Health

Work begins on 38-unit, $3.4 million senior housing community in Kalamazoo

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June 3, 2010

An estimated 120 new construction jobs are expected now that Presbyterian Villages of Michigan has broken ground on a $3.4 million senior housing community in Kalamazoo. Presbyterian Villages of Michigan (PVM) received a multi-million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to build the 38-unit senior apartment community at Sage Street south of Stone Brook Road. The funds are intended to help low-income seniors live safe, independent lives and promote construction jobs.The development will offer one-bedroom apartments of approximately 600 square feet as well as a community room, laundry facilities, lounge areas and library/internet cafe.Potential residents are 62 years of age and older and have a gross annual income of $22,000 or less for one person and $25,150 or less for a two-person household. Rent is based on 30 percent of residents' adjusted gross annual income and the remaining rent is covered by HUD. Roger Myers, president and CEO of Presbyterian Villages of Michigan, says he is pleased to offer this opportunity to the Kalamazoo community. "It reflects our mission to extend a hand to all seniors of all faiths throughout Michigan." The Village is PVM's 25th senior living community in the state. Results of a market study from Community Research Services LLC, show the development is needed because the primary market area for the project will experience a 17.9 percent increase in population of seniors age 62 and older by 2013 and a county-wide increase of 25.5 percent for the same demographic.PVM, headquartered in Southfield, is a faith-based, multi-site nonprofit that offers continuing care retirement communities, including apartments, assisted living, and skilled nursing, subsidized senior housing and market-rate senior housing. Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Dawn Dyer Magretta, Presbyterian Villages of Michigan

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Life EMS completes $2 million expansion project in Kalamazoo

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Health

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June 3, 2010

Leaders of Life EMS Ambulance service have shown renewed commitment to the Kalamazoo area with a $2 million expansion and renovation of its property on the city's North Side.Mark Meijer, president of Grand Rapids-based business said the company was glad to be a part of the community.Excerpt:"We're primarily thankful every day for the trust that Kalamazoo and Portage puts in us and our medics in providing these critical services," Meijer said.Life EMS has a service contract with a consortium of area governments including the city of Kalamazoo, Oshtemo Township, Parchment and Cooper Township.Its workers operated for most of the past year out of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety's former station at North Rose Street while its offices on North Street were being expanded from about 6,500 square feet to 18,170 square feet.Life EMS, which started with two ambulances and about eight workers serving the Kalamazoo area, now has about 80 workers here who utilize 14 paramedic transport vehicles and 10 wheelchair transport vans.For more on the dedication of the property at 517 E. North St., read the entire story. Source: Kalamazoo Gazette

Spring brings a fresh approach to eating local

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Health

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May 27, 2010

Borgess Health's Farmer's Market is back for another season of fresh foods. Once again this year Borgess is making it easy for patients, visitors and employees to eat and shop local. Throughout the spring and summer, Borgess sponsors a farmer's market in its courtyard, just outside the Borgess Medical Center cafeteria, 1521 Gull Rd. Registered dietitians are also often on hand to provide counseling and meal suggestions.While customers shop, they can hear music performed by the students of Kalamazoo School of Music & Dance and Crescendo Academy of Music.The third edition of the Borgess Light Hearted Living Cookbook will also be for sale. Pick up a copy for $19.95.Market dates and times are: June 25, July 23, Aug. 27 and Sept. 24, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.Participating Farmer's Market vendors include: Pampered Chef, Riverstreet Flowerland, Fat Blossom Farms, Twice Maple Orchard, Nottawa Fruit Farm, Taste of Heaven, Russell Farm Market & Greenhouse, Apple A Day Farm, The Candy Lady, Water Street Coffee Joint, Country Life Natural Foods, Judy Vemma, Rykse's, Bella Joy Pottery, Sarkozy Bakery, Leduc Blueberries, DASH Minerals/Scentsy and Shelton Farms. Writer: Kathy Jennings Source: Borgess Health

