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It couldn’t be Parkinson’s. At 43, Ron Rutkowski was sure he was too young for that neurological disease, and as an outdoorsman and home builder, he was more fit than most men his age. Yet when he reached for a screw while hanging a door, his left hand froze; he could not make his fingers do what they had done thousands of times before.

Over the coming months, he crossed the state, seeing several doctors, all offering the same diagnosis: his trembling limbs, freezing muscles and shuffling gate suggested he was in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease. Most offered little hope.

Closer to his West Michigan home, he found hope in Saint Mary’s neuroscience program. Dr. Leslie Neu-man, a neurologist specializing in treating Parkinson’s, suggested he consider deep brain stimulation. Under the procedure, a surgeon drills two holes in a patient’s skull and inserts electrodes attached to a pacemaker-like generator implanted in the chest.

“Nobody’s drilling holes in my head,” Rutkowski said.

As his symptoms worsened, he reconsidered. In an area of his brain called the substantia nigra, cells that produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter, were dy-ing. Without enough dopamine, his brain could not smoothly coordinate his muscle movements. Only about five percent of Parkinson’s patients – those who are young, otherwise healthy, free of dementia and respond well to medication – are candidates for the surgery. Rutkowski was one.

Saint Mary’s is one of the top deep brain stimulation centers in the Midwest, performing more of those procedures than most others. Dr. Steve Klafeta, a neu-rosurgeon, implanted the electrodes in Rutkowski’s

Parkinson’sDisease

brain, and two weeks later, Neuman turned on the gener-ator, sending a low-voltage impulse, interfering with the abnormal electrical discharges that occur as dopamine declines.

In the months since then, Rutkowski’s life has returned to normal. He knows deep brain stimulation is not a cure, but it helps buy time, setting back the disease maybe five years. By then, he hopes researchers discover other treat-ments, maybe a cure.

“I can’t say enough about that whole hospital,” he said. “They’re just wonderful, wonderful people. All I can say is everything’s getting back to normal, and that’s all I want-ed. You forget what normal’s like until you lose it, and then you regain it.”

ABOVE: A month after undergoing deep brain stimulation surgery, Parkinson’s patient Ron Rutkowski lifted his granddaughter, Ava, something he previously could do only with great difficulty.

FRONT COVER: His head draped with a plastic sheet and clamped to the operating room table, Parkinson’s patient Ron Rutkowski undergoes deep brain stimulation surgery per-formed by Dr. Steve Klafeta, a neurosurgeon specialized in the procedure.Hoyt E. Carrier II | Copyright 2009 The Grand Rapids Press. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

For more information about Rutkowski’s case, visit www.mlive.com and type “Ron Rutkowski” in the search bar for a Grand Rapids Press story and audio slide show.

“Everything’s getting back to normal, and that’s all I wanted.”

- RON RUTKOWSKI

COVER STORY

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Saint Mary’s Parkinson’s Clinic offers patients a variety of services while participating in research to find bet-ter treatments. Services offered in the new Hauenstein Center include neurol-ogy, geriatrics, psychiatry, nutrition, social services and complementary therapies, as well as physical, occupational and speech therapy. Since 2004, Saint Mary’s has been the area’s only hospital offering deep brain stimulation, a type of surgery that has fewer risks than traditional surgery.

Leslie Neuman, MD Neurologist Medical Director, Parkinson’s Clinic

Education: •UniversityofMissouriSchoolofMedicine •Neurologyresidency,UniversityofIowa

During his first seven years in Grand Rapids, Dr. Neuman practiced general neurology, then began seeing more Parkinson’s patients who needed specialized care. As their numbers grew, the patients formed a support group, in-vited Neuman to speak and asked him to serve on the Parkinson’s Association of West Michi-gan board. Neuman was meeting a growing need that continues today. In 2002, Saint Mary’s opened the area’s only Parkinson’s clinic, and Neuman, the area’s only physician specialized in Parkinson’s, became its medi-cal director. Treating Parkinson’s patients takes a lot of time, he said, but he gives each whatever time it takes. “I get a lot of satisfaction,” he said, “because I can make a difference in their lives.”

Steve Klafeta, MD Neurosurgeon

Education: •Loyola-StritchSchoolofMedicine •Neurologicalsurgeryresidency, Loyola

Dr. Klafeta is the only surgeon in West Michigan performing deep brain stimula-tion surgery on Parkinson’s disease patients. The procedure uses electrodes implanted in the brain to alleviate tremors and muscle freezing for many Parkinson’s patients, set-ting back the disease five or more years. Since joining Saint Mary’s in 2004, Klafeta has performed more than 100 such surgeries and also specializes in spinal reconstruction surgery. In his third year of medical school, he assisted in removing a blood clot from a trauma victim’s brain. “I came home, woke up my wife and said, ‘This is what I’m going to do,’” he recalled. “People are coming in, and they’re on death’s door, and you’re able to do something about it. What drives me more now is being able to help people who are in pain or

are debilitated.”

LEFT: Dr. Leslie Neuman examines Parkinson’s patient Barbara Schaible, two months after she underwent deep brain stimulation surgery to relieve her symptoms. “Oh, it’s been fantastic,” she said. “I love how I feel.”

RIGHT: Dr. Steve Klafeta is the only neurosurgeon in West Michigan who performs deep brain stimulation surgery on Parkinson’s patients.

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Saint Mary’s Health Care relies on an interdisci-plinary approach in treating neurological dis-eases. Team members include nurses, thera-pists, social workers, nurse practitioners, case managers, pharmacists, physician assistants, administrators, support staff and physicians, all in the hospital’s new Hauenstein Center. The one-stop approach is more convenient for patients who need to see multiple specialists, and it promotes easy interaction among phy-sicians and other staff members for consulta-tions. Saint Mary’s offers the latest advances in treating neurological disorders while retaining the trademark personal touch.

Programs include:• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

• Alzheimer’s disease and other memory disorders

• Epilepsy

• General neurology

• Multiple sclerosis

• Neuro-ophthalmology

• Neurosurgery

• Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders

• Sleep disorders

• Spinal disease and injury

• Stroke

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Saint Mary’s Model of CareFrom admission to discharge, Saint Mary’s staff follows a detailed plan to coordinate the care of each patient and significantly reduce the chance for medical errors. The Hauenstein Center promotes an interdisciplinary approach centralizing all neurological services in one place. Doctors, nurses and other staff members can quickly share information, and patients don’t have to wait long periods or travel to see different medical providers.

All inpatient rooms are “acuity adaptable,” so patients aren’t transferred to other units as their conditions change. Fewer transfers improve patient safety and care by minimizing the risk of miscommunication. As shifts change, the staff conducts bedside reports in the patients’ presence to assure no information is lost during the handoff.

Saint Mary’s employs 18 certified neuroscience nurses who undergo in-depth training in caring for patients with neurological disorders. “This has provided a level of neuroscience knowledge for our nurses, which, in turn, has helped nurses to identify subtle changes in our patients,” Clinical Services Director Leanna Krukowski said. “By recognizing subtle changes, we are able to act quicker and with more evidence when planning the best care for patients.”

