Big Rapids Hospital

Spectrum Health Announces New Hospital President

Longtime Administrator Selected for Big Rapids, Reed City Hospitals

Spectrum Health announces Mary Kay VanDriel, FACHE, as the next president of Spectrum Health Big Rapids and Reed City hospitals.

VanDriel will take over for Sam Daugherty, the current president, when he retires on June 30.

“We are extremely pleased that Mary Kay will be taking on this role,” said Marc Chircop, senior vice president, regional relationships, Spectrum Health. “Sam has done an excellent job of bringing together the Big Rapids and Reed City hospitals and it will take someone of Mary Kay’s experience and caliber to provide a seamless transition for our patients, employees, physicians and communities.”

Chuck Holmquist, board chair, Spectrum Health Big Rapids and Reed City hospitals shared that this is a pivotal time for the hospitals.

“We look forward to working with Mary Kay. Her leadership skills and experience will be very important as we continue to grow and serve our communities.”

VanDriel has a strong professional history of leadership and program development. She has been president of Value Health Partners since 2007, a strategic corporation of eight Michigan health systems. The organization focuses its efforts in the areas of safety, quality, community health initiatives, health policy and care coordination.

She began her career as a nurse specializing in critical care. In 1986, VanDriel was named director of the newly created DeVos Children’s Hospital, now Spectrum Health’s Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. In 1997, with the formation of the new health care system, VanDriel was asked to manage a dedicated multimillion dollar budget for community health improvement that would become known as Spectrum Health Healthier Communities.

VanDriel earned her bachelor’s of science degree in nursing from the University of Michigan and her master’s of science degree in nursing from Grand Valley State University. She has a master’s degree in management from Aquinas College and a doctorate in educational leadership from Western Michigan University. VanDriel’s professional honors include being named a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives in 2010 and a Robert Wood Johnson Nurse Executive fellow in 2005.

Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit health system, based in West Michigan, offering a full continuum of care through the Spectrum Health Hospital Group, which is comprised of 11 hospitals including Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital; 170 ambulatory and service sites; 1,080 employed physicians and advanced practice providers including members of the Spectrum Health Medical Group; and Priority Health, a 575,000-member health plan. Spectrum Health is West Michigan’s largest employer with 21,300 employees. The organization provided $250 million in community benefit during its 2013 fiscal year.