Posted on September 6, 2019
Mary Free Bed continues impact on rehabilitative care with full accreditation of PM&R Residency
GRAND RAPIDS – Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital’s role as an innovative, academic institution got another boost when it received full accreditation of its Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency Program. This opens the door for Mary Free Bed to impact another dimension of rehabilitative care.
“Mary Free Bed has been a pioneer in rehabilitation for over a century,” said Dr. Michael Jakubowski, chief medical officer at Mary Free Bed. “We’re now positioned to advance a vital component of the future of rehabilitation medicine by educating tomorrow’s specialists in the field.”
The post-graduate PM&R training program was awarded Continued Accreditation status from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education’s Review Committee for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. The rigorous accreditation process, which confirms Mary Free Bed’s compliance with hundreds of ACGME standards, included multiple on-site visits to the hospital’s Grand Rapids campus.
ACGME is a Chicago-based non-profit organization that sets quality standards for U.S. medical residency and fellowship programs and the organizations that sponsor them. ACGME also renders accreditation decisions based on compliance with those standards.
“This designation enables us to develop fellowships in rehabilitation subspecialties and to consider expansion and other opportunities,” Jakubowski said. “It has been years in the making.”
The three-year residency, launched in 2017, is structured to teach four residents per year. The 2019 class began the stringent program in July, just as the inaugural class entered its final year. The program now has a full complement of 12 residents in various stages of training to care for children and adults with medically complex conditions.
The program encompasses exceptional clinical, educational and research opportunities in all areas of PM&R. This includes brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, multiple trauma, amputation, cancer and other diagnoses.
All clinical rotations are based at Mary Free Bed, which provides the most comprehensive rehabilitation services in the state, including acute, sub-acute and outpatient rehabilitation, as well as home health care.
Pictured above are program director Dr. Richard Ball, center, with, from left, Dr. Nicholas Gut, Dr. Anthony Truong and Dr. Kyle Josephson.
ABOUT MARY FREE BED
Mary Free Bed is a not-for-profit, nationally accredited, rehabilitation hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Since 1891, Mary Free Bed experts have restored hope and freedom through rehabilitation for children and adults who have experienced brain injuries, strokes, spinal cord injuries, multiple traumas, amputations, cancer and other diagnoses. The combination of more than 110 specialized medical and sports rehabilitation programs and an exclusive focus on rehabilitation enables our specialty physicians and staff to help patients achieve outstanding clinical results. For additional information, visit maryfreebed.com.
