SmithGroup to Design Michigan’s First Children’s Rehab Hospital
By HCO Staff
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—SmithGroup, one of the nation’s leading integrated design firms, has been selected to design the first children’s rehabilitation hospital in Michigan. The facility will be constructed on the Grand Rapids campus of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital.
Mary Free Bed is a not-for-profit, internationally accredited rehabilitation system serving communities throughout the Midwest. The project is a joint effort between Mary Free Bed and Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. It will be the ninth freestanding children’s rehabilitation hospital in the nation and one of only three located between the east and west coasts.
“We’re looking forward to bringing the best of our integrated practice to creating an iconic breakthrough building for Mary Free Bed,” said Ann Kenyon, a vice president and health studio leader at SmithGroup who will be the project’s principal in charge. “The new pediatric rehabilitation hospital will be a welcoming destination and gathering place that promotes healing and well-being for patients, their families and the greater community.”
SmithGroup was selected after a comprehensive nationwide search for their team’s extensive experience in creating innovative solutions in the health care industry, including specialization in the design of rehabilitation and pediatric facilities. The project’s integrated design team will provide medical planning, architecture, interior design, MEP engineering, lighting design, fire protection/life safety engineering, civil engineering, structural engineering and landscape architecture. SmithGroup’s health practice features a strong portfolio of forward-thinking and renowned rehabilitation and acute care hospitals across the country and includes work for health systems in Michigan.
“I’m eager to see what the combination of our rehabilitation specialists and the SmithGroup design team will create,” said Kent Riddle, president and CEO of Mary Free Bed. “The children’s rehabilitation hospital will be a revolutionary resource enabling us to serve thousands of additional children each year with leading-edge treatment.”
Mary Free Bed (www.maryfreebed.com) is a not-for-profit, internationally accredited rehabilitation hospital. From a single bed in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1891 to a rehabilitation system with 482 beds across more than three dozen Midwest communities, they will restore hope and freedom through rehabilitation for more than 90,000 children and adults this year.
Corewell Health (www.corewellhealth.org) is a not-for-profit health system that provides health care and coverage with an exceptional team of 60,000+ dedicated people.