Mercy Health Partners’ Oncology Program
Receives Alliance for Health Endorsement

May 23, 2006 –Mercy Health Partners (MHP) received Alliance for Health endorsement regarding the Certificate of Need (CON) to expand Oncology services to include Radiation Therapy.

MHP submitted the CON to the Michigan Department of Community Health on February 1 for this expansion. This is the formal process that is required by the State for healthcare to add services or major equipment change. This is an objective approach to ensure that services are added based on community need and a cost effective approach.

The Alliance for Health’s mission is to ensure optimal health through high quality services at the lowest cost. In April, the Alliance held a Public Hearing in Muskegon to discuss the CON and receive feedback from the community. Based on community comments as well as the Alliance for Health’s review of MHP’s application and its ability to meet the state’s CON criteria, this expansion was unanimously approved by the Board on May 18th and will be recommended to the State for their approval. An approval from the state is expected by the end of June.

“MHP is pleased with the outcome from the Alliance for Health Evaluation Review Board meeting”, says Roger Spoelman, President and CEO of MHP. “Our vision for the expansion of Oncology Services has been very thorough and we have truly listened to our patients articulate the need for this service at MHP. I trust that the Department of Community Health will approve this expansion.”

For over 15 years, MHP has been providing oncology services to the community and recently received Accreditation with Commendation from the American College of Surgeons. The CON is for expansion of these services by adding a Linear Accelerator. A Linear Accelerator provides Radiation Therapy to cancer patients. This is an area of Oncology Care that MHP does not presently offer. Feedback from patient focus groups sent a clear message they wanted to receive all Oncology services within the MHP system. The MHP Center for Cancer Care will improve patients’ ability to receive comprehensive and coordinated care in one location. The expanded center will be conveniently located on the Mercy Campus at the corner of Sherman Boulevard and US 31.

MHP is the specialty referral hospital along the lakeshore. MHP’s services include heart and vascular, emergency services, cancer care, orthopedic and spine surgery, urology, bariatric services, a primary care network, nephrology, ENT, laboratory, palliative care and rehabilitation. MHP specializes in a variety of areas through specialized institutes and centers where physicians and staff work collaboratively to provide excellent care to patients. Some of these centers include the Heart and Vascular Institute, the Centers for Women’s Health, a Special Delivery Birth Center, the Center for Weight Management, the Imaging Center of Excellence and a state of the art Emergency Center.