Sparrow Ionia Hospital

479 Lafayette St. Ionia, Michigan  48846

1-616-523-1400   or    1-800-237-2572

"Serving Ionia County for over 65 Years"

March 18, 2009

Physicians who staff Sparrow’s level-one trauma

center now provide care at

Ionia County Memorial Hospital ER

Ionia, Michigan — Ionia County residents now have access to the

level of emergency services-expertise available at a level-one

trauma center — without having to travel to Lansing or Grand Rapids.

Through a partnership between Ionia County Memorial Hospital (ICMH) and Lansing-based Sparrow Health System, a physicians group that staffs Sparrow Hospital’s advanced emergency department now also provides care at ICMH’s emergency department.

“This partnership brings the best of both worlds to Ionia County — the advantages of expert emergency care found in a large regional hospital with the convenience and comfort of an established community hospital close to home,” said Dr. Laurence Gebler, MD, the medical director of ICMH’s emergency department. “Through the enhanced emergency services now available at ICMH’s emergency department, residents no longer have to travel out of town to receive the emergency care they would receive at Sparrow.”

The physicians providing care at ICMH’s emergency department belong to Emergency Medical Associates, PLLC (EMA), a group that formed in 1977. EMA provides services to the two emergency departments located in Lansing — Sparrow Hospital and St. Lawrence Hospital — and to Clinton Memorial Hospital in St. Johns. Most members of this group are certified emergency physicians and serve as faculty at Michigan State University.

“Emergency Medical Associates is a large and respected regional emergency physician group with 30 years experience in emergency medicine management and trauma center development to provide the highest quality of 24-hour emergency services to Ionia County Memorial Hospital patients,” said Bill Roeser, president and CEO of Ionia County Memorial Hospital. ”I am thrilled with the opportunities in excellent emergency care that our partnership will offer the people of Ionia County.”

This partnership expands on ICMH’s hospital's existing management affiliation with Sparrow Health System.