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EpilepsySaint Mary’s offers West Michigan’s only multidisciplinary epilepsy program, including an inpatient monitoring unit. The program offers a range of medical and surgical treatments to alleviate and, in some case, eliminate seizures caused by epilepsy. It is staffed by nurses, neuro-monitoring technicians and two epileptologists (neurologists specialized in treating epilepsy) and a Cleveland Clinic-trained neurosurgeon.

Saint Mary’s physicians and other specialists meet frequently to decide which epilepsy patients are candidates for a type of brain surgery that in most cases eliminates their seizures.

“Oh, it’s an excellent program,” Dr. Hans Lüders, an internation-ally recognized epilepsy expert, said. He wrote the Textbook of Epilepsy Surgery studied by neurologists all over the world. Periodically, he travels from Cleveland, where he is director of the epilepsy program at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, to review cases with the Saint Mary’s physicians.

He sat next to his son, Dr. Jürgen Lüders, the Saint Mary’s neu-rosurgeon who performs the operations on epilepsy patients. Some patients will be scheduled for surgery at Saint Mary’s. Those who need further study will be sent to Cleveland for a more precise type of monitoring in which electrodes are surgically placed directly on the brain. Later this year, Saint Mary’s plans to begin performing that type of invasive moni-toring in Grand Rapids.

“It’s like a navigation chart,” telling doctors precisely where in the brain the electrical disturbances originate, said Dr. Adri-ana Tanner, medical director for Saint Mary’s epilepsy pro-gram. Seventy percent of epilepsy patients can control their seizures with medication. Half the remaining 30 percent are candidates for surgery. In the three years since Saint Mary’s began its epilepsy center, 82 percent of its patients who un-derwent the surgery were free of disabling seizures – better than the national average of 70 percent.

Dr. Hans Lüders points to an area of a patient’s brain where epilepsy seizures are believed to be originating.

Dr. Jürgen Lüders is the only neurosurgeon in West Michigan specializing in a type of surgery to alleviate and, in many cases, eliminate epileptic seizures.

Dr. Muhammad Al-Kaylani discusses a patient with other Saint Mary’s epilepsy specialists.

Dr. Adriana Tanner exam-ines patient Rita Sarade in Saint Mary’s epilepsy monitoring unit.

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For most of his 21 years, Paul Wiersma’s life was ruled by epilepsy. He couldn’t drive, became withdrawn, afraid a sei-zure would embarrass him. They began after he suffered a

closed-head injury in a fall from bleach-ers at the age of 3 ½. He called them “pre-tend tummy aches,” an intense feeling that would begin in his abdo-men, then spread, often leaving his right side numb.

In third grade, he began tak-ing medication, and the sei-zures stopped. In tenth grade, he suffered a grand mal seizure, marked by violent shaking, and ended up in the hospital. Af-ter that, the milder seizures re-turned, sometimes three or four a day. While his classmates got driv-ers’ licenses and dated, Wiersma rode the bus and stayed home. “I knew I was different from other people,” he said. “I was very self-conscious about it. It was really hard going through high school.”

His doctors prescribed medica-tions without success. The end of his senior year, he was ad-mitted to Saint Mary’s epilepsy monitoring unit, where he met Dr. Adriana Tanner, a neurolo-gist and epileptologist. When he sensed a seizure starting, he pressed a button, alerting the staff. Electrodes on his scalp

recorded his brain activity, isolating the source of the seizures in scar tissue in the right temporal lobe. Since medication couldn’t stop the seizures, Dr. Tanner suggested he consider surgery. “After a lot of thought and prayer,” he underwent the surgery, performed by Dr. Jürden Lüders, the only neuro surgeon in West Michigan specializing in that procedure.

Since then, Wiersma has been seizure free. He is more outgoing, drives and makes friends easily. He is a senior and resident advisor at his college and manages the university’s climbing wall, which he frequently climbs himself, a source of worry for his mother, Nancy. But she knows it is one way her son is enjoying a world he avoided before the surgery. “He used to be the kind of kid who walked around with a black cloud over his head,” she said. “Now the cloud is gone, and he’s got a smile on his face, and he’s embracing life.”

PHOTOS ABOVE: Before undergoing brain surgery at Saint Mary’s, epilepsy patient Paul Wiersma would not have dared climb the rock wall he manages at Davenport University.

Muhammad Majid Al-Kaylani, MD Neurologist, Epileptologist

Education: •KufaUniversityCollegeofMedicine,Iraq •Neurologyresidency,UniversityofIowa Hospitals & Clinics •Neurophysiologyandepilepsyresidency, Vanderbilt University

Dr. Al-Kaylani’s greatest satisfaction is in seeing a pa-tient whose life was ruled by epilepsy leave the hospi-tal seizure-free. Patients with intractable epilepsy are admitted to Saint Mary’s epilepsy monitoring unit where Al-Kaylani isolates the source of their seizures. In the past, epilepsy patients had few options, but recent advances in medication and surgery have greatly improved outcomes. “I find epilepsy is one of the most treatable neurological conditions,” Al-Kaylani said. “I feel happy for my patients. They appreciate what we’re doing. Some of them went years with seizures before they found someone who could stop their seizures.”

Jürgen Lüders, MD Chief of Neurosurgery

Education: •UniversityofChicago,Pritzker School of Medicine •Neurosurgeryresidency, Cleveland Clinic

Dr. Lüders is the only neurosurgeon in West Michigan who performs a type of surgery to control and, in most cases, eliminate epilep-tic seizures. “A lot of patients, their lives are turned around,” he said. “That’s what I love about it. It’s wonderful.” As a key member of the Saint Mary’s neuroscience team, he also performs several other kinds of spinal and brain surgeries. Saint Mary’s interdisciplinary approach attracted him here, Lüders said. “It takes a lot to build a program like this,” he said. “To be able to do it all in one place makes it so much easier.”

Adriana Tanner, MD Neurologist, Epileptologist

Medical Director, Epilepsy Center

Education: •UniversidadMilitarNuevaGranadaEscuela

Militar de Medicina, Bogota, Columbia •Neurologyresidency,Universityof

Kentucky Chandler Medical Center •Epilepsyfellowship,ClevelandClinic

When she came to Saint Mary’s in 2006, Dr. Tanner welcomed the challenge of heading the hospital’s

new epilepsy center, the only one in West Michigan. She chose to become an epileptologist – a neurologist

specialized in treating epilepsy – because “I realized it was a field where I can do quite a lot for my patients,” she

said. “For some, the difference is enormous.” Epilepsy is “a very lonely condition,” she said. “They can’t drive. They can’t

get jobs. They lose their independence.” Most patients who come to the epilepsy center are able to control their seizures

with medication. For others with intractable epilepsy, surgery is the best option. Unfortunately, some patients suffer in silence,

unaware treatment is available. “It’s sad for me to look at patients, and they’ve had epilepsy for 20 years,” Tanner said. “Don’t wait.

Send them to me.”

