Spectrum Health United Hospital Welcomes West Michigan Heart, Greenville as an Outpatient Cardiovascular Testing Center

Integration to be official February 1, 2011

Effective Tuesday, February 1, 2011, West Michigan Heart, Greenville located 707 South Greenville West Drive, will become an outpatient testing center to Spectrum Health United Hospital. West Michigan Heart, as an organization, became part of the Spectrum Health system on January 1, 2010. The primary goal of this collaboration is to better align cardiology services, processes and program development in order for patients to experience more seamless, integrated care.

Patients will have the same convenient access to cardiology services at the WMH Greenville location. These offerings, which include cardiovascular nuclear stress testing, echocardiography and vascular ultrasound, will now simply be delivered as Spectrum Health United Hospital outpatient services.

Patients will benefit from this alignment, specifically due to the close proximately West Michigan Heart, Greenville has with Spectrum Health United Hospital in Greenville. Spectrum Health United Hospital and West Michigan Heart, Greenville has a long history of collaborating on cardiovascular testing and treatment. Creating a formal alignment will build upon this partnership, allowing physicians at both facilities to communicate and work together more efficiently and effectively.

“It’s our ongoing goal to serve the greater Greenville community by giving patients the very best care possible. Our physicians and medical staff have always worked closely with West Michigan Heart. Now that West Michigan Heart is part of Spectrum, we look forward to more integrated care as well as more opportunity to expand cardiovascular service offerings to patients in Greenville and the surrounding communities we serve,” commented Paul Bonis, President, Spectrum Health United Hospital.

Shared technology will serve a catalyst for a more seamless patient experience. Specialists both of West Michigan Heart, Greenville and Spectrum Health United Hospital will have access to patient records, images, test results and treatment plans. This will result in prompt clinical decisions and eliminate the need for duplicate testing. Additionally, any hospital within the Spectrum Health system will have access to patient information, should there ever be a need to transfer elsewhere for further treatment.

“We are proud of our alignment with Spectrum Health, knowing it provides patients with the very best in cardiovascular services, diagnosis and treatment. Integrating in our Greenville location will result in better, more effective care for our patients – still close to home,” said Michael C. Vredenburg, DO, FACC, President, West Michigan Heart.

About Spectrum Health
Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit health system in West Michigan that offers a full continuum of care through the Spectrum Health Hospital Group, nine hospitals and more than 170 service sites; the Spectrum Health Medical Group, and West Michigan Heart, physician groups with more than 600 providers; and Priority Health, a health plan with nearly 600,000 members. Spectrum Health’s 16,700 employees, 1,500 medical staff members and 2,350 volunteers are committed to delivering the highest quality care. The organization provided $115.9 million in community benefit during its 2010 fiscal year. In 2010, Spectrum Health was named a Top 10 Health System by Thomson Reuters.