KALAMAZOO, MI — It’s been just over three months since Beacon Health System acquired four Ascension Borgess hospitals and 35 outpatient clinics in Southwest Michigan.
The transition, like any major acquisition, has not been without its challenges, but it has been mostly filled with positivity, said Beacon Kalamazoo President Carl Risk.
“We had some hiccups with supplies, and we continue to work through that, but nothing that has disrupted patient care,” Risk said.
Overall, the transition has been a smooth one, he said.
The Indiana-based nonprofit healthcare provider officially assumed operations July 1 of an ambulatory surgery center, 35 outpatient clinics and the following hospitals:
Ascension Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo (now Beacon Kalamazoo)Ascension Borgess Allegan Hospital (now Beacon Allegan)Ascension Borgess-Lee Hospital in Dowagiac (now Beacon Dowagiac)Ascension Borgess-Pipp Hospital in Plainwell (now Beacon Plainwell)
RELATED: Ascension Borgess Kalamazoo, 3 other hospitals to be sold to Indiana-based health system
Among the biggest challenges Risk and his team faced leading up to the transition was the inability to speak with department heads and doctors during the sale process.
“That was tough for us,” he said. “But it was certainly great (afterward) to be able to realize: ‘Wow, we have a tremendously strong medical staff here in the community.’
“We knew that we had a good medical staff looking at the quality indicators. This place certainly provides high quality care. We could see that in the public data. But it was great to finally connect with physicians within the hospital.”
The response to new leadership from Beacon’s newest 2,700 associates has been overwhelmingly positive, he said. Risk added that there was very low turnover during the transition and Beacon is already laying out a plan to bring on new associates.
Growth and momentum
Since July 1, Beacon Kalamazoo has, in fact, already hired 48 new nurses, recruited four primary care physicians, four primary nurse practitioners, an orthopedic surgeon and a neurosurgeon. Plans are for that recruitment to continue as Beacon aims to increase medical access and availability to the community, Risk said.
“I think we’ve created some really good momentum in the first three months,” he said. “We’ve (also) been able to ensure that we have some key investments that are teed up for 2025 and 2026 that are going to be big changes from a technology perspective.”
Beacon Kalamazoo President Carl Risk came to Kalamazoo by way of Elkhart, Indiana, where he served as president of Beacon’s Elkhart General Hospital since 2016. (Photo provided by Beacon Health)Provided by Beacon Health
Among those investments, Beacon is building a new electronic medical record system that will go live Feb. 1, 2026, streamlining patient care across the health system.
In total, Beacon is investing $70 million in its new Southwest Michigan facilities between its July 1 acquisition date and the end of 2026, Risk said.
In addition to the new record system, equipment needs and facility upgrades are also being addressed, he said. Many of the initial facility upgrades are simple by nature, such as resurfacing parking lots and repairing lots.
Once a strategic plan is developed, larger facility decisions will be made, he said.
Coming to Kalamazoo
Risk, who spent the last nine years as president of Beacon’s Elkhart General Hospital in Indiana, said he was drawn to Kalamazoo during the due diligence phase.
That phase began in mid-2024 after Borgess approached Beacon.
Asked to be a part of the acquisition team by Beacon CEO Kreg Gruber, Risk said the more he dug in, the more he could see the opportunity that Kalamazoo presented. So, when Gruber asked if he would head up the newest faction of Beacon, Risk accepted.
“For me, I was really excited to be able to come invest, bring my leadership and really help get the hospital back on track from a financial and care perspective,” Risk said.
Risk’s experience working for Ascension prior to taking the Elkhart job in 2016 provides him with a unique perspective, understanding how both healthcare systems operate.
Prior to joining Beacon, Risk worked as an administrator for St. Vincent Health, a critical access Ascension hospital in North Vernon, Indiana.
While already familiar with Ascension’s framework, Risk said he also saw similarities between Elkhart General and Ascension Borgess in Kalamazoo.
“Elkhart is a strong community hospital that provides a very broad scope of service, from cardiac services to neurosurgery to orthopedics,” he said. “So, that really prepared me to be in this role here. This is a little bit larger hospital, but it provides a lot of similar services.”
Risk looks to build on what he considers to be an already strong orthopedics group, vascular stroke program, oncology program, general surgery team and level 2 trauma center.
“When you meet the providers and the caregivers and the support team, you just can’t help to be energized to look for ways to invest and help build us back up,” he said.
Local governance and partnership
Having been at both Borgess and Beacon, Risk said one thing he appreciates about Beacon’s philosophy is the emphasis it places on local governance.
Each of the four Southwest Michigan hospitals recently acquired will soon have their own local boards filled with community members, physicians, frontline caregivers and members of Risk’s administration team.
“I know the value of that,” Risk said. “I’ve seen that being at Beacon, and I’m excited for (each of) the communities to be able to have that here.”
Local governance and providing quality healthcare close to home is at the heart of Beacon’s mission, Risk said.
As such, many surgeons – some who were already doing so – will split time between the various Southwest Michigan hospitals and clinics.
Higher acuity care will continue to primarily take place in Kalamazoo.
“What we want is to build on the high-quality care that is already here,” Risk said. “We want Beacon Kalamazoo to be a thriving hospital that is known for high-quality care and top patient experience.”
Having a partnership with Bronson Methodist Hospital and the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine will only help that, Risk said.
“When you think about the physician shortage, to have that partnership with WMed and have residents rotating through the hospital, both here and at Bronson, we see that as a tremendous asset,” he said. “We want to continue to strengthen that relationship that’s there and continue to see the benefits of that relationship as we go forward.”
As far as developing a partnership with Bronson, early conversations have been positive, he said.
“At the end of the day, the community is large enough that we need two strong, vibrant hospitals,” Risk said. “No one hospital can do it all.
“So, that’s what we continue to drive toward.”
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