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)Saint Mary’s Health Care, in partnership with Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital and the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, operates a comprehensive center dedicated to diagnosing and treating ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The center is the 38th in the country certified by the Muscular Dystrophy Association. With an affiliated clinic on the MSU campus in East Lansing, the center offers a team of professionals, including physicians, nurses, occupational therapists, speech and language pathologists, dietitians and respiratory therapists.

ALS is a progressive degenerative disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. While there is no cure, the center offers treatments improving the quality of patients’ lives.

Deborah Gelinas, MD Neurologist Medical Director, ALS Clinic and Clinical Neuroscience Research

Education: •NewYorkMedicalCollege,Valhalla,NY •Neurologyresidency,LettermanArmy Medical Center, San Francisco

When she left the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco to join Saint Mary’s, “I thought I was leaving the best place in the whole world to treat ALS patients,” Dr. Gelinas said. “We’re recre-ating that here.” The clinic is the only one in West Michigan dedicated to treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients. Gelinas, a nationally recognized expert on the disease, has written numerous arti-cles and two books about it. When she was 10, her younger sister suffered a stroke, leaving her para-lyzed on the right side. “She is an incredible human being,” Gelinas said. “When that experience hap-pens to you, all you can do is be resilient. That in-fluenced me in working with chronic, debilitating diseases. I’m really committed to resiliency in the face of neurological disease.”

Dr. Deborah Gelinas with ALS patient Al Garcia.

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After he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Al Garcia drove 2 ½ hours to the nearest clinic specialized in treating the neurodegenerative disease. Then two years ago, Saint Mary’s Health Care, Mary Free Bed Rehabilita-tion Hospital and Michigan State University opened West Michigan’s only ALS clinic 20 minutes from his home. “This was a Godsend,” he said, sitting in an exam room. “I’d be foolish to drive 2 ½ hours, and you get to know these people more personally. That’s important.”

Garcia, a former high school science teacher and now an adjunct professor of anatomy and physiology, knows ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) is incurable, although research is promising. Short of a cure, “slowing down the relentless progression of the disease” could improve the quality and extend the lives of ALS patients, said Dr. Deb-orah Gelinas, who heads the clinic. “I really bring a holistic view – which is kind of the old-time medical view – to a specialty clinic,” she said.

She finished examining Garcia and said, “The good thing is you’re stable. No doubt about it. That’s great.”

Across the hall, Lynn Cooper, a 37-year-old mother of four,

was hoping for similar good news. Like most neurological diseases, there is no definitive test for ALS. It’s a clinical diagnosis based on a collection of symptoms. While ge-netics may play a part, the majority of ALS patients have no family history of the disease. There is no cure.

“I don’t know what people with ALS would do without this clinic,” Cooper said. “I have a lot of hope. I’ve got a lot to live for. I’m asking for at least 18 more years to get my baby grown up.”

Gelinas and the rest of the staff encourage their patients to have hope, despite the grim prognosis.

“As an individual, I could offer very little,” she said, “but, as part of a team, I can offer hope.” As for the patients, “these are incredible people,” Gelinas said. “It’s a privilege to care for them.”

-LYNNCOOPER

LEFT: Dr. Deborah Gelinas listens to Lynn Cooper, whose paralysis is believed to be caused by ALS.

RIGHT: Gelinas tests ALS patient Al Garcia’s reflexes.

“I have a lot of hope. I’ve got a lot to live for.”

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Christopher C. Glisson, DO Medical Director, Neuro-Ophthalmology

Education: •MichiganStateUniversityCollegeof Osteopathic Medicine •Neurologyresidency,MichiganState University •Neuro-Ophthalmologyfellowship, University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Glisson is a practitioner of an unusual sub-specialty – neuro-ophthalmology – that uses a patient’s eyes as windows to illnesses through-out the body. “We can look through the eye and see a piece of the brain,” Glisson said. “We can interpret what we see to tell us what’s going on elsewhere.” In 2007, Glisson returned to his West Michigan roots after completing his Ivy League training at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the only neuro-ophthalmologist practicing in West Michigan and among only 400 academic neuro-ophthalmologists nationwide.

Neuro-OphthalmologyA finger puppet is not the most high-tech device Dr. Christopher Glisson uses in his practice, but it was an essential tool in examining Lillyanna Marrero Brander’s eyes.

“Can you follow him with your eyes?” he asked, and the 2-year-oldobliged.“Youaredoingagreat job,” he told her.

After the exam, he assured her mother, Jaclyn Brander, that, contrary to a pediatrician’s concern, her daughter showed no signs of neurofibromatosis, a disease characterized by tumors and neurological disorders.

As the area’s only neuro-ophthalmologist, Glisson is trained to diagnose a variety of diseases – including multiple sclerosis, hypertension, diabetes and tumors – by examining a patient’s eyes.

Dr. Christopher Glisson, a neuro-ophthalmologist, examines the eyes of 2-year-old Lilly-anna Marrero Brander, while her mother, Jaclyn Brander, holds her.

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Brian Key was going blind. It began in his left eye, narrowing his peripheral vi-sion, then spreading rapidly to his right eye. His eye doctor confirmed the nar-rowing field of vision, but could find nothing wrong with the high school senior’s eyes. Neither could a glauco-ma specialist, nor a retina specialist.

That’s because the problem wasn’t in Key’s eyes; it was in his brain. Dr. Chris-topher Glisson, a neuro-ophthalmol-ogist at Saint Mary’s Health Care, im-mediately suspected a pituitary tumor at the front of Key’s brain was causing

the failing eyesight. An MRI confirmed the tumor was pressing on the optic chiasm, the intersection of the optic nerves. The tumor also appeared to be bleeding, and that could be fatal.

Glisson walked down the hall and con-sulted with Dr. Jürgen Lüders, a neuro-surgeon. Less than 24 hours after the tumor was found, Lüders removed it. Key’s vision immediately returned to normal. “It was amazing how it all lined up, that I was able to have the surgery within 24 hours after they found it out,” said Key, now a college freshman.

“The biggest thing is it was so close to home. There’s not a whole lot of places that have the medical knowledge to do that.”

Glisson is among only seven neuro-ophthalmologists in Michigan and the only one practicing in West Michigan. For Brian Key, Glisson’s training not only restored his vision, but might have saved his life.

“It was incredible,” Key said. “I feel nor-mal. Most people wouldn’t even think that I’d had brain surgery.”

“It was incredible. I feel normal.”

-BRIANKEY

Grand Valley State University student Brian Key’s vision

was restored after Saint Mary’s doctors removed a pituitary tumor.

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Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory DisordersSaint Mary’s Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders Clinic, the only one in West Michigan, offers a holistic approach to care, addressing each patient’s physical and emotional needs. Its services include diagnosis, patient and family counseling, referral to other agencies and support groups, mood and behavior management, and research. The multi-disciplinary team includes a geriatrician, neuropsychologist, nurse, social worker, pharmacist and other specialists.

