Bronson Battle Creek Set To Become A Teaching Hospital

The city of Battle Creek might soon be home to a teaching hospital, with the work of Bronson Healthcare.

On Friday, Bronson Battle Creek announced that a collaborative effort with the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine and Grace Health has been in the works for around a year. The goal of the program is increasing healthcare access and creating new doctors to serve the nation.

Frank Sardone, President and CEO of Bronson Healthcare System, says that our nation is facing a shortage of physicians, and Bronson wants to do something about that:

Bronson is committed to doing all we can to improve access to care in our region. Establishing a teaching program at Bronson Battle Creek, similar to what we have in Kalamazoo, is a purposeful way to expand the base of primary care providers now and well into the future.

The residents will learn from physicians at Bronson Battle Creek, with Grace Health serving as an outpatient training center.The focus for this upcoming program will be family medicine, and once the ball is rolling there should be around 18 family medicine residents in Battle Creek at one time.

The startup funds for this program come from $1 million each from Bronson Healthcare Group, Bronson Battle Creek Hospital Community Partners, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. President and CEO of the Kellogg Foundation La June Montgomery Tabron calls this teaching program a “win-win-win” opportunity.

If everything goes smoothly, the first class of doctors should begin working in the summer of 2018.