April 2022: Alwyn Downs becomes Emerald Hills

The following press release was submitted by MysteryVisits Communications during April 2022 on behalf of BluFish Consulting of Marshall, Michigan.

~ Grand opening planned April 30 as former Alwyn Downs becomes Emerald Hills ~ 

MARSHALL, Michigan — A metamorphosis is under way at the former Alwyn Downs golf course, where changes already are visible and more are to come in the months and years ahead. 

Rebranding and an array of improvements are under way at the 6,207-yard course and restaurant at 1225 S. Kalamazoo Ave., which lay closed and neglected for much of the past few years.

To mark those changes, the new Emerald Hills Golf Club will celebrate a grand opening beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 30, for the renamed 18-hole regulation-length course. The restaurant will be open and live music will be performed on the newly remodeled outdoor patio. 

Information about the course and restaurant may be found online at the new website for the business, EmeraldHillsMarshall.com. 

Ann Arbor-based Norfolk Homes purchased the site in early 2020 to transform the property into housing. Its co-owners, real-estate developers Patricia Williams and Jim Franke, moved to Marshall in 1979 and are the daughter and son of the late Marshall resident and benefactor Tom Franke. Norfolk Homes produces custom-designed homes and condominiums throughout southeast Michigan.  

“We’re looking forward to having people stop by to see the improvements we’ve made so far, and let them know about the work that’s coming,” Jim Franke said. “We believe people will be glad to know we’re doing everything possible to transform this destination into a beautiful jewel for Marshall.”

Exterior renovations already have been completed to the restaurant, which is being renamed the Tavern at Emerald Hills. A new roof, windows, doors and siding have been installed, updated lighting and fans placed on the patio and a pro shop restored to the clubhouse, according to Joel Tompkins, manager of the club and tavern.

“We will focus on carry-out with dine-in options at first,” Tompkins said. “We have seating for about 150 people — 60 inside on the first floor and about 80 to 90 on the patios outside. Our initial menu will include pastas, salads and wraps with fries. We have a full bar and soft drinks and eventually we’ll have a structured cocktail list with seasonal drink offerings.”

In time, the tavern is expected to operate year-round. That effort will call for extensive future interior renovations, to be achieved in stages.

The past year also has seen extensive work on the course’s fairways and greens, which opened to golfers in 2021, Tompkins said, adding that a short-range practice area of 50 to 75 yards also is under construction.

“Due to the 2020 lockdown, we were unable to care for the course for several months and it had become overgrown, so we mowed everything down and turned a hayfield back into a golf course,” Tompkins said. “We took out 200 round bales of hay just in that first summer.” 

That work was followed by a broad-based improvement effort to make the course more playable, he said. Dozens of trees were removed, the greens and fairways reseeded and an intensive fertilization program launched. 

“We’ll continue to improve the course conditions for all golfers in the years ahead,” Tompkins said, adding that the course is expected to remain in its current 18-hole state at least through the rest of calendar year 2022.  

Development of additional housing is expected in the years ahead, although when that will take place remains uncertain. When that happens, two holes are expected to be removed from the current golf course. 

“Once we’re at 16 holes, we still will operate as a 18-hole course, with two holes played twice,” Tompkins said. “We won’t be changing the game, just adjusting a couple of hole numbers.”

The current development plan calls for a variety of home styles and keeping a nine-hole course.   

Meanwhile, the golf club’s staff is working to recruit regional leagues for the upcoming season, proclaiming its new status on Facebook and online resources. People with questions about the club’s and tavern’s operations may call (269) 367-2121. 

“We still are looking for more leagues to sign up by the end of April,” Tompkins said. League representatives are urged to contact him to discuss special rates and structured pricing, as part of an overall strategy to restore the course’s long reputation as a destination for diners and golfers.

Membership benefits include a 10 percent reduction on various offerings, including all items in the pro shop and food purchased through the tavern. One-hour lessons are being offered for $100 with staff member Matt Coulson, a PGA-certified golfing professional, with a 25 percent discount for club members.

As a part of the overall development, the company has built three homes on Oak Drive, in the new Emerald Hills development bordering the golf course’s northeast edge.

