Funds will be used to expand outpatient services in Traverse City and Grayling
A $3 million gift from the Maxon Foundation, U.S. Bank, N.A., Trustee, of Cincinnati, Ohio, will fund renovations to buildings in Traverse City and Grayling and expand heart services for northern Michigan residents.
Munson Healthcare President and CEO Ed Ness said the funds will allow for more patients to receive cardiovascular care closer to home and in a more timely way.
“This gift allows us to create two state-of-the-art ambulatory care centers and ensure access to care when people need it most,” he said. “We are extremely grateful to the Maxon Foundation for their generosity and willingness to help us with our vision for quality heart care for northern Michigan residents.”
The grant will allow for expansion of the hospital’s cardiology practice, Traverse Heart and Vascular, onto the first floor of 1200 Sixth St. in Traverse City. The first floor currently is occupied by the hospital’s Infusion Clinic. The clinic is moving early next year to the Cowell Family Cancer Center.
Traverse Heart and Vascular Medical Director Dino Recchia, M.D., said cardiologists currently follow 28,000 patients across northern Michigan and will perform 41,000 patient visits in the current fiscal year. Office space at 1200 Sixth St. was originally designed to support 14 cardiologists but the practice has grown to 22 cardiologists over the past 10 years.
“Through the Maxon Foundation’s gift, our planned renovations and expansion will allow us to see more patients on a daily basis and provide a more rapid assessment of patients whose primary care physician, or the Emergency Department, feel have an urgent need,” he said.
Heart and vascular testing equipment will be consolidated into the 1200 Sixth St. location as will existing outpatient heart failure and structural heart programs currently in the hospital, making the patient experience much easier with just one stop. Lab space also will be created in the building so patients do not have go to another facility for a blood draw.
In Grayling, the health care system plans to use donated funds to purchase an existing medical office building across from Munson Healthcare Grayling Hospital and renovate it to house a dedicated cardiology clinic. Plans also call for hiring an advanced practice provider to extend the effectiveness of cardiologists, and install information systems and electronic medical records that will coordinate with Munson Medical Center’s Webber Heart Center and give patients and physicians seamless integration of services. Currently, Grayling patients are seen in shared clinic space, limiting the ability of cardiologists to see patients throughout the week.
“Northern Michigan is now one of the most desirable places to live for those enjoying their retirement. This age group is the fastest growing population demographic and also the most likely to need heart and vascular services,” Ness said. “We anticipate the Maxon gift will provide additional capacity to care for several hundred new patients when expansion and renovations are complete.”
The Maxon Foundation, U.S. Bank, N.A., Trustee, was founded by the late Glenway Maxon, Jr. It is held by the U.S. Bank in Cincinnati. The specific focus of giving is for health care related needs including: improving access to health care services; building capacity for health care through equipment and capital improvements; and recruiting physicians and health care professionals to underserved areas.
More information on Munson Healthcare cardiovascular services can be found at munsonhealthcare.org/heartservices. To learn more about giving to Munson Healthcare, go to musonhealthcare.org/foundation.