Please see below for answers to some frequently asked questions about the network.
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What is the Spectrum Health Regional Hospital Network?
The Spectrum Health Regional Hospital Network is a collaborative relationship between 12 independent community hospitals and Spectrum Health's 9 hospitals.
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What is the network's mission statement?
Improve the health status of our communities by providing an integrated approach to regional health care delivery that exceeds consumers' expectations of quality, customer service and cost-effective health care while preserving the economic strength of local providers.
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What is the network's vision statement?
To be the regional health care network of choice providing value and transparency through the development of coordinated community-based resources with access to necessary local and tertiary care.
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What is the telephone number for the network?
You can reach the network via the Operations Manager, Mark Breon, at (616) 486-6689.
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What is the fax number for the network?
The fax number for the network is 616-391-3822. Please be sure to include a cover sheet with your fax.
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Who works for the network?
The network has 3 employees: the executive director, an operations manager and a clinical operations manager.
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Where can I find more information about the employees of the network?
You can find out more by looking at the biographies of the employees on this Web site.
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What does the network do?
The network has created a document called the Quick Reference Guide, which provides an overview of the network's mission/vision, regional impact and collaborative teams, along with a list of network member hospitals. The document can be accessed here.
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How many licensed beds are within the combined network hospitals?
The network collectively has over 3,100 licensed beds.
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How many health care employees are within the combined network hospitals?
The network collectively includes over 27,000 health care employees.
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How many physicians are within the combined network hospitals?
The network collectively includes 3,900 physicians on staff at network hospitals.
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What kind of regional impact does the network have?
The network and its members work on a variety of projects that affect health care quality, value, cost and access to services. In the first six years of working together, more than $15 million was saved in medical-surgical, pharmacy, radiology and laboratory supplies. In addition, we have several multi-disciplinary teams that focus on improvements to our regional quality of care.
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Who makes up the Governance Committee for the network?
The Governance Committee consists of the CEOs of the member organizations.
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How often does the Governance Committee meet?
The Governance Committee meets on a quarterly basis, including a strategic retreat each summer.
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What is a hot topic team?
A hot topic team is a multi-disciplinary team that meets to work on improvements to a quality or patient safety issue. The hot topic teams meet for a determined length of time to create specific improvements to patient care.
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Who leads the hot topics?
The hot topics are faciliated by a Regional Hospital Network employee, and advised by a clinical leader of a network hospital.
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What hot topics is the network investigating?
The network has completed hot topic workshops on never events, heart failure readmission education and communication safety. We are currently investigating other topics for future hot topic workshops.
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What is a network council?
A network council is a group of leadership from a particular department or area that meets on a regular basis to discuss current issues and improve processes. The network currently has two councils - Purchasing/Supply Chain and Quality. The Purchasing/Supply chain coucil meets monthly to create value and cost savings opportunities for member hospitals. The Quality council meets quarterly to discuss best practices and collaborative opportunities in quality and patient safety.
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What is the network's relationship with VHA?
VHA is the chosen group purchasing organization of the network. With the support of VHA, the network works to provide value to the network hospitals while gaining cost savings and high quality products.
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How does a hospital join the network?
If a hospital is interested in joining the network, the hospital CEO should make contact with Tina Freese, executive director, via phone at 616-391-9234 or e-mail at christina.freese@spectrum-health.org in order to discuss options.
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Are all of the hospitals in the network Spectrum Health owned?
No. While the nine Spectrum Health-owned hospitals are part of the network, there are also 12 independent community hospitals that are network members.
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Can other organizations besides hospitals join the network?
While the network only consists of hospitals at this time, discussions are being held to determine if other types of health care organizations can benefit from becoming members of the network.
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Are there any fees associated with being a network member?
Yes, there is an annual membership fee required for member organizations.
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What services do the member fees cover?
The membership fees cover network projects, meetings, conferences and network operational expenses.
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What value comes from being a member of the network?
There are many benefits to being part of the network. Please see the Value section of our Web site for more detail.
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Is there a members-only section of the website?
Yes. In this section, employees of member hospitals can access network council information, as well as utilize the member forums.
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How can I keep up with current events from network hospitals?
Please see the Events section of the web site to look at current news and event from the network and its member hospitals.
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How do I get an event or press release on the network Web site?
Please contact Mark Breon, operations manager, if you have an event or press release that you would like to include in the Events section of the Web site. You may contact Mark at 616-486-6689.