News Releases

ST. JOSEPH, Mich., July 15, 2026 — Corewell Health™ is expanding access to care across Southwest Michigan through a series of investments designed to bring services closer to where people live and improve long-term access across the region.

The effort includes new urgent care locations, expanded clinic services and workforce-focused investments that support the next generation of clinicians. Together, these projects reflect a coordinated approach to meeting different needs in the local communities. 

“We are hearing from communities that access to care needs to be closer to home and easier to reach,” said Natalie Baggio, president, Corewell Health in Southwest Michigan. “These investments are one way we’re responding by expanding services where they’re needed and supporting the workforce that makes that care possible.”

Rather than focusing on a single location, the work spans multiple communities, with each investment addressing a specific local need. In some areas, that means adding new care sites. In others, it means expanding services or strengthening the workforce that supports care delivery.

“Access to care should not depend on how far someone has to travel or how difficult it is to find the right place to go,” said Matt Cox, chief financial officer, Corewell Health. “These investments are about making sure people can get the care they need, when they need it, right in their own community.”

One example is South Haven, where a new care center is planned in a community that has not had a local option for urgent care. Residents have often needed to travel outside the area for urgent care services, and this project is intended to close that gap.

Key projects across Southwest Michigan include:

• South Haven: New care center featuring urgent care and primary care, expanding access in a community without a local option for same-day care
• St. Joseph: Lookout Point apartment expansion supporting the housing shortage for medical residents and strengthening the pipeline of future clinicians
• Royalton: Urgent care opening, improving access to same-day care in the region
• Bridgman: Primary care practice expansion with walk-in care, physical therapy and occupational therapy, supporting growing patient demand
• Dowagiac: Primary care practice expansion and walk-in care, increasing local capacity
• Niles: New care center expanding access to a range of specialty services for the community
• Niles: New apartments supporting the housing shortage for medical residents and strengthening the pipeline of future clinicians

By taking a coordinated approach across multiple communities, these investments support access in different ways, from adding new care options to expanding existing services and ensuring the workforce is in place to sustain care locally. 

These projects will move forward on different timelines, with openings and expansions happening over time across Southwest Michigan. Rather than a one-time investment, they represent a continued approach to expanding access and supporting communities across the region.

Over time, these efforts reflect a broader effort to make care more available, more connected and closer to home for communities across Southwest Michigan.

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About Corewell Health™  

People are at the heart of everything we do, and the inspiration for our legacy of outstanding outcomes, innovation, strong community partnerships, philanthropy and transparency. Corewell Health is a not-for-profit health system that provides health care and coverage with an exceptional team of 60,000+ dedicated people — including more than 12,000 physicians and advanced practice providers and more than 16,000 nurses providing care and services in 21 hospitals, 300+ outpatient locations and several post-acute facilities — and Priority Health, a provider-sponsored health plan serving more than 1.3 million members. Through experience and collaboration, we are reimagining a better, more equitable model of health and wellness. For more information, visit corewellhealth.org.

Media contact:

Alexis Bolo Neal

alexis.boloneal@corewellhealth.org