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No one wants to get ill and end up in the hospital. But life happens.
We get sick, we get in accidents, we fall off ladders and break bones,
we have babies. When this happens it is very comforting to know
you have an excellent hospital in your local area that will be able to
care for you until you recover.
Here in Grand Rapids, Michigan we are very fortunate to have one of the
nation’s best hospitals to care for our citizens in need of health care.
Spectrum Health has 7 Hospitals and more than 140 service sites.
Spectrum Health’s 14,000 employees, 1,500 medical staff members
and 2,000 volunteers are a major part of our community and our economy,
providing $98.6 million in community benefit during its 2007 fiscal year.
Spectrum Health has earned more than 50 national awards during the
past 10 years. A recent study recognized Spectrum Health as one of
the best hospitals in the country for the sixth time in 10 years.
Spectrum Health was included on the list of Thomson Healthcare’s
100 Top Hospitals for 2007.
The winners were announced in the March 17, 2008 issue of
Modern Healthcare magazine.
The 100 Top Hospitals have higher survival rates, keep more patients complication-free, and have lower expenses-all while maintaining financial stability. Thomson Healthcare estimates that if all Medicare inpatients received the same level of care as those in the 100 Top Hospitals winners:
- more than 120,000 additional patients would survive each year
- nore than 138,000 patient complications would be avoided annually
- expenses would decline by an aggregate $6.2 billion a year
- the average patient stay would decrease by more than half a day
If you are planning on relocating to Grand Rapids Michigan, you can rest assured your medical needs will be in good hands.
Spectrum Health facts taken from Spectrum Health website – press releases
Autumn is a picturesque time of year here in West Michigan. We
have lots of rivers, lakes, fall color, and lots of wildlife. This series
of photos lets you see a few residents of the Thornapple River at
their daily routine. The Thornapple River flows into the Grand River,
the longest in the state at Ada Michigan. Needless to say, a haven for wildlife year round. This gaggle of geese was just off the
Thornapple Pointe Golf Club in southeastern Kent County a few
weekends ago.
If you are looking for a home in the Grand Rapids Area, we service the following areas: Metro Grand Rapids, Ada-Cascade, East Grand Rapids, Caledonia, Kentwood, Lowell, and Rockford. We have assisted Grand Rapids buy & sell homes for the last 35+ years. Call 1-616-292-7263 to talk with Terry or email him at: terry@terrywestbrook.com.
For MLS access to the homes for sale in the West Michigan Area,visit: Westbrook Realty ~ Grand Rapids Real Estate for a free search. Your search can be saved and modified as you view homes, with no obligation.
Thinking of selling your home? We offer one of the most extensive marketing campaigns in Grand Rapids with a major online presence for your home. With over 85% of buyers looking for homes online, this is where we concentrate our efforts. Click here to view Terry’s Realtor profile.
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West Michigan has 4 seasons and fall or autumn is one of our favorites.
The foliage on the trees is yellow, red, orange, shades of green, and
brown. It all combines to paint lovely colors all over our landscape.
We captured a few photos of the fall season here in Ada Michigan
on the Thornapple River this last weekend. All were take from
Thornapple Pointe Golf Club near the Gerald R Ford International
Airport, just southeast of Grand Rapids.
In fact, we joke that it is the TCPB course here…….trains, cars,
planes, and boats can all be seen and heard from the course.
We had an airboat travel down the river while we were playing
but I didn’t get my camera out in time to catch it in a photo.
Technorati Tags: west michigan golf course,thornapple river,ada mi 49301,grand rapids mi autumn color
Westbrook Realty ~ Grand Rapids Real Estate
Copyright 2009 all rights reserved
Call 1-616-292-7263 or email me: terry@terrywestbrook.com
This was captured yesterday playing golf at Thornapple Pointe Golf Course
on the Thornapple River in Grand Rapids Michigan.
My friend, Paul, and I got in a quick 18 holes in the afternoon.
The golf course was pretty open which left me time to snap a few shots
of our local scenery. This little maple is putting on quite a show!
Westbrook Realty ~ Grand Rapids Real Estate
Copyright 2009 all rights reserved
Call 1-616-292-7263 or email me: terry@terrywestbrook.com
This charming two story Tudor home in Ottawa Hills will be coming on the
market soon. With 3 bedrooms up, 1 1/2 baths, hardwood floors, and
2 stall garage attached, this home has a very livable floor plan.
