Foto Friday: MSU College of Human Medicine Secchia Center Grand Rapids Michigan

We attended a recent open house for Grand Rapids Chamber of

Commerce members at the MSU College of Human Medicine in

Grand Rapids new Secchia Center.  The building and its facilities

have state of the art technology, commanding views of downtown

Grand Rapids, and a beautiful new LEED certified building.  MSU’s

College of Human Medicine is ranked in the Top 25 Medical Schools by

U.S. News and World Report, so you can see why we care excited to

have them here in the heart of Grand Rapids.

The Secchia Center, a seven-story, 180,000-square-foot building atop

a five-story parking deck along Grand Rapids’ Michigan Street, serves as the

medical education building and administrative headquarters for the MSU

College of Human Medicine.

With a LEED silver certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, the

Secchia Center uses sustainable finish materials and "smart" lighting, as well

as photovoltaic glass in various areas to convert solar energy into electricity.

The building also features water reduction technologies and was designed

with a heat recovery system, radiant floor heat in the atrium and a

ventilation system that detects carbon dioxide levels in the air and auto-

matically adjusts for improved overall indoor air quality.

Our second year student is giving us a tour of the auditorium.  With its

interactive live streaming system, students at the other MSU campuses can

hear the lecture and ask questions.

Another Lecture Room with interactive capabilities. The black boxes on

the desks act like intercoms, so each student can interact with the instructor

and his fellow students.  [Yes, that is me in the red sweater!]

This is the view of the Michigan Street hill from the fifth floor.

The Immanuel Lutheran School,  then Van Andel Institute, then the new

Spectrum DeVos Children’s Hospital  atop the hill.  Just part of

the Medical Mile here in Grand Rapids.

This was my favorite item on the tour: the touch screen building directory

with Sparty, the MSU mascot helmet superimposed over a human skull.

The students have a really fantastic patient care & practice center that

is set up as a doctor’s office with treatment rooms that have a 2 way mirror

and video cameras.  Interviews and examinations can be viewed and videoed

so the student doctor can see how he is interacting with the “volunteer”

patient.  This practical experience helps to improve human interaction and

bedside manner, as well as patient treatment practice.  Volunteer patients

are from the local community and are trained on how to interact with the

students.

All of our photos of the tour are here on Flickr.

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The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,

the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in West

Michigan. Grand Rapids Michigan is a vibrant, growing metropolitan

area with a diverse business community, great medical research & services,

numerous universities, plus lively arts and entertainment of all kinds.

We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry   616-292-7263

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