Grand Rapids Medical Education Partners and Spectrum Health Expand Family Medicine Residency

Grand Rapids Medical Education Partners and Spectrum Health are working together to increase the number of family medicine physicians by opening the Spectrum Health Family Medicine Residency Center.

The center opens on June 21, 2011 and will be staffed by board certified family medicine physicians, resident physicians, a social worker and nursing staff. The center is located at 25 Michigan Street along Grand Rapids’ Medical Mile with convenient covered parking.

“Providing opportunities for education and training for future physicians and other health care providers is part of our mission,” said Matt Van Vranken, executive vice president, Spectrum Health and president, Spectrum Health Hospital Group. “We are proud to partner with Grand Rapids Medical Education Partners. In addition to creating education opportunities, the center will also expand access to primary care in Grand Rapids.”

“The opening of the new Family Medicine Residency Center within Spectrum Health marks the end of the first phase of a significant collaboration between GRMEP and our partners,” said Peter Coggan, MD, MSEd, president and CEO, Grand Rapids Medical Education Partners and associate dean, graduate medical education, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. “Spectrum Health’s commitment to medical education and their willingness to devote resources to this project promises to ensure that the center is a major resource for training more family physicians and other health professions students for this community.”

A $3.5 million Affordable Care Act grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration, in collaboration with Grand Rapids Medical Education Partners, provided funding for the residencies of 20 new family practice physicians over the next five years. Spectrum Health provided the necessary capital and staffing investments to establish the Spectrum Health Family Medicine Residency Center. The residency center will also serve as an interprofessional training ground for nurses, social workers and pharmacists by providing experience in a clinical setting.

“Family medicine physicians care for people of all ages, from delivering newborns to the end of life,” said Angela Oostema, MD, Spectrum Health Medical Group and medical director, Spectrum Health Family Medicine Residency Center. “We have a passion for fostering long term relationships with individuals and the entire family. Family medicine focuses on disease prevention as well as the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic medical conditions. When needed, our patients have seamless access to specialists with the Spectrum Health Medical Group.”

The Spectrum Health Family Medicine Residency Center accepts most private and commercial health plans in addition to Medicare and Medicaid. Same day appointments are available. Prospective patients may call 616.267.0800 for an appointment or for more information. Members of the media and prospective patients are also invited to attend an open house on June 20, 2011, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Grand Rapids Medical Education Partners (GRMEP) sponsors graduate medical education programs for our partner organizations, Spectrum Health Hospitals and Saint Mary’s Health Care. Our 16 programs, which are affiliated with Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, offer training beyond medical school for more than 300 residents and fellows in a variety of medical specialties and sub-specialties.

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 180 service sites; the Spectrum Health Medical Group and West Michigan Heart, physician groups totaling more than 600 providers; and Priority Health, a health plan with 625,000 members. Spectrum Health is West Michigan’s largest employer with more than 17,800 employees. The organization provided $115.9 million in community benefit during its 2010 fiscal year. In 2011 and 2010, Spectrum Health was named a Top 10 Health System by Thomson Reuters.