Built in 1931 with quality materials, it has lots of built in character
with a fireplace and bay window in the living room. A sun room, formal
dining room, kitchen with new laminate flooring, new roof in 2008,
and 2009 painted wood exterior.
Ready for new owners to move in and enjoy the neighborhood.
The new Grand Rapids Christian Elementary School being built on
the site of the old Ottawa Hills High School, recently Iroquois Middle
School, is expected to be completed in fall 2010.
This sharp little bungalow on Grand Rapids Michigan NE side has a surprising
amount of room. The finished recreation room down and the large bedroom
up with a full bath make it a plus. Many improvements, new carpeting,
tile floors, fenced yard and a quiet neighborhood.
Come on over and take a look. We will be there Sunday from 12-2 pm.
Front of Home
Large Fenced Back Yard
Living Room with new carpeting
Kitchen has been updated with new cabinets, tile
floor, all appliances are included.
Listed at $99,900 MLS # 767050
Call me at 616-292-7263 for a private showing or email me at
Westbrook Realty ~ Grand Rapids Real Estate
Copyright 2009 all rights reserved
Call 1-616-292-7263 or email me: terry@terrywestbrook.com
The Grand Rapids Art Prize 2009 Finalists have Been Announced…. drumroll…
The winners are as follows:
Numero Uno: $250,000 Art Prize goes to: Ran Ortner for OPEN WATER #24
This painting will be on display at The Grand Rapids Art Museum through
Jan 2010 if you missed it during Art Prize. Saw a mention online that it
has been sold! Sure hope it stays in our community.
This painting is over 18 feet long…as Michigan is surrounded by water
and going through rough water economically right now, a fitting winner.
Number Two: $100,000 Art Prize goes to: Tracy Van Duinen for Imagine That!
This large outdoor mosaic mural by Tracy Van Duinen covers a portion of the
Grand Rapids Children’s Museum on the front. It is a permanent installation
and a wonderful, whimsical touch to one of our area’s attractions. Interactive
in many ways, this mural will teach, enchant, and educate all of us about
art for years to come.
Number Three: $50,000 Art Prize goes to: Eric Daigh for Portraits
These portraits are 4 x 6 feet and made of plastic push pins on boards.
Eric uses about 50,000 push pins for each portrait. You have to admire
the creativity and unusual medium of this artist!
Number Four: $ 7000 Art Prize goes to: David Lubbers for The Grand Dance
Sculpture. A stunning sight in the middle of the Grand River with lights
and motion.
Number Five: $ 7000 Art Prize goes to: Bill Segunda for The Moose
We haven’t seen this yet but would like to. Bill constructs his life size animals
using up to 60,000 nails welded on metal frame as fur. Hard to see in this picture
but it makes you appreciate the work, vision and creativity that went into this
entry.
Number Six: $ 7000 Art Prize goes to:Thomas Birks for The Nessie Project
This is just such a fun entry, who doesn’t love Nessie on the Grand River?
Number Seven: $7000 Art Prize goes to: John Douglas Powers for Field of Reeds
This is a kinetic sculpture that measures 14 x 10 x 4.5 feet high. The 1001 reeds
sway back and forth to create a rhythmic motion & sound.
Number Eight: $7000 Art Prize goes to: Sarah Grant for The Furniture
This oversize table and chairs placed on the pedestrian Blue Bridge in
Grand Rapids was a favorite of many. With Grand Rapids’ Furniture City
past, it hit many people as not only fun, but indicative of GR’s past, as
evidenced by its full title: Furniture City Sets the Table for the
World of Art.
Number Nine: $7000 Art Prize goes to: Jason Hackenworth for
Ecstasy of The Scarlet Empress
This fantasy sea creature made up entirely of balloons was stunning
and unexpectedly realistic. There were also people interacting with
the crowds wearing balloon costumes created by Jason.
Number Ten: $7000 Art Prize goes to:Michael Westra for Winddancer 2
This welded kinetic sculpture moves with the slightest breeze.
It certainly charmed the voters who saw it.
That is the Art Prize Finalist line up for this year, 2009. We were all
excited and pleased with the community reaction and participation in
viewing and voting for their favorite pieces of art work.
Grand Rapids is looking forward to next year!