Occupancy of the two-story, single-family homes is expected to be available during the spring season. More information about Norfolk Homes and its offerings is available online at norfolk-homes.com. 

During April, Norfolk Homes expects to break ground on four new units as part of an eventual 32-unit development to be known as The Townhomes at Emerald Hills. 

# # #

March 2022: In memory of Tom Franke

A reminiscence by John C. Sherwood about the late Thomas F. Franke of Marshall, Michigan. 

My life would be infinitely poorer had I never known Tom Franke, who left this realm March 23 at his home in Marshall, Michigan. However, a kind and benevolent universe brought us together and my gratitude is profound.

I’d moved back to Michigan after a decade on the East Coast, and after two years living in Union City, I was looking around for a place to live closer to my hometown of Marshall. Somehow, my mom’s longtime friend Creighton Sherman learned of that and during a 2013 fundraiser for the American Museum of Magic he introduced me to Tom, who Creighton knew was looking for someone to occupy his Oak Hill apartment. Tom asked me to come to his magnificent 1853 mansion for a conversation, clearly planning to size me up and ferret out just how disreputable I really was.

As it turned out, that conversation in the main parlor was an unexpected delight. It turned out Tom and I shared multiple interests — ancient and modern history, prehistoric megalithic monuments, science fiction, live theater, world travel and especially travel in England. I'd also known one of the mansion's previous owners, so Tom picked my brain about what I remembered. When Tom mentioned he had financial dealings with hotels in the U.K. county of Norfolk, I was taken aback. I’d traveled in Norfolk repeatedly since 1974 and I’d frequently visited my best friend Joe Cromley at his home in the Norfolk village of Gissing. Tom and I ended up sharing stories about our favorite places around Norfolk and elsewhere in England, and that rather sealed things. Tom showed me the apartment and that was that.

In time, Tom became much more than a landlord. In fact, that first conversation had set down a solid foundation for a lasting friendship — indeed, a mutual admiration society that fostered love. It began initially when I’d return from work in Battle Creek (or later when I was working in Marshall), and Tom would greet me at the back door to ask about my supper plans. Sometimes he’d be happy checking out the burgers at the truck stop, but more typically we’d end up at the “Oak Hill table” at Schuler’s. On other occasions, he’d inform me that a bunch of oysters in the fridge needed opening; of course, I got my share, although I was deeply frightened by the shucking gadget I swear was devised by Monsieur Guillotin.

Tom loved to be on the go and especially loved to bring people along with him. As a result, I’ve lost count of the number of events on which I was allowed to tag along — Schuler’s dinners, concerts by the Brass Band of Battle Creek, theatrical plays ranging from Benton Harbor to Chelsea and drives around Marshall to study locations where he thought improvements could be made. Because Tom’s active brain came up with a host of such ideas, we often found ourselves engaged in thoughtful musings about how the community might be helped by bringing people together to create this or that — a county museum, a building addition, a train stop, a better-organized tour facility, a stronger school district and much more.

ABOVE: Tom chats with a visitor to his home -- actor John Rhys-Davies, noted for his roles in the "Lord of the Rings" and "Indiana Jones" films.

Our mutual love for live theater led to many evenings when Tom and I would sit on my couch as I typed a history of The Franke Center or we filled out an application for a grant or considered the wording of a fund-raising letter. My own involvement at the American Museum of Magic and at the Great Escape Stage Company led him to support both institutions in multiple ways. In 2016, we even made sure to seat Tom in the seance circle when we called on the spirit of Harry Houdini to make an appearance. By not showing up to meet Tom, Harry lost a great opportunity to find out what a real miracle-maker looked like.

When Kim Forde and I began to date in 2016, Tom approved and encouraged the match by hosting many a lively, libation-fueled gathering in the parlor. Kim and I had met at Great Escape, and Tom further honored us by letting us hold our theatrical parties in the Nancy Boyer Pub just outside my apartment door, where Tom was always a lively participant.

ABOVE: In 2016, Tom looks on as John lowers a bagel-and-lox sandwich into Harry Houdini's Milk Can Escape in preparation for a seance at the American Museum of Magic.

