Jeff and Michelle Godfrey pose for a photo on a bridge and smile.
Jeff and Michelle Godfrey both serve patients at Big Rapids and Reed City Hospitals, but in different ways. Jeff is a process improvement coach for Reed City Hospital while Michelle is a physician assistant in Canadian Lakes. (For Spectrum Health Beat)

Jeff Godfrey is a process improvement coach for Spectrum Health Reed City Hospital.

His wife, Michelle, is a physician assistant at Spectrum Health Big Rapids Hospital Family Medicine, Canadian Lakes.

Though they have different roles within the system, both see the value of the two hospitals working so closely together.

Jeff could see opportunities for career growth when he first came on board with Spectrum Health as a housekeeping manager in Big Rapids.

“It was a great opportunity,” he recalled. “I could see a ton of room for advancement.”

Soon after, he would become a manager for nutrition services at both Big Rapids and Reed City hospitals.

In his current role as a process improvement coach, Jeff is working with the Reed City Hospital emergency department, reviewing patient scores, throughput and finding ways that the department can tighten its processes to positively impact patients.

“The hope is that the leadership team will get a good sense of what process improvement is,” Jeff explained, “and be able to run with it.”

The benefits of hospital integration are also making an impact on how communities access care.

“Patients had the misconception that they could only go to one or the other,” Michelle said. “Now they know they have access to both hospitals.”

When the need arises, there’s also a greater connection to specialists in Grand Rapids.

“We feel more connected,” she said. “If we need to get a patient to Grand Rapids, it’s easier.”

Better alignment of services and electronic records has also streamlined care for doctors and patients. For a process coach like Jeff, it’s a dream come true.

“I think it’s going to help our hospitals grow,” he said.

Jeff and Michelle are equally excited about the impact the system is having on their community, from supporting their kids’ T-ball leagues to being a premium sponsor for the area Chamber of Commerce.

“I’m very involved with the Chamber,” Jeff explained. “I really like that Spectrum Health embraces the community and opens their arms to business.”