Kevin Foley, MD Medical Director, Saint Mary’s Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders Program

Education: •MedicalCollegeofVirginia •InternalMedicineresidency,Universityof Michigan Hospitals •Geriatricmedicinefellowship,University of Michigan Hospitals

Dr. Foley had a good reason for opening an Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders Program at Saint Mary’s six years ago. “Nobody else was doing it,” he said. “It was a huge need.” As the population ages, the need will become greater and the search for better treatments more urgent. His recent faculty appointment at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine opened the door for collaboration between the medical school and Saint Mary’s. Foley hopes to inspire medical students to join the battle against memory disorders. “I looked at what I was doing at Saint Mary’s, and I was taking care of a landslide of people,” he said. “I wasn’t making enough of an impact. As division head of geriatrics (at MSUCHM), I will be able to teach what I know.”

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Janice Gwasdacus sat in an exam room, not as the pa-tient, but the caregiver. On her right was her mother, Nancy Crowley, in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, on her left, her father, James Crowley, in the advanced stages of the same disease. Alzheimer’s, like other neurological dis-eases, afflicts not just the patient, but the entire family.

Dr. Kevin Foley, medical director for Saint Mary’s Alzheim-er’s Disease and Memory Disorders Clinic, entered and grasped Nancy Crowley’s hands, tested her strength and reflexes, then asked a series of questions to assess her cognitive abilities.

“She still participates in family celebrations,” Gwasdacus told Foley. “She still has a sense of herself.” Not so her father. He dozed in his wheelchair, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings. “This is pretty typical of him,” Gwas-dacus said. “We do not attempt to bring Dad to family celebrations anymore.”

Alzheimer’s is a cruel disease, stealing the essence of a person. “We have every service you’d find at Mayo (Clinic) or the University of Michigan,” Foley said. “We’re looking at the quality of life for the patient and the family” since there is no cure. Because Alzheimer’s generally is a dis-ease of the elderly, a drug that delayed onset even five years could reduce its incidence by half, Foley said.

“Ultimately what we want to find is a disease-modifying drug that puts it in remission,” he said. Until that drug is found, the number of patients is expected to rise as the baby boom generation ages.

“Unfortunately, it’s a growth industry,” Foley said. Since the clinic’s first year, the number of patients has grown exponentially. Still, he takes his time with each patient.

“What would you like to be able to do that you don’t do now?” Foley asked another patient, Helen Ruth Wilson.

“I like crafts,” she said. He urged her to take up the hobby. “You need to get involved,” he said. “You’re doing great.”

“We’re looking at the quality of life for the patient and the family.”

-DR.KEVINFOLEY

TOP: Dr. Kevin Foley opened Saint Mary’s Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disor-ders clinic six years ago.

BOTTOM: Foley meets with Alzheimer patient Nancy Crowley and her daugh-ter, Janice Gwasdacus.

OPPOSITE PAGE: Foley examines Al-zheimer’s patient James Crowley, whose wife, Nancy, suffers the same disease. Their daughter, Janice, sits between them.

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Neurosurgery

TOP: Dr. Steve Klafeta meets with a patient about to undergo surgery to repair a spinal cord compression caused by a cyst.

BOTTOM: Dr. Scott Russo, an orthopedic surgeon, (left) and Dr. Jürgen Lüders discuss a case during a weekly spine conference.

OPPOSITE PAGE: Hoyt E. Carrier II | Copyright 2009 The Grand Rapids Press. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Saint Mary’s comprehensive neurosurgery program encompasses a range of nerve, spinal and brain procedures. The hospital’s two neurosurgeons, both tops in their fields, also perform deep brain stimulation surgery for Parkinson’s patients and temporal lobe surgery for epilepsy patients, procedures available nowhere else in the area.

While Dr. Steve Klafeta and Dr. Jürgen Lüders per-form most of the neurosurgery, other physicians, including orthopedic surgeon Dr. Scott Russo and neurosurgeons Dr. Robert Seledotis and Dr. Lynn Hedeman, frequently operate on patients at Saint Mary’s.

Advances in computers and electronics provide the surgeons more-precise images of the brain. New treatment options permit minimally inva-sive spine surgery to repair fractures and treat degenerative disc disease, disc injury and mis-aligned vertebrae, allowing patients to recover more quickly.

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Saint Mary’s Spine Service relies on physicians from seven specialties

and a host of other medical profession-als to deliver the best care. The Outpa-

tient Spine Clinic evaluates and treats degenerative conditions, such as arthri-tis, spinal stenosis, slipped vertebrae and degenerative disc disease, as well as trau-matic conditions, such as spinal fractures, dislocations and herniated discs.

The team includes physiatrists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, or-thopedic surgeons, psychologists, radiologists, internal medi-cine specialists, pain specialists, nurses and nurse practitioners.

Saint Mary’s also collaborates with rehabilitation specialists at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital. The approach always is conservative and the goal to find the least invasive treatment possible, with surgery recommended only when necessary.

Saint Mary’s is the leading West Michigan hospital offering minimally invasive spine surgery, which allows faster recov-ery, less post-operative pain and shorter hospital stays.

Spine ServiceShelley Freimark, MD Physiatrist, Spine Center

Education: •WayneStateUniversitySchoolofMedicine •Physicalmedicine&rehabilitation residency, Sinai Hospital, Detroit

Dr. Freimark’s goal is to alleviate her patients’ pain and help them lead a normal life. “Some patients have sat around for months with this pain by the time they come in,” she said. Some have been injured in auto accidents or on the job. Others have arthritis, herniated disks, spinal stenosis or other degenerative conditions. In each case, Freimark and a team of physical therapists, pain management specialists, orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, social workers and psychologists try to alleviate or eliminate the pain with medication and physical therapy. “Our goal is to avoid surgery and determinewhenitisnecessary,”shesaid.“Youtakesomeone with extreme pain, and you get them back to no pain.”

Teri Holwerda Nurse Practitioner, Spine Center

Education: •Master’sdegreeinnursing,GrandValley State University, Grand Rapids

•Doctoralcandidateinnursing,Michigan State University

Holwerda and other specialists regularly hold spine conferences to discuss cases. “It’s this re-markable thing where all these providers come together and talk about spine cases,” she said. “It’s an open forum where I can ask, ‘Am I miss-ing something?’” That interdisciplinary approach continues outside the conferences. If she needs to consult with a neurologist, she walks down the hall. That hallway goes both ways. A neurologist can refer a Parkinson’s patient suffering back pain to the spine center. “I love my patients,” Holwerda said. “I love the intellectual challenge of figuring out what’s going wrong. And I love watching a patient get better over time. It’s very satisfying to know you got someone back on their feet and functioning again.”

LEFT: Dr. Shelley Freimark is a physiat-rist specialized in treating spinal dis-ease and injuries.

RIGHT: Nurse practitioner Teri Holw-erda prepares to review the file of a patient suffering severe back pain.

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Spine Service Neuro-RehabilitationShe was an athlete, swam three miles a day, water skied and could dive 100 feet down without breathing equip-ment. At the age of 58, she drove in a demolition derby. That was one month before a stroke left her paralyzed on the left side.