Kim and I were drawn to the East Coast for professional reasons in 2020, but returned time and again to Marshall, always stopping in to visit Tom. When Kim and I married in Connecticut in the fall of 2021, Tom insisted we hold our Marshall reception on the Oak Hill terrace, then pushed beyond his growing infirmities to join the group, hold court and converse in happy fashion for hours — and then insisted on having Kim and I join him in the house for another round of conversation and drinks. He loved to have us there, and we loved him in return. “A lovely, naughty, joyful man” is how Kim describes him. I agree entirely, especially considering the joy Tom always seemed to crave and create.

We didn’t want to let that go. Biweekly phone calls helped us catch up with him, and vice versa, and although we knew he was growing weaker, we always were encouraged by his dreams. He’d talk about a trip he’d like to make, or someone he’d like to visit or see. His hopefulness was unending and his drive to do just one more thing nearly inexhaustible. That’s why, even now, I can’t let Tom go. He’ll always be there in my mind, a vital, loving star in a stellar decade, etching a powerful and happy memory that can't be erased.

Obituary and service information

John Sherwood

March 25, 2022

March 2022: Oaklawn auction will go virtual

IN THE PHOTO: Cindy Lake (left), Oaklawn’s development coordinator, and Jenna Ellis, Oaklawn’s development manager, are shown with just a few of the items up for bid during the 32nd annual Oaklawn Benefit Auction, to be conducted online March 17-25. 

During March 2022, MysteryVisits Communications provided this press release on behalf of Oaklawn ...

~ Oaklawn's second virtual benefit auction goes online from March 17 to 25 ~ 

MARSHALL, Michigan – For the second year, Oaklawn volunteers and staffers are keeping a longtime tradition alive by bringing community supporters together online for their 32nd annual Benefit Auction. 

The health-care organization's “Feelin’ Lucky” auction – a response to the global coronavirus pandemic – promises to keep all its participants safe and healthy even as it raises money to purchase two new Dräger medical ventilators for the hospital. 

To achieve that goal, volunteers hope to collect at least $75,000 as online bidders compete for hundreds of items that already have been donated for the virtual auction, including trips, event and show tickets, memorabilia, specialty products, services, and gift certificates. 

The auction is to begin at 9 a.m. Thursday, March 17, and continue until 1 p.m. Friday, March 25. The event will be accessible at oaklawnhospital.org/benefit-auction, where visitors already may view a “how-to” video explaining the auction process, purchase raffle tickets and make donations. 

While no live auction is planned, a new video will be featured each day of the event, said Jenna Ellis, Oaklawn's development manager. These also may be viewed on Oaklawn’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/oaklawnauction. Some activities will be featured as they happen, including silent-auction previews and raffle draws as the auction concludes.

To encourage participation and donations, all entry fees are being waived this year.

“More people than ever now will be able to join us and help our cause,” Ellis said. “We’re encouraging donors to use the money they typically would spend on their entry ticket instead on our great raffles and many silent-auction items.” 

Those with questions about the event may contact Ellis at (269) 789-7494 or  jlellis@oaklawnhospital.com. 

Two raffles will be conducted, sponsored by BluFish Consulting of Marshall and the Marshall Community Credit Union. Tickets will be sold individually for $10, six for $50 and 13 for $100. Two winners are to be selected at 12:30 p.m. Friday, March 25, and they may select one of three prizes, which include: 

– An “outdoor luxury package” valued at $2,710, featuring a 33-inch Breeo Luxeve Fire Pit, two YETI brand basecamp chairs and a BluFish-branded RTIC cooler.

– Equipment for a “virtual game night,” valued at $2,380 and including a 50-inch Samsung "The Frame" television screen, a 32-inch Arcade 1Up Infinity Game Table, an Oculus Quest 2 virtual-reality set and a JBL Flip 5 speaker.

– A $1,500 check made out to the winner.

Packages donated by individuals and regional businesses for the silent auction include an array of specialty products, services and gift certificates.

“As always, we’re deeply grateful to all those who’ve worked so hard to bring these donations together,” Ellis said. “It's another demonstration of how people throughout our community turn out to support each other in times of need.”

Donated and especially prepared items already in hand include:

– A 50-ticket party package to the Budweiser Dog House at a Battle Creek Battle Jacks baseball game at C.O. Brown Stadium, including food and five beverage tabs.

