hospital that opened in January 2011, and 190 service sites; the Spectrum Health Medical Group and West Michigan Heart, physician groups totaling more than 700 providers; and Priority Health, a health plan with 600,000 members. Spectrum Health is West Michigan’s largest employer with more than 18,000 employees. The organization provided $176.5 million in community benefit during its 2011 fiscal year.