Originally posted on WZZM13 by Andrea Flores
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A new multi-million dollar medical facility is coming soon to Grand Rapids. The Bold Advanced Medical Future, or BAMF Health, center will bring new cancer diagnosis and treatment technology to the medical mile when it opens next year.
The team says they’re ready to join the other health systems there to offer one more solution in the fight against cancer and other diseases, and they say it begins with collecting information about their patients in a new way.
“We see ourselves as a community resource,” says Dr. Anthony Chang, BAMF Health CEO and president. “Multiple lives will be saved here. International scholars will come here to learn and medical patients will come here to receive treatment.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and others got a first look at the $65 million facility, which is expected to open and see new patients next June.
The health system is bringing a new way to detect and treat cancer and other diseases. The team uses molecular imaging to make a diagnosis, and then uses a molecular targeted radiation therapy to treat the patient.
“This is a very, very powerful tool to tackle those problems,” Dr. Chang says. “We have very limited damage to the surrounding tissues. Usually we won’t see any side effects compared to conventional method.”
The facility is also expected to bring 200 jobs to the community, and Gov. Whitmer says she’s looking forward to the new addition to grow both the state’s economy and health system.
“I hope we’ve learned over the last year and a half that our public health is inextricably linked to our economic health, and this is an example of where we can do good on both fronts,” she says. “These things work off of one another, and we’ll continue to see growth in this space here. It’s not just about growing our economy but about saving lives.”
The center is made made with a partnership with Michigan State University, and while BAMF Health will be the main tenant when construction of the building wraps up next year, other health systems like Spectrum Health will have space there too.