– A 25-ticket party package at Bell’s Beer Cave at a Kalamazoo Growlers baseball game at Mayors Riverside Park in Kalamazoo, including food and four beverage tickets.

– Two tickets to musical superstar Elton John’s show on April 5 at Van Angel Arena in Grand Rapids, donated by NN Inc. Autocam.

– A football autographed by former quarterback Jim Harbaugh, head coach of the Michigan Wolverines and current Michigan head coach. 

– A full membership at The Medalist Golf Club and Banquet Facility, including golf, cart and range access, donated by The Medalist. 

– A two-night vacation stay at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, California, including a $500 Visa gift card provided by AirWay to supplement air fare and/or travel expenses.

– Four tickets to the MOS-Xerox Suite at Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit for the Red Wings vs. Ottawa Senators game April 12. The package valued at $1,000 includes food and beverages.

– A “do it yourself vacation package” valued at $500, donated by Air-Way Manufacturing. It includes an AirBnB gift card and a Visa gift card to supplement air fare and other travel expenses.

A favorite vacation package offered again this year is a seven-day stay in England for two people, valued at $3,000, donated by Marshall resident Tom Franke, who has contributed similar excursions to the auction in past years. 

Franke said past winners were delighted by the visit to a part of the United Kingdom they’d never before considered.

That package may be split between two Abacus Hotels – the LeStrange Arms Hotel in Old Hunstanton and the Knight’s Hill Hotel near King’s Lynn. Both are in the English county of Norfolk. With an extension, the trip may be scheduled after the global pandemic lifts.

Over the years, Oaklawn's annual auctions have raised more than $2 million to provide patient assistance and purchase clinical equipment for direct patient care. 

February 2022: Bower-Nelson joins Oaklawn

During February 2022, MysteryVisits Communications provided the following press release on behalf of Oaklawn. ...

~ Physician assistant Alexandria Bower-Nelson joins Oaklawn’s pain management office ~ 

MARSHALL – While growing up in Traverse City, Alexandria Bower-Nelson often found herself drawn to caregiving roles, frequently volunteering at long-term are facilities. But she didn’t imagine having her own medical career someday.

“Instead, I dreamed of being an advertising executive and going off to Los Angeles,” she said. Her early focus lay in the direction of management and business, and she even studied for a time in London and Paris. 

However, while in her early 20s, her views changed significantly when the prospect of a successful professional life in the field of medicine suggested itself.

The result is that Bower-Nelson now is an experienced physician assistant working alongside Timothy Kwiecien, M.D., and Matthew Ralph, D.O. at Oaklawn Medical Group — Pain Management. The office is situated in Suite 2C of the Wright Medical Building at 215 E Mansion St., and appointments may be made by calling (269) 789-4386. 

Bower-Nelson said she always has associated the realm of healthcare with comfort and familiarity. 

“My parents worked at Munson Healthcare in nonclinical roles,” she said. “After school, my sister and I would take the bus and wait in the hospital cafeteria for my parents to get off work. We were very comfortable there.” 

Despite that familiarity, Bower-Nelson continued to pursue her initial business goals even while helping out as a volunteer at local nursing homes. 

“It was always easy for me to talk to people and be outgoing,” she said. 

After graduation from St. Francis High School in Traverse City, Bower-Nelson earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Midland-based Northwood University in 2010. She went on to earn a master of business administration degree in management from the university’s DeVos Graduate School in 2011. 

Meanwhile, Bower-Nelson’s younger sister was pursuing her own interests, derived from her talents in math and science. Those skills led her toward medical school, where she now is completing her residency. 

“Just seeing her go through that and sharing her experiences, I became more interested myself,” Bower-Nelson said. “I left my business job, took an entry-level position in phlebotomy and discovered that I loved being on the clinical side of things.”

After a recruiter suggested Bower-Nelson’s background in management training would serve her well as a medical provider, she enrolled in Dallas, Pennsylvania-based Misericordia University, graduating in 2020 with a master of science degree in physician assistant studies.

