By: Deborah Johnson Wood
The Women’s Health Center of West Michigan under construction at Michigan and Union in Grand Rapids is nearly one of a kind. It’s one of 15 facilities nationwide dedicated to caring for women’s health only, and it’s one of the first in the area to offer in-office surgical suites.
The center brings together an array of healthcare disciplines, including general OB/GYN, reproductive endocrinology, infertility, psychology, physical therapy, plastic surgery, skin care, vein therapy, and a center for maturing women.
Two fully equipped surgical procedure rooms are part of the office expansion and merger of the three medical groups behind the creation of the Women’s Health Center—Grand Valley Gynecologists, Knollcrest OB/GYN, and Newton, Frank and Blickley OB/GYN. Now called Grand Rapids Women’s Health, PC, the merged group will be the first to move in on July 10.
“We’re working on surgical procedures that can now be moved out of the hospital into the office,” says Douglas VanDrie, M.D., of Grand Valley Gynecologists. “It’s more convenient and less expensive for the patient.”
Over the last 20 years, several procedures have moved in-office, among them, the LEEP procedure and Essure tubal ligation. The portfolio of procedures also will expand at the new facility.
“We’re one of three pilot sites in the country doing office-based slings for incontinence,” Dr. VanDrie says. “We perform these under local anesthesia or light sedation in an office setting.”
In the past year, Grand Valley Gynecologists has added a dozen employees: nurses, medical assistants, billers and researchers. Dr. VanDrie expects that trend to continue after the merger.
Source: Douglas VanDrie, M.D., Grand Valley Gynecologists
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Deborah Johnson Wood is the development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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