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Inside the new Okemos Health and Rehabilitation Center, there is work to be done.

"We cater to those that are discharged from the hospital, not ready to be home yet," explains Tom Ellis, the director of provider relations for Extendicare, the facility's parent company.

While they're busy hammering out the details of the state of the art facility, one thing is crystal clear: hundreds of new jobs are coming to Mid-Michigan.

"We're staffing 120 employees here," Ellis says. "That's anything from administration, a full nursing staff, maintenance, housekeeping."

Not to mention the local services the center will rely on. Ellis cites everything from landscaping, to food services, to labs. Plus, the construction crews already hard at work, and grateful to be on the job.

"It's a great opportunity," says Brian Harder, part owner of Pro-Line Construction, Inc. "The amount of work in a facility of this size is quite extensive. So not only do folks get to come to a job to work, but they're going to be there for somewhat of a long term."

To fill the staff positions, Extendicare is turning to Capital Area Michigan Works.

"We are assisting them in filling positions ranging from the entry level positions to the management level positions of the facility," explains Julianne Rose, Executive Directory of the Capital Health Care and Employment Council.

"It's great news," Rose says. "And we hope to see the trend continue."

Though Extendicare's new facility is just trimming the unemployment problem, you could call the step in the right direction part of the master plan.

"It's definitely a bright spot," says Ellis. "With the economy in the condition that it's in, anything that's bringing 200 jobs to Lansing, is great thing."

To apply for a job at the Okemos Health and Rehabilitation Center, go to the Capital Area Michigan Works Service Center at 2110 S. Cedar St..

Or, for more information, call Extendicare at 866-952-7126.

Extendicare is currently accepting applications and will begin hiring in April.

MSU, Sparrow, build alliance to spur jobs, training
Barbara Wieland • This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it • February 24, 2009 • From Lansing State Journal

A new alliance between Michigan State University and Sparrow Health System could lead to more jobs and local health care options in mid-Michigan.

The affiliation agreement the university and the Lansing-based operator of Sparrow Hospital announced Monday at the Sparrow Professional Building aims to recruit more medical specialists to the area. MSU and Sparrow also will look for ways the hospital and the university's medical and nursing schools can collaborate.

Sparrow and MSU already have partnerships, but there hasn't been a coordinated effort to develop more of them.

Officials from Sparrow and MSU said the agreement will lead to an expansion of medical research, and clinical and teaching programs in the area.

"We'll see MSU and Sparrow working together more frequently as we go forward," said Dennis Swan, president and chief executive officer of Sparrow.

"What this agreement does is put (the hospital and university) on the same team," MSU President Lou Ann Simon said.

Under the agreement, MSU and Sparrow Hospital also will work together to raise funds to recruit and keep doctors in specialties that are underrepresented in the area. Those specialties include pediatric surgery and pediatric orthopedics.

The emphasis on research will increase, too. MSU and Sparrow will intensify efforts in medical and nursing research, as well as clinical trials.

The affiliation announced Monday has its roots in MSU's decision five years ago to move part of its medical teaching to Grand Rapids.

At the time, the university urged Lansing area hospitals to step up medical education programs.

While the idea of an alliance has been talked about previously, territorialism kept the institutions apart in past decades, said Dr. Dawn Springer, chief of Sparrow's medical staff.

'More collegial'

"Now, there's a more collegial atmosphere," she said. "You've got two strong institutions that are doing well on their own combining forces to provide care and outreach to the people of mid-Michigan."

The collaboration will help attract physicians to the area, Simon said.

"A lot of times, a physician will also want to be an adjunct professor or do research," she said. "This will give them more options to do that here."

And that will help people who live in and around Lansing, Springer said.

For example, she said, ear, nose and throat specialists are underrepresented in mid-Michigan.

With the alliance between Sparrow and MSU in place, it may become easier to draw those types of physicians.

In come cases, residents might not have to travel to the University of Michigan Hospital or the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for specialized health care.

Job creation

As more medical practices are created locally, jobs would be created. Paraprofessionals and office staffers would be needed to help run new clinics.

And as medical students graduate from MSU, there also would be more opportunities for them to find work in mid-Michigan, rather than having to move to other areas to find employment.

Also, paraprofessionals such as nurse's aides may find it easier to return to MSU to receive more training and move to higher paying jobs because of the alliance, said Julianne Rose, executive director of the Capital Area Healthcare and Employment Council.

"Anytime you have a collaboration at this level, it makes for a smoother transition between education and employment," Rose said.