Mercy Health Muskegon Submits New Consolidation Plan

MUSKEGON, Mich. — Mercy Health Muskegon in Michigan has announced a timeline for the nine-story consolidation project to bring Hackley Health System and Mercy Health Partners onto one campus after the companies merged in 2008.

Hospital officials said the submission and review of the proposed consolidation at the Mercy Hospital campus would start in late September. The final approval decisions made by the board of trustees, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Certificate of Need program, and the campus’ parent company, Trinity Health, is expected to be made in early October.

If the approval goes as the hospital leaders hope in October, preparation for the project could begin at the end of the year. Construction would start in spring 2016. The project proposal, if approved, would bring all acute care services from Mercy, Hackley and General campuses to one building.

The Vice President of Strategic Integration and Subsidiary Operations at Mercy Health Muskegon Jeff Alexander, said the leaders had hoped to have obtained all approvals and begin construction by Summer 2015 when they unveiled the project. In September 2014, Mercy Health decided to extend its plan due to the impact of health care reform and wanting to implement lean principles, which slowed the process.

The lean philosophy they plan on implementing will allow hospital leaders to plan an efficient system to eliminate wasteful practices.

After the delay was confirmed Joan Kessler, a hospital spokeswoman said the staff had converted several rooms in the facility so they could test the new workflow when using the lean principles.

The company refined the project’s business plan and is now proposing a 238-room facility, costing $271 million. The original budget had been a $220 million remodel that would feature 250 beds, a new birth center and emergency department, and several private rooms. Kessler said the original budget was conservative. The new plan will include the ability to turn 31 rooms into semi-private rooms, increasing the bed count to 269.

The project will rework a $97 million project proposed in 2013 involving renovating the existing building. The plan is in progress, but will be completed in November. On top of submitting an application to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, they also submitted a letter of intent to create a “special care nursery” at the Hackley campus.

Officials have said the emergency center at the Hackley Campus will now be used as an urgent care center, and other wings will be used for outpatient and primary care. Hackley’s urgent care will have extended hours and will feature more on-site diagnostic services.

The General Campus will be sold and demolished or repurposed.