South Haven Township leaders are excited to see an urgent care facility coming to the community.
South Haven Charter Township Supervisor Ross Stein tells us the board of trustees this month heard from Corewell Health Lakeland Hospitals Regional President Natalie Baggio, who told them all about the 15,000-square foot integrated care center Corewell is planning at 71989 County Road 388. He says this is going to be a major benefit for a community with many older residents.
“South Haven Township, Casco Township, Geneva Township, the city of South Haven — all could greatly use the services that they’re looking to provide there with their urgent care,” Stein said. “They’re looking to do x-rays labs there. They’re looking to have doctors come in and do care here that we aren’t currently getting.”
Right now, Bronson Healthcare offers services in South Haven, and Stein says they do a good job. But South Haven needs more support.
Stein tells us the new center will mean faster care for those who need emergency attention while lightening the load on agencies like South Haven Area Emergency Services. That’s because 40% of the patients in need of urgent care in the area are sent to hospitals out of town, like in Kalamazoo or St. Joseph.
“With us having 40% of our calls going out of town, that’s putting a strain on our local fire and ambulance service. Instead of being able to drop a patient off here in town and get back in service — it’s about an hour — but by the time we need to go out of town and get back, that’s a three-hour trip.”
Stein says Baggio told trustees about Corewell’s plans in the area, which he was glad to hear.
“She gave a wonderful presentation on their commitment to the area, and there was even questions from the audience, hoping that they do extremely well with the services that they’re going to provide, and hopefully we’ll be able to provide additional services in the future.”
Stein also notes this new facility will benefit more communities than South Haven Township, with the city of South Haven and Casco Township all sharing many services.
Corewell says it hopes to break ground on the center this year and open to the public next year. Stein says the township approval process for the healthcare provider will be “pretty straightforward.”
