$1 billion medical investment spurs jobs today, innovation for the future

The $250 million Helen Devos Children's Hospital. The $165 million expansion of the Van Andel Research Institute. The $60 million Hauenstein Center at St. Mary's. The $78 million Lemmon Holton Cancer Center.

All together more than a $1 billion of health care-related construction is underway in Grand Rapids and across west Michigan, generating construction jobs today and positioning the region for a locally unprecedented push in innovation and economic expansion.

But metro Grand Rapids isn't the only place betting big on health care and biotech. Forty-one other states see a future in the medical industry, too.

``The competition is fierce,'' George Erickcek, an economist with the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research told the Kalamazoo Gazette. ``Life science is on everybody's radar. The question is, will Grand Rapids rise to the top?''

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Source: Gazette News Service


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