“Anything dangerous I love,” Betty Vreeman said. “I was very physically fit.” Her challenge these days is in learn-ing to walk or rise from a chair without falling. Her neu-rologist, Dr. Leslie Neuman, recommended she work on those skills with Judy Overmyer, a physical therapist whose office is just down the hall from his in the Saint Mary’s neuroscience program.

“OK, we’ve got to do some fun stuff today,” Overmyer said. She helped Vreeman rise, step onto a small plat-form and face a large, flat-panel television. For the next several minutes, Vreeman played a Nintendo Wii game, helping her improve her balance and twirl a virtual hula hoop. “I was a champion,” she said, swiveling her hips. “This is great. I’m excited.”

“You did very well,” Overmyer assured her.

Nearby, other therapists worked with patients, help-ing them regain skills most of us take for granted. “The multi-disciplinary model is an awesome experience for the patient,” said James Hartlein, a physical therapist and manager of rehabilitation services. With several specialists all in one place, “we’re able to move things along much quicker,” he said.

Patients include those with Parkinson’s, multiple sclero-sis, back and neck pain, stroke and Alzheimer’s. Speech therapist Kimberley Paszkowski helps patients who are having trouble with speaking and swallowing. Occupa-tional therapists also are available to help patients re-learn basic life skills.

Before her stroke, Vreeman, with a doctorate in leader-ship, was a community development consultant, work-ing with clients all over the world.

“Hopefully, I’ll be able to work again,” she said.

TOP: Kerwin Koetje exercises the muscles in his right arm and shoulder, weakened from disuse due to a pinched nerve in his neck.

BOTTOM: Stroke patient Betty Vreeman, assisted by physical therapist Judy Overmyer, plays a Nintendo Wii game to help regain her balance.

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NeurologicSleep DisordersThey come in hoping for a good night’s sleep. This is not a hotel, but a Saint Mary’s hospital unit with 10 rooms equipped to diagnose a variety of sleep disorders.

In a monitoring room at the sleep disorders center Dr. Joseph Krainin studied a computer screen show-ing a polysomnogram, a sleep study for a patient who had spent a night in one of the rooms across the hall. The screen showed several physiological changes that occurred during the patient’s stay. Squiggly lines traced the brain wave activity. Oth-er sensors monitored the patient’s blood oxygen content, respiration and heart rate. A microphone picked up snoring, and a video camera recorded movement. Combined, those changes would help Krainin diagnose the precise disorder disrupting the patient’s sleep.

“Sleep fundamentally is a neurological process,” he said, and essential for overall health. Yet it has not always received the attention given to other neurological disorders, a void Saint Mary’s is filling. Many patients are unaware their daytime fatigue is caused by sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, rest-less legs syndrome, narcolepsy, sleep walking, sleep talking, and circadian rhythm disorder, said Dr. Mu-hammad Al-Kaylani, another Saint Mary’s neurologist specialized in treating sleep disorders. A doctor can prescribe a range of treatments, including medication, a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine and lifestyle changes.

Sleep disorders are exceedingly common, afflicting some 30 million Americans and exacting a heavy toll on patients and a drag on the economy due to lost produc-tivity. “The more we learn, the more we study this, the more we realize this is problematic,” Krainin said. “It’s such a young field – it’s really just coming into its own. I hope I can bring more awareness of it to the Grand Rapids community.”

Dr. Joseph Krainin reviews a patient’s sleep study.

“It’s such a young field – it’s really just coming into its own.”

- DR. JOSEPH KRAININ

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Joseph Krainin, MD Neurologist

Education: •TuftsUniversitySchoolofMedicine, •Neurologyresidency,KaiserLosAngeles Medical Center

•Sleepdisordersfellowship,Universityof Michigan Hospitals

Growing up in the Boston area, Dr. Krainin was only vaguely aware of Grand Rapids when he accepted a job at Saint Mary’s. “I really pictured some declining Michigan industrial town,” he said, so he was surprised when he saw the vibrant city with its growing medical com-munity, particularly the new Hauenstein Cen-ter at Saint Mary’s Health Care. “At that point, I realized I had fallen in love with Grand Rapids and the hospital and the people running the hospital,” he said. As a new member of the Saint Mary’s staff, he practices general neurol-ogy and specializes in sleep disorders. “Neurol-ogy,” he said, “is a very cerebral field – no pun intended. It is very demanding.” And very re-warding when he can help patients suffering a variety of sleep disorders.

Dr. Muhammad Al-Kaylani, specialized in treating epilepsy and sleep disorders, discusses a case with colleagues.

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Saint Mary’s offers a variety of services to tackle stroke, the nation’s third leading cause of death behind cardiac disease and cancer. The interdisciplinary approach emphasizes speed, efficiency and the latest technology to minimize damage, promote rehabilitation and avoid a recurrence. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has designated Saint Mary’s a Primary Stroke Center in recognition of its efforts to improve outcomes for stroke patients.

Muhammad Farooq, MD Vascular Neurologist

Education: •PunjabMedicalCollege Faisalabad, Pakistan •Neurologyresidency,Sparrow Hospital, Lansing •Strokefellowship, Michigan State University

As a member of the Saint Mary’s stroke team, Dr. Farooq works closely with the emergency department physicians, making sure patients arriving with stroke symptoms are quickly diagnosed and treated. If a CT scan shows a patient is having an ischemic stroke – the most com-mon type in which a vessel in the brain is block by a blood clot – a drug promptly is administered to dissolve it and minimize damage. Having the emergency department in the same building as the neuroscience pro-grams “is very helpful,” Farooq said. “We can be there in a few minutes. This is the unique thing in the Hauen-stein Center: all these specialists are in the same place.”

Darryl Varda, MD Neurologist

Education: •UniversityofIowa •Neurologyresidency, University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics

Dr. Varda has seen a lot of progress in treating strokes in recent years. “There’s a lot of technology that can give us answers we never had before,” he said. Stroke remains the leading cause of disability and the third leading cause of death in the United States, after heart attack and cancer. Saint Mary’s is participating in a study into the benefits of educat-ing emergency physicians to admin-ister clot-busting drugs within 4 ½ hours after the onset of symptoms. “The problem is getting people here within that window,” Varda said. “They get a tingly hand, and they de-cide to go to bed and see how it is in the morning, which is outside the window of opportunity.”

Stroke, Emergency and Critical Care

TOP: Dr. Farooq checks stroke patient Sandy Drent’s coordination.

MIDDLE: Dr. Varda tests the coordination of patient Dorothy Grigsby, while her daughter, Dawn Griffin, watches from a nearby chair.

BOTTOM: Dr. Emily Gualtieri, medical director of the critical care unit, talks with Mirian Mejias, mother of patient Pedro Mejias, who was injured in an accident.

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This is when speed matters. A patient arrives in Saint Mary’s emergency and trauma department suffer-ing a possible stroke. At the moment the patient felt the first symptoms, a clock began ticking, giving the stroke team only a few hours to confirm a blood clot is causing the stroke and administer a drug to dissolve it.