Used medical equipment helps creatures far and near, great and small

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Development News

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May 27, 2010

Equipment that has outlived its usefulness at Battle Creek Health Systems sometimes is sent abroad. Donations have gone to medical missions in the Caribbean and the Philippines. Other times it goes no further than Binder Park Zoo. BCHS gladly obliged when a local request came from the zoo asking if the hospital might have some specialized equipment that it might be able to use in its veterinary clinic. Dr. Chris Tabaka, staff veterinarian at Binder Park Zoo recently performed a "spring teeth cleaning" for one of the zoo's snow leopards. He worked under a special light that was donated to the zoo by Battle Creek Health System. One piece of equipment donated has been a pulse oximeter, a medical device that indirectly measures the oxygen saturation of a patient's blood and changes in blood volume in the skin. The hospital also has given the zoo a surgical light, x-ray viewbox, and surgical instruments and trays. "Even though our medical staff does not treat animals, it does not mean that the hospital cannot be supportive with medical equipment for the zoo," says Tammy Clinger, BCHS director of materials management. "We had a number of medical devices that had outgrown our use, so what better way of extending their lives than to help our local zoo residents." Battle Creek Health System, sponsored by two parent organizations -- Trinity Health and BCHS Community Partners -- promotes wellness for the whole person with access and compassion for all. For the latest medical information, visit the BCHS web site. Writer: Kathy Jennings Source: Peter Phelps, Battle Creek Health Systems

InterAct to be under one roof in $1.95 million downtown Kalamazoo project

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Development News

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May 20, 2010

By the first of next year a longtime downtown Kalamazoo community services center could be in a new home.InterAct of Michigan, now working out of three locations downtown, will be leasing a newly constructed headquarters built by The Hinman Company. Ground recently was broken for two-story, 24,000-square-foot building at 610 S. Burdick Street that is expected to cost $1.95 million to build. The building also is LEED Certified."We're extremely excited that this building will give us a barrier free, safer, more efficient opportunity to serve people," says Claudia Wink-Basing, InterAct Executive Director. "We're grateful for this opportunity."The new building, which had been in the conceptual stages for about four years, will allow the agency to bring its 110 employees under one roof. There's also room for expanding the agency's staff by 10.Last year InterAct provided services to more than 1,300 people with mental illness, physical and developmental disorders or both. InterAct has been a tenant of The Hinman Company for 19 years.Due to their long term relationship and support of InterAct of Michigan's mission, The Hinman Company partnered with InterAct to make the project a reality, says Andy Wenzel, Director of Development for The Hinman Company.Incentives from the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority of the City of Kalamazoo and the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) Brownfield Redevelopment MBT Credit also helped bring about the project."We are excited about the opportunities this project will bring to InterAct of Michigan, to the downtown Kalamazoo area," Wenzel says, "and to the citizens that depend on InterAct's services to better their lives."Writer: Kathy JenningsSources: Claudia Wink-Basing, InterAct of Michigan, Andy Wenzel, The Hinman Company

Allegan hospital will spend $300,000 on expansion

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Development News

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May 20, 2010

Community residents and the Perrigo Foundation are teaming up to help a local hospital become bigger and better. More specifically, Allegan General Hospital will be expanding its infusion center, where treatments are administered into a patient's vein using tubing.Chemotherapy treatments, immune system medications, steroids, iron, antibiotics, blood count stimulants and other medications, as ordered by a physician, are some of the treatments offered.The center will serve cancer patients and patients with anemia, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, colitis, and other diseases requiring transfusions and IVs.Other features are private treatment areas with heated, massaging rocker-recliner chairs for patients and TVs, music systems and headphones for each patient. DVD players and laptop computers with wireless Internet access also will be available. A waiting area with more space for families and friends, and a patient education center are part of the plans.The infusion center renovation and expansion is funded with $200,000 from the Perrigo Foundation and $100,000 from the Allegan community. In July 2009, the Perrigo Foundation made an initial donation of $100,000 to the hospital and challenged the community to raise a sum that the company would then match. Community donations totaled $100,000, allowing the hospital to receive the full amount of the challenge grant from the Perrigo Foundation. "To reach the $300,000 mark in our fundraising efforts is a tremendous achievement, allowing us to move forward with the renovation and expansion of the infusion center," says Gerald Barbini, president of Allegan General Hospital. Allegan General Hospital is a 25-bed community hospital governed by an 11-member board of trustees. Perrigo is the world's largest manufacturer of OTC pharmaceutical products for the store brand market. Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Gerald Barbini, Allegan General Hospital

Borgess again named one of 101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work For