Bower-Nelson comes to Oaklawn from Novi-based Theoria Medical Group, where she served its skilled nursing facility as a physician assistant. Her clinical experience includes emergency medicine, women’s health, pediatrics, family medicine, psychiatry, internal medicine and general surgery. 

Bower-Nelson and her husband, Matthew Nelson, reside in Portage. They married in 2017 and are the parents of 1-year-old twins, a boy and a girl. 

“We love to spend time on lakes up north — Lake Michigan and Torch Lake,” she said. “We enjoy boating, exploring lighthouses and waterfalls and looking for new walking trails.” The couple also enjoy playing board games, including complex ones involving strategy and resource planning. 

Bower-Nelson is particularly pleased to be joining a health-care organization such as Oaklawn.

“If you need to speak to someone here, you can walk up the stairs and talk to them face-to-face,” she said. “That’s not something you get much anymore.”

Despite Oaklawn’s relatively small size, patients also can expect exceptional service at Oaklawn, she said.

“Oaklawn is on the cutting edge in many ways, including my own field of pain management,” she said. 

January 2022: Oaklawn's first birth of 2022

During January 2022, MysteryVisits Communications provided the following press release on behalf of Oaklawn. ...

~ Marshall couple’s second child is Oaklawn's first birth of 2022 ~ 

MARSHALL, Michigan  – Oaklawn's first baby of 2022 is Kailani Zoe Rodriguez, born at 2:48 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 1, in the Oaklawn Birth Center. The child is the daughter of Lyann Vega-Santiago and Kevin Rodriguez, both of Marshall. 

Little Kailani weighed 7 pounds and 3 ounces at birth, and measured 18½ inches long, Oaklawn’s nursing staff reported. 

The child is the second baby for the couple, who learned of Oaklawn’s reputation for newborn care while researching the subject on the internet.

“Everything was good” about the experience at the Birth Center, according to Kailani’s mother. “We appreciated the nurses and the staff, who helped us so much.” 

The hospital staff presented the family with a gift basket containing items for the child and family. Included were a baby blanket and swaddle blankets, outfits and shoes for the baby, a crib sheet, a candle, a package of teething items, wipes, books, a musical toy and items to help the parents mark their child’s milestones. 

Oaklawn's renovated Birth Center opened in 2012. Based on the number of deliveries since then, staff expect to welcome about 650 newborns during 2022.

At Oaklawn, a new mother remains in one comfortable, homelike room from labor through the time she takes her baby home. Each of the 11 private rooms for labor, delivery, recovery and post-partum care is decorated in soft colors and features a private bathroom and shower, a rocking chair and other amenities to make the mother and baby feel at ease. 

Oaklawn's infant security system allows the nursing team to monitor the location of each baby in the Birth Center, which is a locked unit monitored by staff members. 

Experienced obstetrical nurses are always prepared to answer questions or respond to any need, and can provide information about natural relaxation, breathing techniques and pain medication. The Birth Center also offers pre-natal and childbirth education classes.

For additional information about the Oaklawn Birth Center and its services, go to www.oaklawnhospital.org or call (269) 789-3929.

December 2021: Dr. Neidlinger to retire

During December 2021, MysteryVisits Communications provided this press release on behalf of Oaklawn ... 

~ Thomas Neidlinger, M.D., to retire after more than 43 years of medical practice ~ 

MARSHALL, Michigan — After more than four decades of service to patients throughout the region, Thomas Neidlinger, M.D., is to retire from his family medical practice at the end of December, Neidlinger and Oaklawn officials have announced.  

Appointments scheduled with Neidlinger after Dec. 31 will be cancelled. Patients may call Dr. Erin Rockwell, D.O., at Oaklawn Medical Group – Marshall Primary Care, or another Oaklawn Medical Group provider, to establish care as a new patient.

Dr. Jamie Longhurst, D.O., Neidlinger’s associate at Neidlinger Family Practice since early 2019, is transitioning into private practice. Appointments scheduled with Longhurst after Dec. 31 also are being cancelled and may be rescheduled after her practice opens in 2022. 