The patient is rushed to the CT scanner in Saint Mary’s new emergency and trauma department inside the Hauenstein Center. A radiologist reads the scan, de-termining if it is an ischemic stroke, the most common type, in which a clot is blocking blood flow to the brain. The emergency doctor consults with a neurolo-gist one floor above the ER. If the stroke is caused by a clot, a drug immediately is administered to dissolve it.

“We’ve done as much as we can to get this process go-ing as soon as possible,” said Dr. Michael Olgren, medi-cal director of the emergency and trauma department.

If admitted, the patient won’t have far to go from the emergency and trauma department. All 32 patient rooms in critical care and the 30 rooms in the neu-rological unit are close by in the Hauenstein Center. All are private, large enough to accommodate families,

and “acuity adaptable,” so patients are not moved as their conditions change. Fewer moves means fewer chances for miscommunications and errors, and is more comforting for patients.

“I think the biggest improvement is having families present during bedside rounds,” allowing them to ask questions and become acquainted with the staff, said Dr. Emily Gualtieri, medical director for the critical care unit. That kind of coordination was central to the de-sign of the Hauenstein Center.

It improves patient care from the moment they arrive until they are discharged, said Michelle Pena, clini-cal services director. “I get calls from people in other states asking, ‘How did you pull this off?’” she said.

“I get calls from people in other states asking, ‘How did you pull this off?’”

- MICHELLE PENA

As medical director for Saint Mary’s emergency and trauma department, Dr. Michael Olgren is a key member of the hospital’s stroke team.

Dr. Darryl Varda (right), a neurologist, and Dr. Zamir Podgorica, a hospitalist, discuss a case. Hospitalists are important members of the Saint Mary’s team, providing around-the-clock care for inpatients.

Michelle Pena, clinical services director for emergency, trauma and critical care, confers with Dr. Olgren.

The neurology team meets with patient Evelyn Holst during morning rounds.

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Multiple SclerosisThe letters went out last fall invit-ing the area’s multiple sclerosis patients to an open house an-nouncing a new service at Saint Mary’s Health Care. No longer would they have to drive all over or as far away as Detroit to get the comprehensive care necessary to keep their disease in check. Saint Mary’s multiple sclerosis clinic, following the model of its other neuroscience programs, offers an interdisci-plinary approach, allowing MS patients to see various special-ists and get necessary tests in one place and in one visit. The clinic, a leader in West Michigan, is led by Dr. Deborah Gelinas and Dr. Christopher Glisson, both highly experienced in diagnosing and treating MS.

At first he thought little about the tingling and numbness in his feet, although somewhere in the back of his mind, Dave Veltema won-dered: could this be multiple sclerosis? His younger brother had been diagnosed with MS years earlier and eventu-ally used a wheelchair.

MS generally is not regarded as hereditary, although, like many neurological diseases, it might have a genetic com-ponent. In the spring of 2005, after Veltema suffered a sei-zure, a neurologist diagnosed him with probable MS. Sei-zures are not typical symptoms of MS, but its indications and progress vary widely, making it difficult to diagnose. Symptoms often include fatigue, numbness, tingling, loss of balance, slurred speech, tremors and stiffness.

MS is believed to be an auto-immune disease in which the body attacks myelin, the insulation protecting nerves in the brain and spinal cord. It is not fatal, but can be disabling.

“It was scary,” Veltema recalled, particularly because he had seen how rapidly it had progressed in his brother. He visited an MS clinic in Detroit 150 miles away.

Last fall, Veltema received a letter announcing Saint Mary’s was opening a clinic for MS patients and decided to give it a try. “I was impressed,” he said. “If I come in and have an issue with my eyes or my balance, I don’t have to drive all over town. The fact that it’s all here makes it easier.”

That was the idea when Dr. Deborah Gelinas proposed creating the clinic, said Dr. Christopher Glisson, who helps her run it. When he and Gelinas hosted an open house announcing the new clinic, they expected 35 MS patients might attend. Instead, more than 100 showed up.

“I think the greatest value for the patient is the opportu-nity to come to a facility that addresses every aspect of their disease, from diagnosis to treatment to managing the symptoms that affect their quality of life,” Glisson said. “That’s the benefit of that multi-disciplinary approach.”

PHOTO: Patient David Veltema talks about his experience at Saint Mary’s during a routine visit.

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EducationAfter following Dr. Deborah Gelinas on her rounds one morning, medical student Brian Holowecky decided to consider neurology as a specialty. “I was able to gain some insight on her ap-proach, her philosophy of medicine, her compassion with patients,” he said. “It was a very enjoyable expe-rience, very eye opening.”

That’s a major part of Saint Mary’s mission: training to-morrow’s physicians who will care for tomorrow’s pa-tients. Saint Mary’s partnership with the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, particularly as MSU prepares to open its new medical school head-quarters in Grand Rapids, is mutually beneficial, said Dr. Christopher Glisson, one of the hospital’s neurologists,

who also is on the school’s faculty. Not only does Saint Mary’s help educate new doctors, he said, but “the benefit to the community of Grand Rapids is we have the opportunity to access and utilize the resources of a huge university.”

Holowecky, in his second year of medical school, has plenty of time to choose a specialty, but neurology is high on his list. So is the related field of physiology. “I’m very interested in long-term health and the holistic ap-proach, which is what drew me to neurology and physi-ology,” he said.

At Saint Mary’s, he saw a well-organized clinic, and he was impressed with the team approach. “I think that’s so important for the patients, to have that team work-ing on their side,” he said. “I want a job where I can make a difference. I don’t want to work in an office and make a paycheck. That’s why I’m happy to be in medi-cal school, to have a skill to help others. The money will come. I choose not to spend my life worrying about it.”

Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine in 2010 will move from its temporary building in Grand Rapids (foreground) to its new headquarters a block away.

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A few blocks from Saint Mary’s Health Care, scientists an-alyze blood samples from Parkinson’s patients, looking for genetic clues that might help unravel the degenera-tive disease. The research is a partnership of Saint Mary’s, the Van Andel Institute and Michigan State University.

It is one of several studies Saint Mary’s has joined in the search for better treatments of neurological diseases, in-cluding Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, stroke and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease). “That’s the point of medical research: to find something better,” said Brian Berryhill, PharmD, who oversees clinical research for Saint Mary’s neurosci-ence programs.

The research could produce more clinical trials and new treatments for Saint Mary’s patients. “We all work to-gether to accomplish this,” said Susan Hoppough, PhD, RN, Saint Mary’s director of research and innovation. “One institution alone can’t do it.”

Saint Mary’s has something the Van Andel Institute and most other research facilities lack. “We could be doing world-class research here, but without access to pa-

tients, we could not impact hu-man health,” said Jeff MacKeigan, PhD, a Van Andel scientific inves-tigator. Dr. Leslie Neuman, a Saint Mary’s neurologist specializing in Parkinson’s, provides blood samples for the Van Andel scientists to analyze. The institute will be the repository for blood and tissue samples from Saint Mary’s patients, which could hold clues to other neuro-logical diseases, said James Resau, PhD, deputy director for special programs at the Van Andel Institute.

