Corewell Health has announced it will close a small hospital in the community of Lakeview, Northeast of Grand Rapids. The closure of Kelsey Hospital will come in October. The 16 bed in-patient facility is one of three hospitals in rural Montcalm County. Health officials said most patients are routinely transferred to other hospitals and rarely remain at Kelsey. Lakeview is about 30 miles from Grand Rapids.
Kelsey Hospital is a 60 year old facility. Corewell Health says it’s outmoded and a duplication of other available medical facilities. In June, Corewell opened the Lakeview Care Center, a full service walk-in care center about four minutes from the Kelsey Hospital building. Corewell said the $ 12 Million dollar care center is “state of the art” and offers seven-day services, as well as outpatient services, rehabilitation and lab services.
A Corewell spokesperson told WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, ”We are so committed to this Lakeview community. We will remain here for years to come. Our new care center demonstrates that commitment to providing excellent care. We’re proud to be a part of this community and continue to be a part of it.”
Corewell said the 105 workers at Kelsey will be offered other positions with Corewell Health West, which currently has about 2,400 job openings.
