Therapeutic Healing Gardens a powerful union of nature, science
Therapeutic garden spaces will nurture an atmosphere of maximum healing in body, mind and spirit on Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital’s Grand Rapids campus. The Mary Free Bed Foundation’s Therapeutic Healing Gardens project includes six separate gardens around campus that will greet visitors and provide healing spaces for patients. “A garden is more than just […]
20 tips for a healthy Thanksgiving
For many, November kicks off the holiday season. Thanksgiving (Nov. 24) is a time to be grateful for all you have and continue to work for. (And also a time to eat more turkey in one day than you do all year.) You can enjoy Thanksgiving and stick to your wellness goals. Jessi Boehme, MS, a […]
Couple’s generosity helps patients achieve independence
Steele and Mary Taylor are long-time advocates of Mary Free Bed and have made substantial contributions over the years that have helped thousands of patients achieve independence. Steele served as a member of the first community Mary Free Bed Board of Trustees when it was formed in 1965 and led fundraising efforts for construction of […]
Parade a tricked-out Halloween treat for pediatric patients
Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital teamed with Grand Valley State University engineering students, Owen-Ames-Kimball commercial construction company, the Grand Rapids Police Department, various community volunteers and Grand Rapids parents Chris and Jane Weatherford to make magnificent memories this Halloween for young patients in wheelchairs. Over the years, Chris and Jane have transformed their 9-year-old son […]
Nurses devoted to rehabilitation form West Michigan ARN chapter
Grand Rapids, Mich. – The West Michigan Association of Rehabilitation Nurses is celebrating the launch of its new chapter with a kickoff event on Thursday, Oct. 27 at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital. The chapter, one of 48 nationwide and the only one in West Michigan, joins the professional healthcare association dedicated to promoting and […]
Otsego Memorial Hospital joins Mary Free Bed Network
Grand Rapids, Mich. – Otsego Memorial Hospital and Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital have signed an agreement that supports enhancing rehabilitation care for patients in northern Michigan. Otsego Memorial Hospital has joined the Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Network, an innovative alliance of hospitals and providers throughout Michigan. The network, established in 2011, extends Mary Free […]
Grocery store tours: An expert’s guide to trimming costs, calories from your cart
With tens of thousands of food products available in most grocery stores, it’s good to have a grocery shopping game plan before you hit the aisles. A grocery store tour with a nutrition expert is one way to learn how to fill your cart with balanced meals and healthy snacks. Jessi Boehme (pictured below), a […]
Safety precautions can help prevent ‘life-altering’ injuries from tree stand falls
Hunting is a tradition for many Michigan families and can be rewarding and fun when the proper safety precautions are taken. Each fall, Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital provides rehabilitation to hunters injured while hunting, mostly in falls from elevated tree stands. Such falls are often very serious and can result in multiple trauma, complete […]
Mary Free Bed celebrates grand re-opening of hospital
Grand Rapids, Mich. — Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital celebrated its grand re-opening on Thursday, Oct. 13 in a ceremony attended by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss, Sen. Peter MacGregor and Mary Free Bed Guild members, trustees, staff, patients and friends. “For more than a century, Mary Free Bed has demonstrated […]
I have never underestimated my father or anybody else with a disability’
Guest blog: Nicholas Besta, 17, and his family know first-hand what living with a disability is like. That’s why they participate in Mary Free Bed’s peer support mentoring program, which is designed to give patients and their families access to people with injuries similar to their own. Nicholas, whose father, Pat, has used a wheelchair […]
Allan Kozlowski named new Director of Outcomes Research at Mary Free Bed, joins MSU College of Human Medicine Faculty
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Allan Kozlowski will lead outcomes research in the John F. Butzer Center for Research & Innovation at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital. The role is a joint appointment by Mary Free Bed and Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. Kozlowski also will serve as an assistant professor in the MSU […]
Experts share easy, healthy snack ideas for fall
Expert blog: Jessi Boehme, MS, RDN, is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist at Mary Free Bed. She and other members of the Mary Free Bed nutrition team offer tasty snack ideas for fall. Autumn is upon us. School is in full swing, flannel-wearing is at an all-time-high and we’re savoring those last hot, sunny days. As we […]
Massive blown-glass installation fills Mary Free Bed atrium
Grand Rapids, Mich. – Art plays an important role in the healing process, and Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital has an ArtPrize entry designed to glow with positive, intense energy. “Bloom” is the work of Jerry Catania, a Benton Harbor, Mich., artist. The glass and metal three-dimensional piece was created as a permanent installation inside […]
Three physiatrists join Mary Free Bed Medical Group
Grand Rapids, Mich. — Mary Free Bed Medical Group is pleased to announce the addition of three physiatrists to its team of rehabilitation specialists: Dr. Elizabeth Spaulding, Dr. Colleen Sullivan and Dr. Michael Wheaton. “The Mary Free Bed Medical Group is thrilled that these talented physicians have joined what has become one of the most […]
West Michigan Whitecaps visit Mary Free Bed
Four members of the West Michigan Whitecaps, the Class A Affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, visited Mary Free Bed on Thursday, Sept. 1, to the joy of pediatric and adult patients alike. Catcher Shane Zeile along with pitchers Sandy Baez, Mark Ecker and Beau Burrows posed for pictures, signed autographs and talked baseball with patients […]
