When Kreg Gruber, CEO of Beacon Health System, attended his first meeting as a member of the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed) Board of Directors in July, the moment marked a new chapter and the beginning of an important collaboration between the medical school and the health system Gruber leads.
The Board of Directors meeting, which was held Tuesday, July 22, came three weeks after Beacon officially completed its acquisition of Ascension Southwest Michigan, a former collaborator and clinical affiliate of WMed for many years. The move, first announced in April, increased Beacon’s footprint in Michigan to include 35 outpatient clinics and an ambulatory center, as well as hospitals in Kalamazoo, Allegan, Dowagiac, and Plainwell.
Gruber said he is excited about Beacon’s expansion and the chance to serve patients and communities in Southwest Michigan. The opportunity to partner with WMed in that important work was a key factor in the ultimate decision to acquire Ascension Southwest Michigan, he said.
“When this opportunity came up, we understood what the relationship with the medical school would be as a partner and we viewed WMed as a really valuable organization to be a part of,” Gruber said recently. “That was an important part of our decision to pursue acquiring Ascension Southwest Michigan.”
Beacon is a locally owned, nonprofit healthcare organization based in South Bend, Indiana, serving patients at 11 hospitals across Northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan. The acquisition of Ascension Southwest Michigan added more than 2,700 associates, including 259 providers, to Beacon’s ranks.
The medical school was formed as a private 501(c)3 corporation in 2011 by Western Michigan University, and Kalamazoo’s two teaching hospitals, Ascension Borgess and Bronson Healthcare. Beacon now assumes the role as a corporate member since acquiring Ascension Southwest Michigan. As corporate members, all three organizations appoint members to the WMed Board of Directors which serves as the governing body for the medical school. The medical school also collaborates broadly with each entity to provide a breadth and depth of educational and clinical experiences for medical students, resident physicians, and fellows.
Gruber said he and other leaders will strive to put in place at Beacon Kalamazoo Hospital and its other Michigan facilities a culture that espouses the values of the overall health system – one based in trust, respect, integrity, and compassion – and provides an enriching experience for the WMed learners who will train there.
Gruber said there is extensive value for Beacon in the opportunity to teach and train WMed students and the residents and fellows who are part of the medical school’s 10 residency programs and five fellowships. Gruber is hopeful that many of those learners will choose to remain in Southwest Michigan following their training and provide care to patients at Beacon hospitals and clinics.
“Students and residents will get to know us in total and one of the biggest benefits is that pipeline of talent,” he said. “We’re here to support the great experience our learners have had and figure out how to make it even better. If we do what we intend to do at our facilities it will enhance that experience for those students, residents, and fellows at the medical school and make us a better partner.”
Gruber said he is grateful to be a part of the WMed Board of Directors and to have a seat at the boardroom table to chart the medical school’s future with a group of leaders that is “highly engaged and invested in the success of the organization.”
“I’m interested in coming in and supporting the mission and vision of WMed,” Gruber said. “We need to come in with open eyes, open ears, learn, and understand. I have a duty of governance to help the medical school be successful over the long term so I’m here to support the mission and vision, here to support the leadership, and encourage and challenge when necessary.”
Learn more about Beacon at beaconhealthsystem.org/bright-future.