ALPENA, MI — A hospital in northeast Michigan has a new name and a fresh start. MidMichigan Health officially announced that it’s rebranding the former Alpena Regional Hospital Center to MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena. The system also plans to rebrand some of the local clinics under the new name, which will be seen on signs and marquees soon.
MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena is a 139-bed critical access hospital that provides general medical and surgical inpatient and outpatient care along with a 24-hour emergency room to the Alpena community. The facility has medical specialties including behavior health services, cancer care, diagnostic imaging (x-ray, CT scanning, etc.), orthopedics, pain management, rehabilitation services, surgery, women’s health and wound & hyperbaric medicine.
In a new report, the federal government gave the Alpena hospital a top rating in the category of patient safety. The hospital scored above the national average in six of the eight categories. The only area where the hospital fell short was in readmissions, but that score is still good compared to other hospitals.
The rating was part of a larger survey on quality. Patients were asked about their experiences at the hospital. The majority of people surveyed said they would recommend the hospital to others. That was about 63%. The hospital was also above the state and national average when it comes to communication with doctors.
Michael Erickson, president of the hospital, says the results are great news. He also praised the staff for their work. He said the rating is similar to the one the hospital received this year from Leapfrog Group, which rates how safe a hospital is. The group gave the hospital a C grade, but that could improve in the future if issues are corrected.
Erickson also says he’s proud that the hospital was chosen as a pilot site for a new standards-based verification program that the American College of Surgeons is developing. It’s called Rural Surgery Verification and the first pilot visit was held at MMMC-Alpena last week. The goal is to help rural surgeons and their hospitals provide high-quality, consistent surgical care.