Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand Rapids are joining together to expand the health care facility into a research and teaching hospital. The collaboration sets the stage for research and evidence-based medicine to improve the lives of patients and encourage more medical students to focus on physical rehabilitation.
Mary Free Bed CEO Kent Riddle and College of Human Medicine Dean Marsha D. Rappley announced the affiliation agreement on May 22, 2014.
“Combining MSU’s research expertise with Mary Free Bed’s outstanding clinical operation will create a powerful partnership that can translate into even better outcomes for rehabilitation patients,” Rappley said. “It also adds MFB physicians to our faculty, giving them greater access to the most current literature and bringing their knowledge and expertise directly into the medical school.”
As an 80-bed, acute-care inpatient facility, as well as offering outpatient and home-based services, the partnership means the hospital will expand its patient-centered focus to include an emphasis on research and innovation.
“As Mary Free Bed expands, we’ll also be growing our leadership role in the industry,” said Riddle. “We’re adding a research component because research is the backbone of innovation. And, we will immediately expand the number of rotations, enabling medical students to get hands-on experience in the field of rehabilitative care.”
The John F. Butzer Center for Research and Innovation will be led by John Butzer, chief medical officer at the rehabilitation hospital, who will step down from this role after 29 years.
“By collaborating on research and education, we improve the care that we provide to our patients,” Butzer said. “This affiliation is one more way to ensure that we continue to provide superior rehabilitative care and pave the way for educating and training future rehabilitation doctors and other professionals.”
MSU’s College of Human Medicine provides students with comprehensive education in clinical settings throughout six community campuses and with 13 leading hospitals in the state.