Lindsay Jensen makes ‘incredible’ progress after spinal cord injury: ‘I want to get better for my daughter’
Lindsay Jensen’s daughter was just four months old when Lindsay was involved in a January 2015 car accident that left her with a severe spinal cord injury requiring weeks of hospitalization and months of rehabilitation. In September, Kenleigh will turn 2, and Lindsay will be home to celebrate with her. Little Kenleigh is Lindsay’s biggest […]
Fall into autumn with a colorful and delicious fall salad recipe
Expert blog: Jessi Boehme, MS, RDN, is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist at Mary Free Bed. Below she offers expert advice — and a tasty recipe! — to help you prepare for the upcoming seasonal shift. Are you ready to start saying goodbye to summer? I am not so sure about the farewells, but I’m ready for autumn […]
Mary Free Bed goes for gold with hospital Olympics
The Olympic spirit is strong at Mary Free Bed, where staff were invited to join in the first-ever Mary Free Bed Olympics held this week to coincide with the final week of the official 2016 games, to conclude Sunday in Rio de Janeiro. More than 140 “Olympians” participated in games throughout the week and 27 medals […]
Sasha Duval stands, walks for first time at Mary Free Bed
UPDATE: Sasha’s story has been reported by media near her Iowa hometown, including the Marion Times (A Family’s Blessing) and KCRG-TV9 (Teen lives out lifelong dream of walking). The TV station provided the story to its affiliates, and it has been shared by stations across 21 states. Guest blog: Sherrie Duval and her husband, James, […]
Mary Free Bed Guild honored by Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Mary Free Bed Guild, which is marking its 125th anniversary, will be inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame, which promotes women’s equality by honoring their history and celebrating their accomplishments. The Mary Free Bed Guild was founded in 1891 when a small group of Grand Rapids women established […]
Teen injured in snowplow accident makes great strides
Loren Kroll said she was going to miss her team at Mary Free Bed when she graduated Aug. 4. The teenager, who was struck by a snowplow in January while waiting for the school bus, was critically injured and hospitalized for five months before coming to Mary Free Bed in May for rehabilitation. Loren sustained […]
Rec therapy team gets creative with adaptive tree climbing
Every patient who comes to Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital is different. Also unique is what each patient enjoys doing. That’s why Mary Free Bed’s recreational therapy team works to individualize activities catered to each patient’s interests that promote rehabilitation, wellness and independence. Newberry, Mich. native Charles Wallace came to Mary Free Bed in 2010 for […]
Fun, fitness reign at Junior Wheelchair Sports Camp
Charles McDonald first attended Mary Free Bed Jr. Wheelchair Sports Camp in 2002 as a camper. This year, he served as an instructor. More than 50 campers with disabilities participated in the July 25-29 camp at Grand Valley State University in Allendale. The free event offers kids of all ability levels and ages the opportunity […]
Jodi (Mata) Scott tackles adversity with hope, determination
Loss is a word Jodi (Mata) Scott knows all too well. In the span of three years, she lost three people she loved dearly: her mother, boyfriend and best friend. During that time, Jodi also lost all of her fingers and thumbs in a 2013 fire that destroyed her childhood home in Harrison, Mich. “It’s […]
OrthoSEAT team members’ story on mobility selected for cover of Rehab Management
Congratulations to OrthoSEAT team leader Cara Masselink and Matt Lefevre, a physical therapist in the program, for their cover story in the July/August edition of Rehab Management magazine. Their piece, “Mobility Technology: Only as Good as the Training” discusses how matching mobility technologies to user need is essential for comfort and function, and to enable […]
Ghost Inside drummer Andrew Tkaczyk reunites with bandmates for first time since crash at Alternative Press Music Awards
Andrew Tkaczyk is walking. He’s also driving and playing drums, things the 28-year-old could only hope for after being seriously injured in a crash eight months ago. Andrew, drummer for Los Angeles-based metalcore band The Ghost Inside, spent five weeks as an inpatient at Mary Free Bed after their tour bus was involved in a head-on […]
Iraqi boy injured in missile attack returns to Mary Free Bed for new prosthesis
On April 28, 2008, just before his fifth birthday, Hamzah Al-Daeni was playing in his yard in Baghdad, Iraq, when a U.S. missile struck nearby. He was hit by shrapnel and injured so severely that he lost part of his stomach and his right leg had to be amputated. Two years later, traveling with his […]
Little Gemma finds strength to battle hypotonia, ‘courage’ to try new things
Gemma was 1 year old when she started outpatient therapy at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital for hypotonia, a condition that weakens the muscles, making it difficult to sit, stand or walk. As part of her therapy, pediatric physical therapist Kate Rustem has used Kinesio Taping to facilitate core muscle stability. “We use it to […]
UPDATED: Mary Free Bed Alumna Pam Buschle, Queen of GRIT
UPDATE: Mary Free Bed alumna Pam Buschle has made great strides since she was an inpatient at Mary Free Bed. The East Grand Rapids resident, who recently served as grand marshal for the city’s annual Fourth of July Celebration (sponsored by the city and Mary Free Bed to mark their 125th anniversaries), appeared on WOOD-TV’s […]
Mary Free Bed alumnus Bryan Barten heading to Paralympics in Rio
Bryan Barten will be the first to tell you he’s an athlete. And actually, he is a top athlete. In September, he will represent the United States at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. Barten, 42, a Hart, Mich., native who now lives in Tucson, Ariz., is one of the best wheelchair tennis players in […]