In an effort to strengthen the region's health care talent pipeline and serve the needs of rehabilitation patients, Grand Valley State University and Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital are expanding their partnership. The expansion comes with a new motion analysis lab that provides gait analysis, allowing physical therapists the ability to study patients walking patterns.
The new lab at Grand Valley’s Cook DeVos Center for Health Sciences in Downtown Grand Rapids will house Mary Free Bed specialists and give Grand Valley physical therapy students on the job training.
The partnership benefits both Mary Free Bed and Grand Valley State University, says GVSU President Thomas Hass. While the university is the number one provider for medical professionals post-graduation, Mary Free Bed employs “hundreds of GVSU graduates.”
The family of a 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy has high hopes for the new lab.
Shayna Lee Chin has spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, and her mother Jenny Chin says her disability compelled the family to leave sunny Florida and relocate to West Michigan.
“We moved here in July of this year and one of the factors was looking at a region of the country where we knew there were good care and services for Shayna Lee, so this here the Grand Rapids area just has a lot available to her.”
