Finally, we are on our way to a real spring and summer. It’s late April as I write this and, as recently as the significant snow storm two weeks ago, I had my doubts spring would come. Reports indicated we received anywhere from 20 to 30 inches of the white stuff over a three-day period.
Normally when I write this article I try to cover a few different topics that I think might be of interest. This time, however, I’d only like to touch on one. That being the U.P. Health Systems new $300M plus hospital. You see, we just finished a tour of the new facility with members of the City Commission, the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and City staff and it was nothing but impressive.
It’s impressive in size, technology, logistics and efficiency, but what really struck me were the services. We have all become very comfortable with a hospital in our community as we’ve had at least one for decades. Maybe, in some ways, too comfortable because the truth is, under the current healthcare model, this kind of hospital with these kinds of services in a city like Marquette are not the norm. In other words, we are fortunate.
You are more likely to see this type of facility and services in a less remote, more metropolitan area. Although we do have most, if not all, of these services now, we are going to have the most advanced technology available, attached to a more efficient process, all wrapped up in a state of the art building. From my information, which I consider the reliable kind, this will all be supported by a high-quality staff. I can personally vouch for the staff because of recent experiences that support the fact that they are nothing but the best.
In other words, as a community we are very fortunate to live in an area where an entity like U.P. Health Systems is willing to provide a service that is not available to many other areas in this country. I, for one, am thankful that they are here and I hope you will join me in giving them the support that they need. If not, I’m quite sure they will earn it.