On Monday, Grand Valley State University President Thomas Haas and Michigan State University President Lou Anna Simon announced two new health partnerships between the universities.

MSU and GVSU have agreed to a joint online graduate certificate in clinical research and drug-trial management, as well as a partnership with the Grand Rapids Medical Education Partners and Spectrum Health’s Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital to form a patient-safety program. Both programs are scheduled to begin in fall 2011.

“The partners are developing an interprofessional patient safety program to educate our health care students and providers in safety behaviors to improve patient care,” said GVSU Vice Provost for health Jean Nagelkerk in a press release.

Simon formally announced the universities’ partnership in a speech given to the Economic Club of Grand Rapids this Monday celebrating the opening of MSU’s $90 million Secchia Center in downtown Grand Rapids. The center will serve as the new site of MSU’s College of Human Medicine, which currently hosts more than 1,200 physicians.

GVSU and MSU already have a number of ongoing cooperative programs, including the Early Assurance Program linking pre-med GVSU students to MSU’s College of Human Medicine in Grand Rapids. Currently, six GVSU pre-med students have begun their studies at the college.

Simon and Haas agreed the partnership encourages academic collaboration, which the two presidents consider a crucial strategy in the current economic climate.

“The location of MSU’s Human College of Medicine in Grand Rapids provides an opportunity for Grand Valley and MSU to work together on behalf of the region,” Haas said in a press release. “We’re obligated to the taxpayers of Michigan not to duplicate academic programs.”

Other organizations partnered with the College of Human Medicine include the Van Andel Institute, Saint Mary’s Health Care, Grand Action and The Right Place.

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