After Metro Health moved its operations to its bustling new location just off M-6 in Wyoming, caregivers there noticed an increase in the number of patients coming from Holland and the lakeshore. In response to the increased need for healthcare where the patients live, the hospital has opened a new
heart and vascular care center at 904 S. Washington St., Holland, and will see patients there two days a month.
The center shares space with
Holland Foot & Ankle to keep costs down, and is Metro Health's sixth neighborhood cardiovascular center.
The office treats people suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking-related health issues.
"We assess the patient from A to Z, looking at key indicators, diving into symptoms the patient may have, and then recommending life-changing modifications like diet, exercise, smoking cessation, or management of diabetes," says Director Dan Witt. "We see a large number of patients annually that are threatened with amputation, and our doctor Larry Diaz can perform interventions in narrowed arteries to help save patients from amputation. (In the cases of) narrowing of carotid arteries in the neck that feed blood to the brain, we can do carotid stenting to open up the arteries."
The office also partners with patients' primary care physicians, and works with patients to connect them with classes on diabetes, healthy cooking, and smoking cessation.
"Heart disease, and its associated diseases, is the number one killer of adult men and women in the U.S.," says Ellen Bristol, Metro Health spokesperson. "While we all get really scared about cancer, and we should be concerned, anyone with a heart is at risk of having heart disease. Our offices ring the Greater Grand Rapids area and take healthcare to where our patients live."
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor
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