Michigan State University, due in 2010 to open its new College of Human Medicine building across the street from the Van Andel Institute, is joining the partner-ship by moving an elite team of Parkinson’s researchers from the University of Cincinnati to Grand Rapids. They are bringing a $6.2 million National Institutes of Health grant. If not for the Van Andel Institute’s labs and Saint Mary’s patients, the researchers and their grant likely would not be coming, said Jack Lipton, a member of the team. “Saint Mary’s is really, clearly invested in the neuro-sciences,” he said. “If we can’t cure their disease, we can at least help patients outlive it. It’s an extremely difficult area to work in, but it’s going to pay off eventually.”

Jack Lipton, PhD, a professor in the Michigan State Univer-sity College of Human Medicine, discusses his Parkinson’s research with Saint Mary’s doctors and administrators.

Research

“Saint Mary’s is really, clearly invested in the neurosciences”

- JACK LIPTON

Saint Mary’s doctors and Van Andel Institute scientists plan to expand their joint research beyond Parkinson’s into other neurological diseases, said James Resau, PhD, the institute’s deputy director for special programs.

Susan Hoppough, PhD, RN, Saint Mary’s director of re-search and innovation, oversees the hospital’s participation in many clinical trials in the search for better treatments.

Dr. Deborah Gelinas is Saint Mary’s Director of Clinical Neuroscience Research.

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Saint Mary’s physicians are collaborating with re-searchers at other institutions in the search for bet-ter treatments and, perhaps, cures for several neu-rological diseases.

Dr. Deborah Gelinas is participating in a study, based at Massachusetts General Hospital, to determine whether the drug ceftriaxone can protect motor neurons in the brains and spinal cords of patients with amyotrophic lateral scle-rosis (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease).

Dr. Christopher Glisson is participating in a study to learn whether early treatment with the drug glatiramer acetate can reduce the risk of patients with optic neuritis from developing multiple sclerosis.

Glisson also is helping conduct a study of whether men who took the drug PDE5 inhibitor for erectile dysfunction had an increased risk of developing non-arte-ritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, sometimes called a “stroke of the optic nerve,” which can result in vision loss.

Gelinas, Glisson, Dr. David Kaufman and Dr. Muhammad Farooq are par-ticipating in a study of whether the drug teriflunomide can reduce the risk of pa-tients who display early symptoms of multiple sclerosis from developing clini-cally confirmed MS.

Gelinas, Glisson, Kaufman and Farooq also are participating in a study of whether the same drug can reduce re-lapses in patients diagnosed with MS.

Dr. Adriana Tanner is helping conduct a study of the effectiveness and safety of the drug brivaracetam in controlling epileptic seizures.

Dr. Leslie Neuman is helping conduct a study of the drug Preladenant (SCH 420814) in controlling dyskinesia, a side effect caused by other drugs in patients with moderate to severe Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Kevin Foley is participating in a study of whether the drug PF 04494700 can slow the decline in patients with mild to moderate Al-zheimer’s disease.

Dr. Michael Olgren and Dr. Darryl Varda are participating in a University of Michigan study into the benefits of educating emergency physicians to administer clot-busting drugs within 4 ½ hours after the onset of stroke symptoms.

Brian Berryhill, PharmD, oversees research for Saint Mary’s neuroscience program.

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Neuro-RadiologyWithout advanced imaging, much of what happens in the Saint Mary’s

neuroscience program would not be possible. That’s why the staff relies on a team of highly trained radiolo-gists to interpret the detailed images created with the most advanced MRI, CT and PET-CT machines. “Oh, the technology has grown by leaps and bounds the last few years,” Dr. Zdravko Skrtic, an interventional radi-ologist, said, examining images of a patient’s brain on two large monitors.

The hospital’s new PET-CT combines two types of imaging – computed tomography and positron emission tomogra-phy – to create highly detailed pictures of patients’ brains. The CT uses X-rays to create a three-dimensional image. The PET looks at the metabolic activity of cells. Com-bined, the two images help the radiologists identify areas of increased or decreased metabolic activity in patients’ brains. A decrease could indicate Alzheimer’s. An increase might be due to cancer.

PHOTOS: Dr. Christopher Massin, a radiologist, meets with epilepsy specialists to discuss candidates for neurosurgery (top photo). Radiologist Dr. Zdravko Skrtic examines a patient’s brain scans (second photo from top). Technologist Joel Bakos operates the hospital’s new PET-CT scanner (middle photo). Skrtic prepares a patient for an MRI (second photo from bottom). Bakos readies the PET-CT scanner for the next patient (bottom photo).

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After an initial examination by one of the staff neurologists, many patients are referred to Saint Mary’s neuro-diagnostic lab for a battery of tests to identify the precise nature of their neurological disorders.

Neuro-DiagnosisTests include:• Nerveconductionstudiestoevaluatenumb-

ness, tingling or weakness in the arms and legs.

• Electromyographytocheckthehealthofmus-cles and the nerves that control them.

• Electroencephalographytorecordtheelectricalactivity of neurons in the brain.

• Evokedpotentialsteststomeasuretheelectri-cal activity produced by stimuli, such as light flashes and sound clicks.

The electrodes attached to Brad Thornton’s head produce an electroenceph-alogram, helping doctors diagnose the cause of seizures he has suffered the past few years.

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AdministrationIt’s not a question he normally hears from a patient. Seven years ago, Saint Mary’s Health Care CEO Phil McCorkle stepped into the hospital room of Ralph Hauen-stein, a Grand Rapids businessman undergoing treatment for chronic bronchitis, to ask if his accommo-dations were OK, but Hauenstein turned the tables. “Is there any-thing I can do for you?” he asked.

As it happened, there was, but neither McCorkle nor Hauenstein could envision what would grow from that casual conversation. It opened in February 2009, a multi-specialty neuroscience center in a new building at Saint Mary’s called the Hauenstein Center, the only such facility in West Michigan.

“There are very few places like this that are dedicated to the neurosci-ences,” said Dr. David Kaufman, medical director for Saint Mary’s neuroscience program and chair of neurology and ophthalmology at Michigan State University. “It’s never just a building. It’s always the people that propel the pro-grams. The building will allow us to attract the people.”

Even before construction began, Saint Mary’s recruited neurosur-geons, neurologists, therapists, nurses, psychologists and others specializing in treating Parkinson’s, epilepsy, stroke, headache, spinal injuries, multiple sclerosis, sleep disorders, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and other memory disorders.

“Our goals are very lofty,” said Dr. David Baumgartner, Saint Mary’s vice president of medical affairs. “The more I’m involved in this, the more potential I see.”

For patients, having all those neu-roscience clinics under one roof means quicker diagnosis and treat-ment and fewer trips to specialists all over town. The center’s inter-disciplinary philosophy promotes better com-munication among the specialists, said Leanna Krukowski, clinical services director for the neuroscience program. “You can do all the bricks and mortar you want,” she said. “If it’s not all intertwined, it’s irrelevant.”

