Turning Leaf & Bronson Hospital Joint Press Release

Vicksburg, Michigan -- Bronson Healthcare is pleased to announce that its 40,000 square foot outpatient center in Vicksburg has been sold to a healthcare organization that will bring local jobs and a new purpose to the former hospital and rehabilitation center.

The purchaser is New Leaf Management, LLC, which is a sister entity to Turning Leaf Residential Rehabilitation Services, Inc., a Michigan-based assisted living provider. Since 1995, Turning Leaf has specialized in supporting adults who are living with a mental health, intellectual, or developmental disability across 18 programs throughout Michigan. With the purchase of the Bronson Vicksburg property, Turning Leaf will add another site and level of residential support to its continuum. The Vicksburg program will serve aging adults who may otherwise meet nursing home care criteria, but also possess an underlying mental health diagnosis that makes it difficult for them to access traditional programs.

Bronson’s decision to sell the Vicksburg facility was based on a progressive, multi-year shift in the general population’s willingness to travel to Vicksburg for medical services. Outpatient Rehabilitation, the last service remaining in the Bronson Vicksburg Outpatient Center building, will relocate its staff later this year to the Outpatient Rehabilitation department on the Kalamazoo hospital campus.

Bronson Family Medicine, formerly Family Doctors of Vicksburg, as well as the lab draw station, anti-coagulation center and dietitian services, are unaffected by the outpatient center sale. They continue to thrive and serve patients in the building adjacent to the outpatient center at 13320 North Boulevard Street.

According to Bronson Senior Vice President Mike Way, “Over the past several years, we have looked at many ideas for repurposing this building, always hoping we’d find a partner and solution that could make the best possible use of this facility and be beneficial to the community. We’re extremely pleased to have found that perfect fit with Turning Leaf.”

Turning Leaf has been owned and operated by the same family for two generations. Executive Director Sami W. Al Jallad, MPA, says, “We look forward to the process of renovating and bringing renewed life and purpose to the former Bronson Vicksburg Hospital property. This is a very exciting moment for our employees, stakeholders, and most importantly the people who will benefit from this new residential program. We are very grateful to and could not have asked for better partners in the Bronson team, specifically Mike Way and Greg Milliken, as well as Jim Mallery and Bobby Durkee with the Village of Vicksburg during the sale and due diligence process. On behalf of our Leadership team, we look forward to continued partnerships with the Bronson organization as well as the Village of Vicksburg and having the most productive impact on the local community as possible.”

Internationally accredited at the highest level by CARF, the Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, and licensed by the state of Michigan, Turning Leaf works collaboratively with community mental health agencies and other regional stakeholders to serve individuals as close to home as possible.

Turning Leaf has 185 employees throughout the state and the organization expects to employ another 60-80 individuals to serve the Vicksburg location.

Vicksburg Village Manager Jim Mallery says, “This is great news for the Village and for families in the area who can benefit from the services Turning Leaf offers. I look forward to welcoming the Turning Leaf team and the job opportunities they will bring to our community. I would also like to thank Bronson for their stewardship of this building for so many years, and for so thoughtfully matching it up with this new use. It is a win-win situation for all.”

Turning Leaf will begin renovating the facility in fall 2018 with the intent to be operational by mid-January 2019.