Stacey Titus • January 17, 2024
Corewell Health (formerly Spectrum Health) HCM Program – Grand Rapids, Michigan

The Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Program at Corewell Health (formerly Spectrum Health) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was founded in 2013 and recognized as an HCMA Center of Excellence in 2017. 

  • The multidisciplinary team includes:
  • Dr. David Fermin – Program Director
  • Dr. Jeff Decker – Cardiovascular Imaging
  • Dr. Richard McNamara – Interventional Cardiology
  • Lori Singer – Physician Assistant
  • Jackie Sporte and Paula Droste – HCM Specialty Nurses
  • Dr. Alfred Albano and Dr. Nagib Chalfoun – Cardiac Electrophysiologists
  • Dr. Tomasz Timek – Cardiac surgeon
  • Dr. Stanley Sedore – Pediatric Cardiologist
  • Bethany Grysko – Genetic Counselor
  • Doreen McGrath and Justin Joseff – Social Workers

The Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Program at Corewell Health offers a “comprehensive patient-centered approach to diagnosis, education, and treatment, bringing our resources around our patients wherever possible. We facilitate family screening of HCM patients along with our pediatric cardiology clinic. Our echocardiography lab offers multiple regional locations to allow patients to remain in their community for much of their testing. Our approach has also evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic to include virtual visits with providers and our genetic counselor. Our more advanced services include cardiac MRI, heart catheterization and electrophysiology labs, as well as advanced heart failure therapies including heart transplant.”

Program Director  Dr. David Fermin says, “Our clinic cares for 1028 HCM patients and their families. Our cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Timek, performed 14 septal myectomy surgeries last year, contributing to an increase in our patients’ quality of life. Excitingly, we participated in groundbreaking clinical trials for Mavacamten, including EXPLORER-HCM, MAVA-LTE and VALOR-HCM, enrolling several of our patients. We continue our involvement in clinical trials of both Mavacamten and Aficamten for patients with both obstructive and nonobstructive HCM.

We have enjoyed teaming with the HCMA to enhance the lives of those with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. “

The Corewell Health HCM Team recently participated in our BigHearted Warriors Unite Webinar Series. If you would like to watch this free education webinar, please visit  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo7U7jZUeIg&t=106s.  

For more information on Corewell Health (formerly Spectrum Health) HCM Program in Grand Rapids, Michigan, please visit:  https://4hcm.org/corewell/


For more information on all HCMA-recognized centers of excellence, please visit  https://4hcm.org/center-of-excellence/.

HCMA Blog

Lisa's Letter - July Newsletter

By Lisa Salberg • July 3, 2025
Summer, greetings to all our big-hearted friends As July approaches, our focus is already on the fall and preparing for some major events, including our annual meeting coming up in October. July will also find us on the west coast in Seattle conducting a regional patient education meeting as part of our big-hearted warrior tour. We have been following the generic drug quality issue in the United States very closely and encourage you to watch the series starting with our Hill briefing in April and following with the additional webinars with our partners at Medshadow and the People's Pharmacy, and of course the ProPublica series of articles. See them all here . We are happy to have a new team member on board - we welcome Pam as our coordinator of both our All Hearts Collaborative and Hearts and Minds project. Over the next few months, you're going to be learning more about these two amazing initiatives and how we are working to provide better services for big hearts regardless of where you live, so we are meeting all of our big-hearted friends where they are. Please stay tuned for updates from these projects coming soon. We are also creating new volunteer opportunities and engagements that we hope will make it easier for you to participate in spreading the message of the importance of diagnosis, the importance of community readiness related to CPR and AED use and, of course, helping patients get to their ultimate diagnosis and getting them on the proper treatment pathways. This July I would like to recognize all of the special birthdays in my family, including HCMA Center of Excellence coordinator, Stacey Titus-brown and my daughter Rebecca Salberg. It's a milestone birthday for Becca - it’s hard to believe I have a 30-year-old child. Wishing you all a happy and healthy summer. Go build some memories!
An official seal in black & red with white letters that say HCMS Recognized Centers of Excellence

July's Topic is COE Care at the HCMA

By Sabrina Cuddy • July 3, 2025
Getting HCM care at a HCMA Recognized Center of Excellence has a positive impact on patient's outcomes. Find out why in the post by Health Educator Sabrina Cuddy

Pro Publica Releases Results of FDA Investigation

By Erica Friedman • June 26, 2025
Investigative journalists Debbie Cenziper, Megan Rose, Brandon Roberts and Irena Hwang from Pro Publica and NPR have concluded a 14-month long investigation into the quality of generic drugs coming into the United States from overseas. Among the many voices that spoke up for American patients was HCMA Founder and CEO, Lisa Salberg who has felt the effects of low-quality drugs personally. Salberg believes that fixing this problem is something we can do, even in this time, when even health care is highly politicized. Read the key takeaways from ProPublica’s 14-month investigation into the FDA’s oversight of foreign drugmakers in Threat in Your Medicine Cabinet: The FDA’s Gamble on America’s Drugs .
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