For over 20 years, Grand Rapids was the state’s largest region limited to only one hospital for patients looking to undergo open-heart surgery. Last week, those options expanded due to the opening of the Steve and Amy Van Andel Heart and Vascular Center.
The new center, located inside the UM Health-West Professional Building in Wyoming, was made possible by a landmark $3.1 million dollar gift, one of the largest ever received by the non-profit health system.
The open-heart surgery program was launched back in October of 2022 through the collaboration of the Cardiovascular Network of West Michigan, Trinity Health of Grand Rapids and Muskegon, and the University of Michigan’s Frankel Cardiovascular Center in Ann Arbor.
Dr. Ronald Grifka, President of UM Health-West says working together with these three entities has made all the difference:
“As opposed to Trinity Grand Rapids and U of M Health-West competing with each other, we’re working together to have a joint program allowing us a much better opportunity with two programs working together to build a very strong cardiac surgery program.”
Dr. Grifka also says that they were incredibly pleased by the interest shown in the program:
“We thought that we would do fifty cases the first year, getting the team in place, getting them to work together. We wound up doing 122 cases.”
Thanks to the support of donors and the UM Health-West Foundation, the new center now provides patients with a second option in the Grand Rapids area when it comes to making decisions for open-heart surgery and aftercare.