Corewell Health and Village of Lakeview Announce Plans for former Kelsey Hospital Site

GRAND RAPIDS AND LAKEVIEW, Mich., Feb. 21, 2024 – Corewell Health and the Village of Lakeview today announced plans to transfer ownership of the land where the former Kelsey Hospital operated to the Village of Lakeview. The ownership transfer will be made through a purchase of the property for $1.

“For more than 100 years, the Kelsey Hospital team cared for Lakeview area residents, and the hospital itself has been an asset to the community,” said Kristie Smith, chief operating officer, Corewell Health Greenville Hospital. “We believe transferring ownership of the land to the Village of Lakeview will allow the local community to decide how the land can best serve the community in the future. Corewell Health is committed to continuing to care for the community in our new Lakeview Care Center.”

The ownership transfer will not happen until Corewell Health has abated the building of any hazardous materials and demolished it, leaving a blank slate for the Village and developers. After reviewing the old hospital building, developers and Village officials agreed that the existing building did not offer a canvas from which developers would want to renovate or build onto. Demolition work on the current site is expected to begin in March and be complete by early summer.

Darin Dood, the Village Manager of Lakeview commented that “people don’t like change, especially when it comes to situations like this. Our community certainly is reeling from the emotions attached to Kelsey. I have been optimistic from the start and think everyone recognizes the importance and financial investment of the new facility out on M-46 is to our community. The Village is excited about embracing this new opportunity for growth in the community where Kelsey once stood.”

The Village of Lakeview, Corewell Health, The Right Place and the Montcalm County Economic Alliance have collaborated to identify the best use for the site. With ownership transferring to the Village of Lakeview, the final decisions for the property’s future will be made locally.

Kelsey Hospital began in 1908 when Dr. Lee E. Kelsey and his wife Lillian, a registered nurse, began seeing patients in their home. Through the years and as the Lakeview community grew, the hospital also grew. It closed for service in October 2023.

Corewell Health opened the new Lakeview Care Center, a more than $12 million project, in June 2023. Lakeview Family Medicine relocated to the new facility, and Corewell Health added outpatient rehabilitation, lab and a walk-in clinic, as well as space for specialty care services.

In closing the hospital building, Corewell Health worked with SIM USA to donate supplies, such as carts, stools, gurneys, bed drapes and more, for use where there is great need for medical supplies.

###

About Corewell Health™

People are at the heart of everything we do, and the inspiration for our legacy of outstanding outcomes, innovation, strong community partnerships, philanthropy and transparency. Corewell Health is a not-for-profit health system that provides health care and coverage with an exceptional team of 65,000+ dedicated people—including more than 12,000 physicians and advanced practice providers and more than 15,500 nurses providing care and services in 21 hospitals, 300+ outpatient locations and several post-acute facilities—and Priority Health, a provider-sponsored health plan serving more than 1.3 million members. Through experience and collaboration, we are reimagining a better, more equitable model of health and wellness. For more information, visit corewellhealth.org.

Contact:
Ellen Bristol
External Affairs Manager
Office: 616.391.4399
Mobile: 616.581.6474
Email: ellen.bristol@corewellhealth.org