GVSU launches campaign for Center for Healthcare Transformation

ALLENDALE, Mich. -- Grand Valley State University announced plans to establish a center that will address urgent issues in healthcare, enhance research productivity and interprofessional collaboration, and link practice issues and educational innovations with evidence-based practice.

Cynthia McCurren, dean of the Kirkhof College of Nursing, announced the launch of a formal campaign for the Bonnie Wesorick Center for Healthcare Transformation in the Kirkhof College of Nursing at Grand Valley on February 20. McCurren and Bonnie Wesorick announced plans for the center while attending an international health conference in Orlando, Florida.

Wesorick is founder and chair emerita for the Clinical Practice Model Resource Center, based in Grand Rapids. She is a former KCON faculty member who has written many books and articles related to evidence-based healthcare. CPMRC is a business unit of Elsevier, a multi-billion dollar company based in the Netherlands, which is among the world's leading publishers of science and health information. For more information on CPMRC, visit www.cpmrc.com.

“In response to the current national agenda to reform American healthcare, we expect that the center will be the start of a continuous wave of new knowledge and practice that will expand across West Michigan and beyond,” McCurren said.

Named centers at Grand Valley require a minimum gift of endowment totaling $1 million. With lead gifts already committed for more than half that amount, the university will launch efforts to raise the remainder as part of its current $50 million comprehensive campaign, Shaping Our Future. 

“I’m very excited to partner with Grand Valley, a core leader in the Grand Rapids area that prepares excellent healthcare providers for our community and beyond,” said Wesorick. “It is my vision that the impact of the center’s research and scholarly work will improve every aspect of healthcare, wherever the hands of those who give and receive care meet.”

The Wesorick Center will help address urgent issues in healthcare, including the need for patient-centered care, interprofessional teamwork, quality, safety, efficiency, and equity.

Grand Valley President Thomas J. Haas said the center will provide synergy for KCON’s new doctorate in nursing practice program. “This is part of Grand Valley’s continued and evolving leadership in shaping our students and the region as we respond to Michigan’s needs for highly effective healthcare professionals,” Haas said.

A celebration of the completion of the campaign for the Wesorick Center for Healthcare Transformation is expected in fiscal year 2009-2010. 

About Grand Valley State University
Grand Valley State University attracts nearly 24,000 students with high-quality programs and state-of-the-art facilities. Grand Valley is the comprehensive regional university for Michigan’s second largest metropolitan area and offers 71 undergraduate and 26 graduate degree programs. It has campuses in Allendale, Grand Rapids and Holland, and centers in Muskegon and Traverse City. The university is dedicated to individual student achievement, going beyond the traditional classroom experience, with research opportunities and business partnerships.

About CPM Resource Center
The CPM Resource Center offers content, processes, tools, and services that support practice advancement, cultural transformation, infusion of evidence-based care, and interdisciplinary integration at the point of care. CPMRC’s evidence-based products and professional services assist healthcare organizations in creating a healthy work culture and interdisciplinary integration using the CPM Professional Practice Framework™ that supports and advances professional practice and appropriate standardization of care. CPMRC’s International Consortium of more than 260 rural, community, and university settings connect clinicians and leaders to advance clinical scholarship and research.