Initially, Hauenstein offered to help McCorkle raise money for a Parkinson’s clinic in an existing of-fice building at Saint Mary’s. When it opened in 2003, McCorkle was surprised by Hauenstein’s reaction: “Phil, this thing is way too small.”

Hauenstein had a history of think-ing big. As a colonel and chief of intelligence for the U.S. Army’s European Theater of Operations in World War II, he was intimately involved in planning for D-Day and other key military operations. Raising money for a neuroscience center would be easy by compari-son. Hauenstein made a substan-tial donation and helped raise $15 million toward the $60 million project.

McCorkle called it “a great asset for our community.” Hauenstein was typically modest about his contribution. “I wanted to share the fruits of what my country had given me,” he said. “I’m extremely pleased with it.”

TOP: Michael Yee, ambulatory neurosciencemanager, and Pamela Villarreah, business office coordinator.

BOTTOM: Wesley Gruno, business office coor-dinator.

“It’s the natural relationship between a Big Ten university and a sophisticated medical community.”

- DR. DAVID KAUFMAN

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David Kaufman, DO Neurologist, Medical Director, Neuroscience Programs Chairman, Department of Neurology and Ophthalmology, College of Osteopathic Medicine and College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University

Education: •CollegeofOsteopathicMedicine,Philadelphia •Neurologyresidency,UniversityofWisconsin •Harvardresearchfellowshipinneuro-ophthalmology, Massachusetts General Hospital •Clinicalfellow,MassachusettsGeneralHospital

To Dr. Kaufman, the partnership between Saint Mary’s and Michigan State makes per-fect sense. He already was busy teaching and directing the neurology education at MSU when he was approached about heading Saint Mary’s neuroscience programs in 2008. “It’s the natural relationship between a Big Ten university and a sophisticated medical community,” he said. The partnership gives MSU’s medical students and re-searchers access to a large patient population, and it allows Saint Mary’s physicians to expand their research through collaboration, he said. Kaufman’s own research has fo-cused on stroke and multiple sclerosis. He has conducted countless studies of MS and was the lead author of the practice parameters for treating optic neuritis for Neurology, the official journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Leanna Krukowski, RN, MSN Clinical Services Director

Education: •Bachelorofscienceinnursing,SaginawValleyStateUniversity •Master’sofscienceinnursing,WayneStateUniversity

Before the Hauenstein Center opened, Saint Mary’s Health Care al-ready offered many neuroscience services – just not all in one place. So when the new center opened in February, 2009, Krukowski and colleague Michelle Pena were responsible for integrating those ser-vices under one roof. “Some hospitals say they are multi-disciplin-ary,” she said. “We are interdisciplinary. That’s the hallmark of how we set ourselves up.” The Hauenstein Center promotes collegiality, encouraging physicians and other providers in different specialties to work together. That approach improves patient care by promot-ing better communication and coordination. The patients’ rooms, all private, are “acuity adaptable,” she said, so as patients’ conditions change, they usually are not transferred to another unit. “Putting the patient at the forefront – that’s something that’s pervasive,” Kru-kowski said. “It’s palpable. It all plays into the best care.”

Dr. David Kaufman, medical director for Saint Mary’s neuroscience programs, works closely with Leanna Krukowski, the department’s clinical services director.

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What a year it has been since the opening of the Hauen-stein Center at Saint Mary’s Health Care. The brick and

mortar building, impressive in itself, is only the structure allowing us to bring together highly trained specialists of-

fering a variety of neuroscience services, including many previously unavailable in West Michigan.

For me, it is a tribute to two men who had a great deal of impact on my life: my close friend, Jay Van Andel, and my father. I saw both men struggle with and eventually suc-cumb to Parkinson’s disease, so when Saint Mary’s CEO Phil McCorkle mentioned the need for a Parkinson’s clinic, I was more than happy to help raise money for it. That clinic was the seed for the comprehensive neuroscience program now housed in the Hauenstein Center, which also includes a first-rate critical care unit and a state-of-the-art emergency and trauma department.

The critical care and emergency physicians work closely with the neuroscience specialists in treating not only Parkinson’s, but epilepsy, spinal disorders, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, stroke, brain tumors, sleep disorders, neu-roopthalmology and memory disorders, including Alzheim-er’s. The latter is important to me personally, because my dear wife, Grace, died of Alzheimer’s in December, 2007.

In the year since the grand opening, the center has contin-ued growing, attracting more top-notch specialists and more patients, and it has engaged in research with other organizations, including the Van Andel Institute, found-ed by Jay Van Andel. Nationally there is a critical need for such neuroscience programs, particularly as the population ages and diseases such as Parkinson’s and

Alzheimer’s become more common. No longer will West Michigan patients have to travel to Chicago or

elsewhere to get treatment for these neurological disorders. The Hauenstein Center is a testament

to the generosity of the West Michigan com-munity and proof of Saint Mary’s commitment

to providing health care services unavailable elsewhere in the area. I am pleased to have

played a part in it.

Sincerely,Ralph Hauenstein

A letter from Ralph Hauenstein

Philanthropist Ralph Hauenstein (left) and Saint Mary’s CEO Phil McCorkle stand in the lobby of the new Hauenstein Center, a multi-specialty medical facility born in a casual conversation between the two.

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A letter from Ralph Hauenstein

A letter from Phil McCorkleRalph Hauenstein often expresses gratitude to our community for its generosity during the fund raising campaign for the Hauenstein Cen-ter, but it was Ralph’s generosity that sparked and nurtured the project. His desire to see a world-class center (“our center,” he often calls it) for the diagnosis and treatment of neurolog-ical disorders, and his tireless efforts to make the vision a reality are the foundation of the Hauenstein Center. We are, indeed, grateful to our community, but Ralph’s efforts were the heart and soul of the project.

The Hauenstein Center was the most ambi-tious project ever undertaken by Saint Mary’s in our nearly 120-year history, and its presence so close to the site of the first Saint Mary’s Hospital building is particularly significant, be-cause the center carries on the tradition of ex-cellent medical treatment, delivered with care and compassion, that has always been Saint Mary’s hallmark.

The neuroscience program, with its support-ing critical care and trauma services, already has developed a national reputation. With in-creasing frequency, neurologists and sub spe-cialists from around the country inquire about joining the program. The interdisciplinary care model, the collegiality of the staff, the growing research capacity, and the beautiful facility at-tract physicians to this healing place.

After only one year of operation, the growth of the neuroscience program has far exceeded our expectations, thanks to the efforts of many, but especially to Ralph Hauenstein.It was his vision and dedication to the idea that world-class care for those suffering from Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, stroke, and other neu-rological disorders should be available to the people of West Michigan.

Sincerely,Phil McCorkle President and CEO, Saint Mary’s Health Care

Philanthropist Ralph Hauenstein in the lobby of his namesake building with Saint Mary's CEO Phil McCorkle.

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The Hauenstein Center at Saint Mary’s220 Cherry Street SE | Grand Rapids, MI 49503

(616) 685-5000 | www.smhealthcare.org