Patients with walk-in needs are being directed to Oaklawn After Hours Express at 1174 W. Michigan Ave. during that facility’s regular hours — 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

“Dr. Neidlinger’s service to Oaklawn and the Marshall community is legendary,” said Gregg Beeg, Oaklawn’s president and CEO. “We’ve long been proud of our professional association and we wish him well in his retirement.”

Neidlinger, the senior member of Oaklawn’s medical staff, has been long recognized for his focus on professional medical excellence. In 2012, Neidlinger was designated Oaklawn’s Physician of the Year, the second physician so honored. He has served on the Oaklawn Board of Directors and on the Marshall Board of Education while remaining active as a community volunteer. 

In the years since Neidlinger joined Oaklawn in mid-1978, he has delivered an estimated 3,000 babies — sometimes in the hospital’s emergency room, once in a hospital elevator and once in an automobile in the hospital’s parking lot, he said. 

“They just come when they want,” Neidlinger said with a chuckle, admitting that living just three blocks from the hospital made it easier at times to be on the scene when needed.

“Often I wouldn’t even drive down there,” he said. “It was almost quicker to run.”

Neidlinger completed undergraduate studies at Michigan State University and earned his medical degree from the University of Michigan. He completed his family-practice residency at the Grand Rapids Medical Education Center and is certified by the American Board of Family Practice. In recent years, Neidlinger Family Practice has occupied Suite 2A in the Wright Medical Building. 

Neidlinger and his wife, Darlene — a nurse trained in her native Muskegon — met in 1975 as medical professionals in a Grand Rapids emergency room. When they married in early 1978, one of the wedding guests was Rob Covert, Oaklawn’s former chief executive officer and president, who was actively seeking physicians to come to Marshall. 

“Rob was energetic, persuasive and very helpful,” Neidlinger recalled. “We had looked at several locations but Marshall really seemed to want us.” 

Neidlinger credited Covert for convincing the young physician and his wife of two months to make the move, adding that the community’s own attributes played a significant role. 

Neidlinger was born in Tecumseh, raised in Onsted and had been a resident of rural Jackson. As a result, he said, Marshall felt familiar and a good fit.

“I liked the size of the community — the friendliness and wholesomeness. And, of course, the historical background was appealing,” Neidlinger said.

“The hospital was in need of a family-practice base,” Covert recalled. “Fortunately, (the Neidlingers) liked the environment of Marshall — the beautiful downtown and the small-town atmosphere, and they saw an opportunity here.”

“I’d been hesitant, not knowing anyone” in the town, Darlene Neidlinger said. “But we got an amazing welcome from the community and the hospital had a lot to do with that. Along with my work with (Calhoun County) Visiting Nurse Service, that made it a lot easier and helped me to acclimate to the move.”

Forty-three years after the Neidlingers settled in Marshall, Covert expressed his personal congratulations to the physician on his retirement.

“He has had a wonderful career that benefited his patients, the town and the hospital,” Covert said. “He helped us establish a high standard of quality — out of the gate and over time. He demonstrated that quality himself and insisted on it from other physicians, and he and his family have been a wonderful addition to the community.”

Such assessments as Beeg’s and Covert’s stem from the Neidlingers’ range of effort —as individuals and as a couple — extending beyond their professional work to their volunteer service.

Darlene Neidlinger became an active member of the Oaklawn Auxiliary and served as its president. She said the couple’s focus on their children — all now grown — led them toward involvement in varied activities beyond the hospital.

“We put down roots,” Tom Neidlinger said. “This is where our four children were born and educated. It’s been a great town to raise kids. They had a good education and they were safe.” 

Those activities included service on the Marshall Public Schools Board of Education — which each served as president — as well as leadership with local Cub Scouts, coordinating travel for local sports teams, helping with blood drives and board and committee service with the Marshall Community Foundation and Marshall Historical Society. 

“What I did was for my family and for my kids,” Darlene Neidlinger said. “The hospital was vital for the health of the community, but my biggest joy was serving on the school board, where I felt I could make a real difference. Whatever our kids were doing, that’s what Tom and I wanted to be a part of.”

Tom Neidlinger said he’ll learn eventually what’s in store for him in retirement.

“I’ll go to the gym, I hope,” he said. “We also hope to travel and see our children and grandchildren. I’d like to see the beautiful country out West and see what’s out East, too. Once things settle, maybe I can find a volunteer gig.” 

