MidMichigan Health announced on Friday the Hospital Board of Trustees of War Memorial Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie agreed to enter into a nonbinding letter of intent with the health system.

Meanwhile, MidMichigan is 10 months into the construction of a new patient tower at its Alpena location and is planning for a new cancer center to be constructed at its Midland location.

MidMichigan Health President and CEO Diane Postler-Slattery said the northern region was identified in its strategic planning process as a potential growth strategy for the health system.

Postler-Slattery said when a health system grows, there is better synergy in the areas of access to health care, quality of care, and lowering the cost of health care. She also said it allows the health system to offer more services closer to home.

Courtesy Photo A rendering of the $61.5 million Comprehensive Cancer Center planned for MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland was shared by MidMichigan Health on Monday. The rendering was drafted by architects Hord Coplan Macht.

“Part of MidMichigan Health’s philosophy is we really don’t want patients to have to travel for their care,” she said. “Obviously we can’t do that for every aspect of care, but for the care that can be provided close to home, that’s our desire.”

There are also other benefits to being part of a health system that is growing, Postler-Slattery said, such as it being easier to recruit and retain the appropriate physicians and staff.

Postler-Slattery said the hospital is focusing on five areas of expansion including cancer care, cardiac care, mental health service, neurosciences and orthopedics. She said those five areas have been identified as growth opportunities both statewide and nationwide.

MidMichigan Health announced in March a plan to construct a $61.5 million, 115,000 square foot Comprehensive Cancer Center at its Midland hospital.

Postler-Slattery said the cancer center would be designed like MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland’s Heart and Vascular Center, so that services could be brought together for patients.

“Bringing all of those services into one area in our health system allows people to have one-stop health care,” she said. “That’s the same concept with our cancer center. It is a facility that will also expand some of the current services that we offer.”

MidMichigan Health is waiting on the Michigan Department of Community Health to approve its certificate of need before the project can begin and construction can begin in the spring of 2022.

A $63.5 million patient tower at MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena is also underway, and Postler-Slattery said the project is on track and on budget to open in 2022.

“It’s been a challenging year for health care, but there’s also bright spots and building partnerships like we did with Alpena and like we’re talking about with War Memorial, is just kind of the exciting part of health care where we’re all coming together to deliver patient care closer to home,” she said.

MidMichigan Health is headquartered in Midland and covers a 23-county region with medical centers in Alpena, Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot, Midland, Mt. Pleasant, and West Branch. The health system also includes urgent care centers, home health, virtual care, physicians, and medical offices in more than 30 specialties and subspecialties.

Crystal Nelson can be reached at 989-358-5687 or cnelson@thealpenanews.com.