All pictures except Nessie, Furniture, and Scarlet Empress are courtesy of the Art Prize web site
With the Grand Rapids Art Prize voting finally totaled last night, we know that most of 1262 entries didn’t win, any money, that is. The Top Ten will now compete for:
- 1st Place – $250K
- 2nd Place – $100K
- 3rd Place – $ 50K
- 4th-10th - $ 7K
Not exactly small change when it comes to art. I imagine most of us don’t have anything close to a $7000 piece of artwork in our homes.
The Top Ten Entries are all worthy and I will have to check them all out before I cast my final vote for the winner. I really enjoyed the thumbs up, thumbs down voting for all the artists. It was really great to be included in something this big and this important to our community.
But I digress, I want to talk about one of the Art Prize entries that didn’t win:
The Red Ball Project:Grand Rapids. We have friends in Heritage Hill who have served as hosts for 2 artists in this event. They provide housing and a home base while the artist puts up, installs, paints, or whatever they have to do to enter their art work. We were fortunate enough to meet the young artist of the Red Ball Project, Kurt Perschke and his wife Kate, while we were touring Art Prize.
This Art Prize entry is a large (15 ft diameter) red inflatable ball that is placed in strategic and well known places to tickle the senses and make you look again. Did I just see a large red ball there? Kids love to punch it and jump into it…..have fun with it. The Red Ball has been all over the world since 2001, Sydney Australia, Portland OR, Chicago IL, Korea, Rome Italy and Barcelona Spain, just to name a few of the spots it has visited.
Kurt and Kate are newlyweds and they are experiencing the Grand Rapids Art Prize together. They have been in Grand Rapids for at least 12 days and yet I doubt they have had time to see much beyond the venues of their Red Ball placement in major downtown venues.
They noted that the citizens of Grand Rapids seemed to take their voting responsibilities quite seriously, carrying notebooks and colored markers to note their reactions to different Art Prize entries.
So even though Red Ball didn’t win the art prize Grand Rapids was a winner. We got exposure to art work that never would have found our city without sponsors or a paid venue. So, thanks Kurt and Kate. It was a fun experience for all of us in Grand Rapids!
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids Real Estate
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
We took a few hours to browse the Art Prize venues yesterday, Thursday, Sept 24th, 2009 in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. We saw some fabulous pieces of artwork and we also some we just didn’t get. I am sure it is the same for everyone, as we all see the world through our own private filter.
We took a few photos to share with those who won’t get a chance to see this art extravaganza in person. Some of the artworks have to be seen in person to appreciate the scale and subtleties. some are in-your-face, some are really, really out there, and others are really just for fun.
We registered to vote, toured the Urban Institute of Contemporary Arts, the Blue Bridge, Cathedral Square, Rosa Parks Circle and the Waters Building. We had a wonderful lunch at the Grand Rapids Art Museum’s Terrace Restaurant overlooking Rosa Parks Circle. What a great spot to people watch and even had a few art prize entries stroll past.
We hope to get back to see a lot more artwork. With 159 venues and over 1200 artists, it is quite a task to see them all. Hope you enjoy our tour!
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids Real Estate
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
Unless you have hiding under a rock, or chained to your computer, The
Art Prize is the BIG NEWS in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Art Prize was
announced earlier this year as a top prize of $250,000 for the top
art work selected by a public vote. Highly controversial, as those in
the art community doubt that the average person is qualified to
judge art work. It is sure to create a buzz around art and that is
the point.
The Art Prize exhibits opened yesterday and we went for our first
tour today. With 1262 artists entered in over 159 venues, it is no
small task to try to see them all. We took some time to tour the
large sculptures and the Waters Building today. The others will
have to wait until another day.
The voting will take place over a 2 week period, with just a thumbs up
vote to keep an entry in the running. The top 25, top 50, and top 100
are posted on the web site so we can all keep track of who is ahead.
Here are a few photos of the large installations at the Blue Bridge,
so you can get an idea of what Grand Rapids is up to:
The Nessie Project
Sarah Grant Table and Chairs
Our sources tell us the Nessie Project was supposed to go farther out
in the Grand River, so there would be more movement but the cranes
could not get it installed any farther from the shore.
The giant Table and Chairs is a very apt piece for Grand Rapids as we
were known as “Furniture City” in the first half of the 20th century.
Come on out and see the art work for yourself and don’t forget to
register to vote for your favorite pieces.
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids Michigan
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
Photos by Bonnie Westbrook