Darlene Neidlinger won’t disclose all of the plans she has for her husband in retirement, but suggested there might be some chores for him around their house and garden.

“We’ll be doing some things together,” she said. “And we’ll always consider ourselves part of the Marshall community.” 

November 2021: Renewed anti-virus effort urged

During November 2021, MysteryVisits Communications provided this press release on behalf of Oaklawn ... 

~ Overwhelmed by pandemic, Oaklawn officials urge renewed community effort ~ 

MARSHALL, Michigan – Medical staff at Oaklawn and nearby hospitals are facing burnout and insufficient patient beds even as they strive to provide care to afflicted COVID-19 patients while the pandemic continues in Michigan.

"Our emergency department and nursing supervision teams have been sounding the alarm the past few weeks," said J. Summer Liston-Crandall, M.D., Oaklawn's chief medical officer. "It has been incredibly difficult to transfer patients requiring higher levels of care to other hospitals in the region."

"We are pulling staff from other departments when able to help assist with the emergencies and COVID-19 patients at the hospital," said Theresa Dawson, Oaklawn's chief nursing officer. "Our hospitalists are rounding in the emergency department when they can to help care for patients being boarded because of a lack of available beds. Other hospitals are not accepting transfers because of the volume at their own facility."

Liston-Crandall and Dawson expect to meet with leaders of other regional hospitals to develop a coordinated plan for such transfers.

In recent days, regional healthcare coalitions have renewed a statewide effort to urge Michigan residents to join the fight against the virus.

Members of Oaklawn's senior leadership team, including President and CEO Gregg Beeg, have been working with Region 5 representatives to shape a regional strategy focusing on the COVID-19 surge. Calhoun is one of nine southwestern counties that make up the Michigan trauma network designated as Region 5; the others are Allegan, Barry, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch.

"The largest and most distressing challenge we are experiencing is getting patients appropriate care," said Allison Field, D.O., who serves as medical director of Oaklawn's emergency department and after-hours clinics.

"Our volume is at record high rates and we are doing our best to provide everyone with the best care possible," she added.

Just prior to Thanksgiving, Oaklawn's medical staff admitted record high numbers of COVID-19 patients to the hospital. The highest number of such patients – 20 – was recorded Nov. 22, Dawson said.

"The week before in Calhoun County, there was an average of 129 new positive cases each day," she said.

"All surrounding hospitals are full, so if a patient has needs that exceed the resources Oaklawn can provide, we have difficulty getting them transferred to a higher level of care," Field said. "This leads to extended patient stays in the emergency department as well as longer wait times, as we have only so many beds in the emergency department."

Oaklawn officials are further alarmed by the prospect that the pandemic's scope could lead to a reduction in medical staff.

"Our staff are exhausted and burned out," Beeg said. "We need the community's help to alleviate the current surge and to prevent future surges. Some staff are choosing to leave the industry altogether and vacant job openings are proving difficult to fill. Less staff and higher patient volume leads to stress on the system."

Oaklawn medical staff stressed that community members can assist the effort. Calhoun County's vaccination rate was reported as 48.4 percent on Nov. 22, Beeg said – a figure he described as extremely low.

"Our community needs to educate themselves on the benefits of getting a COVID-19 vaccine," he said. "The majority of COVID-19 patients needing hospitalization or dying are unvaccinated individuals. Many of these hospitalizations and deaths could be avoided had the patients been vaccinated."

"Even though we have seen breakthrough cases, vaccinated individuals are much less symptomatic and less likely to require hospitalization than those who are not," Field said.

Proper masking of the nose and mouth also helps prevent the transmission of disease, she said.

About a dozen medical staff members comprise Oaklawn's incident-command group, which meets twice weekly to focus on COVID-related challenges, and a vaccine committee meets weekly to discuss community-education issues, Beeg said.

"There are so many ongoing efforts to combat this virus and everyone is working diligently in their respective role to aid in efforts," he said. "The lesson is that getting vaccinated, wearing a mask, washing hands and social distancing can help alleviate the stress on the hospitals regionally."

Additional information is available online at oaklawnhospital.org/covid-dashboard.