Hospital Adds New Wing
The opening of the Cancer Center at Hackley Hospital in 1987 is one of many expansion projects that adhered to Charles Hackley's original mission for the hospital.
In his 1902 letter of intent to create the hospital, Charles H. Hackley envisioned a facility "for the relief of the sick and the suffering."
The center was, and remains, the only comprehensive community cancer center in the region.
"The cancer center enables you to have a loved one close to home," said Shirley Shlaffer, director of surgical services at Hackley Hospital. "It helps us, as a hospital, to better support the family."
The cancer center includes two radiation therapists and four medical oncologists. A social worker, dietitian and a general support group also are available on an "as needed basis" to work with patients and their families, according to Lisa Metzdorf, chief nurse executive at Hackley Hospital.
"It is convenient and accessible for the patients," Metzdorf said of the on-site cancer center.
The center is affiliated with the Grand Rapids Community Clinical Oncology Program, allowing participation in national clinical trials for cancer prevention and treatment, according to Metzdorf.
"This nationwide trial participation enhances our offerings," said Dr. I. Justin Kleaveland, medical director of Hackley Hospital. "Science is constantly open to challenge and always subject to change."
Results of the studies often lead to a better understanding of the disease, an improved treatment regimen or better long-term outcomes, according to information provided by GRCCOP. The patients become part of a network in which doctors and researchers pool their ideas and experience.
Stereotactic radiosurgery, routinely used for brain tumors and lesions, is performed in the cancer center. This treatment involves the use of focused radiation beams delivered to a specific area of the brain.
Hackley will soon move from two-dimensional modality to three-dimensional, giving even more precise treatment to tumors and sparing healthy brain tissue, according to Metzdorf.
Cancer treatment has become more specific over the years, according to Shlaffer. A sentinel node biopsy can determine if the cancer has spread to the nodes of the breast.
"If the sentinel node is negative, the patient may not need chemotherapy or radiation," Kleaveland said.
For cancer patients needing mastectomies, a plastic surgeon collaborates with surgical associates on breast reconstruction, according to Shlaffer.
"It is so important to people to feel whole and look good esthetically," Shlaffer said. "The better they look and feel, the better their attitude."
Promoting better healing and patient access spurred other expansions at Hackley Hospital. In 1942, the construction of the west wing added 100 beds and the lobby and administrative offices. Dr. J. Max Busard, whose father came to Hackley in 1911 as a physician, recalled the early days of the hospital when it was necessary to climb two flights of stairs to reach the admitting desk. The younger Busard interned at Hackley, and served as a physician from 1949-1989 and as medical director of Hospice for 14 years, spending nearly 55 years practicing medicine.
"I can remember the front unit and the big circular drive," Busard said. "You had to go up a second flight of stairs before getting to the admitting desk.
"Can you imagine that?"
Busard also recalled that the Hackley Hospital grounds contained a lavish collection of trees, drawing the interest of high school science and botany classes."The trees all had to go because of parking," Busard said. "It was sad, but it had to be done."
In 1956, Hackley expanded again, this time adding a south wing with 52 beds as well as a new kitchen, laundry, offices and storage. This wing also housed radiology. The next round of construction would be in the 1970s, when the north wing was added. The north wing contained maternity, medical surgical floors, pharmacy, central supply and administration.
Dr. Clay Tellman, a urologist at Hackley Hospital from 1949-1982, recalled the careful planning that went into the hospital expansions. Bart D. Buck, chairman of the memorial gifts division, was "extremely conservative," according to Tellman. Just as Charles Hackley's hand-picked trustees and associates investigated hospitals in the early 20th century, a delegation from Hackley looked at hospitals in Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo to gain ideas, Tellman said.
"Bart Buck dedicated his life to making sure that we had the best hospital in West Michigan," said Dr. Frank L. Pettinga, a family practitioner who came to Muskegon in 1954, served as medical director of Hackley Hospital for eight years and is now the director for International Medicine for American Overseas Clinics Corp.
In 1980-1981, the hospital expanded the east wing, adding or renovating 112,000 square feet at a cost of $20.3 million. Bed capacity in the intensive care unit was increased to 19. The emergency room, laboratory and radiology also were expanded, and a professional building and new surgical suite were added.
In 1986, Hackley achieved another milestone by opening the area's first inpatient rehabilitation unit. The rehabilitation unit aids patients who are recovering from strokes, head injuries, hip fractures, joint replacements and multiple traumas.
A decade later, in 1999, Hackley redesigned its emergency room. Gordon Mudler, hospital president and chief executive officer, said that when he arrived at Hackley in 1981, about 18,000 patients visited the emergency room compared to about 55,000 in the last year. The physicians in the emergency room have reduced patient waiting time to less than 30 minutes, giving the emergency department the highest customer satisfaction rating in the Great Lakes, according to the Arbor Patient Expectation Survey. Six teams with more than 50 hospital associates used an "idealized redesign concept" of planning - one in which they pictured how an emergency department would work in an ideal world, according to a hospital press release.
