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Mary Free Bed appoints new chief medical officer

  Grand Rapids, Mich. – Michael S. Jakubowski, M.D., has been named chief medical officer for Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital. He assumes the role immediately. A member of the Mary Free Bed medical staff since 1987, Dr. Jakubowski is board certified in both physical medicine and rehabilitation as well as internal medicine. Respected in the […]

Still hunting – and still walking

Ed Spoelma has three words of advice for anyone who hunts from a tree stand: Wear your harness. Three years ago, Ed was hunting from a tree stand near Remus, Mich. when he fell 20 feet, breaking his sternum and back. He suffered permanent nerve damage and now has two rods in his back. “I […]

Amputee Pam Buschle and her new $100,000 robotic hands

Sepsis survivor and Mary Free Bed alumna Pam Buschle received her new hands on Monday, October 27, 2014. The following are links to stories from local Grand Rapids media on the fitting and happiness that came from the day! Congratulations again go to Pam and the amazing strides she has made in the last year. […]

What a difference a year can make

Guest Blog by Becca Willis, wife of Mary Free Bed alumnus On September 25, 2013, Adam Willis had a life-changing accident on a mountain bike trail. He went over his handlebars and hit the ground head first. His neck was snapped back and he sustained a spinal cord injury. Without his helmet, he would have […]

YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids breaks ground on the new Mary Free Bed YMCA

Grand Rapids, Mich. – The YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids broke ground today on a new $30 million facility in Cascade Township which will be the first-of-its-kind Y in the nation to comprehensively implement universal design to serve individuals of all abilities. To commemorate its 125th anniversary, the Mary Free Bed Guild is investing in this […]

Mary Free Bed and Airway Oxygen to Provide Wheelchairs for Artprize 2014

For the first time in the history of ArtPrize, visitors with limited mobility will have free access to wheelchairs. Thanks to support from the Mary Free Bed Guild, home medical equipment suppliers Airway Oxygen Inc. and, of course, ArtPrize, at least 10 wheelchairs will be available for the duration of ArtPrize, which begins September 24 […]

Members of Mary Free Bed Staff take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

You see the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge all over the internet lately, staff at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital decided to take up the challenge…and donate. Follow #ALSIceBucketChallenge via social media or go to www.alsworldwide.org for more information.

My Disability Helps Motivate Me!

Oksana Parmenter was eight years old before she realized that people in wheelchairs could do more than simply sit around and watch the world go by. Born with spina bifida and raised in a Lithuanian orphanage, Oksana was told she’d never play basketball or swim in a pool. But then Jan and Bill Parmenter adopted […]

Back in the Swing of Things – Update on Ozzie Koroma

After a fateful night in March that landed him at Mary Free Bed – and in the headlines – 24-year-old Osman Koroma is back at work and looking forward to returning to Grand Rapids Community College this fall. “Ozzie,” who lost his sight due to cataracts at the age of 14, was hit by a […]

Our congrats to Orrin Schroeder

Our congrats to Orrin Schroeder – way to go! A recent below–the–knee amputee, 67-year-old Orrin came to Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital to be fitted for a prosthetic leg and receive outpatient therapy. On May 19, a little more than a month after he received his prosthesis, Orrin shot a hole–in-one on hole 16 at […]

Mary Free Bed partners with Michigan State University College of Human Medicine

Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital and Michigan State University College of Human Medicine are joining together to transform Mary Free Bed into a research and teaching hospital. This collaboration sets the stage for cutting-edge research and evidence-based medicine to improve the lives of patients and encourage more medical school students to focus on physical rehabilitation. […]

MFB and MSU form research partnership

Grand Rapids, Mich. – Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital and Michigan State University College of Human Medicine are joining together to transform Mary Free Bed into a research and teaching hospital. This collaboration sets the stage for cutting-edge research and evidence-based medicine to improve the lives of patients and encourage more medical school students to […]

MFB and MSU form research partnership

Grand Rapids, Mich. – Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital and Michigan State University College of Human Medicine are joining together to transform Mary Free Bed into a research and teaching hospital. This collaboration sets the stage for cutting-edge research and evidence-based medicine to improve the lives of patients and encourage more medical school students to […]

Pediatric patient Tamarah Williams finds independence at Mary Free Bed

Guest Blog by Sarah Williams, mother of Mary Free Bed alumnus Tamarah Williams Tamarah Williams is my 13-year-old daughter who was born with hydrocephalus, more commonly known as water on the brain. She suffered a brain injury during a medical procedure in June, 2013, which left her unable to care for herself. On July 3, […]

Two sisters came to Mary Free Bed and found hope

Guest Blog by Sue Bauerle, sister of Mary Free Bed alumnus Nancy Goodsell Hope. That’s the first word that came to mind as I accompanied my sister (Nancy Goodsell) to the Mary Free Bed gym on the first morning of her therapy. Just a few weeks before, her health had begun deteriorating. She was confused, […]

Cancer Rehabilitation Program Helping Patient Gain Physical and Mental Strength

Ever since she was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in late 2011, Kathy Bacon’s life has been a blur of surgeries, radiation, chemotherapy and other medical procedures. Her strength and stamina were zapped by medications and treatments. At one point, her weight slipped to 86 pounds. Early this year, a therapist suggested she take […]

Artist John Schindler gives a special present to his former therapist

  Spray-paint artist and former lymphedema patient John Schindler paid a visit to the Mary Free Bed Outpatient Therapy Clinic today to bestow a gift upon the woman who helped him regain his hope and freedom three years ago. “It was one of my darkest points. I was at my wit’s end,” 26-year-old John told […]

Student graduates from Mary Free Bed in style

Sixteen-year-old Hanna Rinkevicz was all smiles today as she walked out of Mary Free Bed. She was accompanied by her parents, Christy and Mark Rinkevicz, and a group of firefighters who work with her dad at the Grand Rapids Fire Department. They came to wish her well and provide a grand escort from the hospital. […]

Prosthetic legs don’t deter Grand Rapids man

Due to complications from diabetes, Dan Feather’s left leg had to be amputated below the knee. He was 73 at the time and, after a couple weeks of rehabilitation at Mary Free Bed, was ready to return home to his wife, Wilma. Later, the same circulation problem took his left leg. That was two years […]

Three generations of Ford women behind cancer rehabilitation program

Historians say cancer can be divided into two categories: before Betty and after Betty. She was the first prominent woman to speak openly about breast cancer. Because of Betty Ford’s courage, women visited their physicians. Countless lives were saved. Our campaign is aimed at getting the word out about cancer rehabilitation. It’s a new sub-specialty in the […]