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By Karen Gentry | MiBiz
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Cheryl Feldt of Hope Network Rehabilitation Services sees nothing but positive impacts from her organization’s partnership with the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine for students to perform medical rotations at Hope Network’s neuro-rehabilitation center. COURTESY PHOTO

GRAND RAPIDS — Michigan State University’s partnership with Hope Network Rehabilitation Services for medical student rotations promises to be a win for both organizations.

The new partnership offers second- and third-year medical students from MSU’s College of Human Medicine and College of Osteopathic Medicine four to eight weeks of rotation experience at Hope Network’s neuro-rehabilitation campus on the East Beltline in Grand Rapids. Students with an interest in psychiatry or neurology gain hands-on experience and interact daily with an extensive medical team.

Cheryl Feldt, director of clinical services for Hope Network Rehabilitation Services, said Hope Network has always been a teaching facility and the partnership is a natural fit.

“We feel that our clinicians are experts in neuro-rehabilitation, so having students in the building requires being on our game and at our best so we can provide a good experience for students,” Feldt told MiBiz. “When you have to teach something to somebody else, your own knowledge base has to be solid.”

Peggy Thompson, community associate dean for the MSU College of Human Medicine, said the partnership is a really good training opportunity for medical students, particularly because of the way professionals work together to coordinate the care and needs of the patients.

“Hope Network has a lot of patients with behavioral medicine issues. It quickly became apparent that it would be a good site for our students to learn because of the variety of problems that are there,” said Thompson, noting that MSU was impressed with the team-based care offered at Hope Network.

Feldt said students bring new energy and ideas to Hope Network.

“They come with the newest innovation, technology and the most recent research,” Feldt said. “Everything they are learning is now ahead of what was taught 10 years ago. We have to be at the top of our game. It’s a win-win situation for both sides.”

Neuro-psychiatry is a specialized branch of psychiatry that addresses problems with behavior and cognition due to illness or injury to the brain. Ted Mauger, chief of neuropsychiatry for Hope Network Rehabilitation Services, nationally renowned for his expertise in the brain and its functions, will oversee the students. He has developed neuropsychiatric treatment programs for individuals with acquired brain injuries. Feldt said Mauger is one of only a handful of psychiatrists with board certification in behavioral neurology and neuro-psychiatry.

Thompson said MSU medical students have six required clerkships in the medical disciplines including internal medicine, family medicine, psychiatry, pediatric, OB-GYN and surgery. The Hope Network partnership gives MSU another psychiatry rotation option.

Although MSU also offers students psychiatric rotations at Pine Rest, Saint Mary’s Health Care and Holland Hospital, the Hope Network rotation is unique in that it deals with head injuries and the treatment that goes into that particular component of psychiatry.

“Our psychiatry services are different than general psychiatry. We work with people with catastrophic injuries where there’s generally many healthcare providers involved with the injuries we see,” Feldt said. With sometimes three or four other physicians working on the same patient, it’s important that doctors know what medications have been prescribed so there’s fewer complications.

Feldt said Hope Network’s philosophical approach to serving people with catastrophic injuries is not to just reduce psychiatric symptoms but to also try to restore and enhance brain function. She said injuries often impact brain function and how information is processed and received.

“Our psychiatric services help to restore that, so the brain can process information normally again or as close to normal as possible,” Feldt said.

Although the number of traffic fatalities is going down with more people surviving, people are coming to Hope Network with greater injuries than before that require services at a more acute level. Feldt noted that Mauger is using psychotropic medications to enhance brain function in ways not previously used.

“Everything that he does is off-label. He’s had some amazing results and drug companies are doing some research with some of the medications he’s using,” Feldt said.

Mauger is using all the newest anti-psychotic and anxiety medications and combinations that haven’t been prescribed for head injuries in the past. Some have been proven to work well in restoring brain function, Feldt said. Hope Network’s success in this area attracts patients from across the state of Michigan to Grand Rapids.