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Development News

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May 20, 2010

A familiar name is among companies recently recognized by Michigan Business & Professional Association for having exemplary practices in human resources.For the seventh consecutive year, Borgess Health was named one of the 101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work For by the MBPA and was among those honored at a celebration at The Pinnacle Center, Hudsonville, Mich., marking the accomplishments of the 101 leading businesses. Those recognized are companies that work with "imagination and conviction to create organizational value and business results through their policies and best practices in human resource management," says the MBPA."This award reflects the professionalism and dedication of Borgess nurses, physicians, therapists and all members of the healthcare team who provide and support high quality patient care," says Paul Spaude, President & CEO, Borgess Health.To get that recognition, companies provide information about their practices and an independent research firm evaluates each company's entry based on key measures in the areas of communication, community initiatives, compensation and benefits, diversity and multiculturalism, employee education and development, employee engagement and commitment, recognition and retention, recruitment and selection and work-life balance. "The honorees have clearly demonstrated why each of them would be an ideal place for employees to work," said Jennifer Kluge, MBPA Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President. Borgess Health includes more than 130 sites of care in 15 southern Michigan cities, as well as eight owned or affiliated hospitals, a nursing home, ambulatory care facilities, home health care, physician practices, managed care services, a cancer center and an air ambulance service. Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Paul Spaude, President & CEO, Borgess Health

Local marathon invites people to run for the health of it

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Development News

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May 20, 2010

Kalamazoo is jumping to the front of the pack in helping Southwest Michigan sustain a healthier lifestyle, one of the motivating factors behind plans for the city's first marathon.The event has been set for the weekend of May 6-8, 2011, to accompany a weekend of running events that will showcase what the city has to offer.The Kalamazoo Marathon will build on the success of the Borgess Run for the Health of It, a local road race that has been drawing runners to the area for more than 30 years. In 2010 there were 5,000 people who turned out for the various race events, including a half-marathon, health walk, 5k and kids run.Director of the Borgess Health and Fitness Center Janeen Dosca, this year's race director, is working with Blaine Lam and Gazelle Sports co-owner, Chris Lampen-Crowell, to develop the event.Organizers expect the marathon to draw runners from across the Midwest. People were asking how to sign up even before formal announcement of the event took place, Lam says.Chris Lampen-Crowell, owner of Gazelle Sports, says there is a pent-up demand for a marathon in Kalamazoo, home to the state's largest running club.Lampen-Crowell says the event will be a "very special marathon that celebrates health."Major sponsors for next year are already in place. Meijer and Priority Health will remain sponsors, and support will also come from AVB Construction, Discover Kalamazoo, Gazelle Sports, K-Valley Orthopedics, Kalamazoo Orthopedic Clinic, Pfizer, Premier Radiology and RiverRun Press.For further details and the latest updates on routes and other information, visit Borgess Run for The Health of It.Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Janeen Dosca, Borgess Health and Fitness Center

Can you say vaccination in Spanish?

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Health

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May 13, 2010

Vacuna is the word for shots in Spanish -- flu shots that is. It's one of the first Spanish words learned by Dr. Karen Janson in the Spanish club offered by South Haven Community Hospital for its staff and their spouses, reports the Herald-Palladium.The pediatrician has learned to use the word carefully so as not to set off tears among her young patients. Excerpt:The Spanish club has nearly 60 participants who meet weekly. It was the brainchild of Dr. Sylvia Mustonen, who works at the hospital's Covert clinic, said hospital President and CEO Joanne Urbanski. The meetings are led by Mustonen and Alex De La Cruz, the husband of another hospital physician, Jeanne Alvarado.At a recent class the group reviewed Spanish words that start with "ch."One of the words mentioned was chata, which means bedpan in Spanish. That's an example of a word that could be helpful for hospital staff.The story goes on to say the hospital has a number of translators but there never seem to be enough. So they decided to use a fun approach to get more people speaking Spanish.Source: Herald-Palladium

A cup of coffee that can change someone’s life in St. Joseph

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Health

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May 13, 2010

New Beginnings has a program that not only helps people get a new start each day, but changes lives, reports the Herald-Palladium.The program works with people with mental illnesses, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and personality disorder. Participants range in age from 18 to their 60s. Some, because of their mental illness, haven't graduated from high school, while others were leading normal lives until their illness sent them off track. New Beginnings has opened Kaffe de Art, where its members can learn skills they missed along the way. Excerpt: The shop, at 301 Main St. in downtown St. Joseph, serves espressos, lattes, cappuccinos, regular coffees and other beverages and snacks such as yogurt, granola, pastries, muffins and bagels. New Beginnings helps its "members," as Kray calls them, get their GED certificate, go to college or get a job. There are about 40 participants, a staff of eight, and two volunteers. New Beginnings members will work at Kaffe de Art, or at 2nd Impressions, the consignment shop next door that will open in June, if it helps them with their rehabilitation. The story goes on to say the program emphasizes holistic wellness, including nutrition, exercise, mediation, relaxation and general stress management," Kray said. "We also offer financial literacy classes and encourage and assist individuals to move toward independent living or find safe and affordable housing. Basically whatever they need to live productive, stable and satisfying lives."To find out more, read the entire story. Source: Herald-Palladium