The unique features of Grand Valley's Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences make it an ideal location for aiding medical personnel in case of disaster.
Grand Valley representatives recently signed an agreement, facilitated by a regional response coalition, with Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids that designates CHS as a location to transfer and care for patients by hospital and emergency personnel. Officials said the agreement serves as a model for other such collaborations.
Jon Jellema, associate vice president for Academic Affairs, said the university offers "an almost intuitive fit of what Spectrum Health needs during a disaster." Located on Michigan Avenue near Spectrum Health, CHS houses Grand Valley's colleges of nursing and health professions and has more than 30 teaching and research laboratories.
Tim Bulson, Kent County regional bioterrorism preparedness coordinator, said the county received federal grant funds from the Health and Human Services Department to help prepare and plan for terrorist-related disasters. The regional planning coalition includes 13 West Michigan counties.
"We're able to plan and find better ways to care for a large number of patients," Bulson said. "It also lets us find non-traditional sites of care. CHS is set up as a quasi-hospital or quasi-clinic."
