GRAND RAPIDS —
In his new position, Kooiman is responsible for maintaining relationships on behalf of the
Kooiman comes to the position with an already established network of relationships with those organizations, as well as local and state officials stemming from his 12 years of elected service in
Essentially, that means networking with all the entities and getting involved in all the activities on
, because the
“The attraction for me was that it was an exciting new venture in
Kooiman graduated from
In 1993 he joined the staff of U.S. Congressman Peter Hoekstra as the congressman’s
“I didn’t go into this with elective office in mind at all; it was more with city management, county management or state agency management type career goals,” Kooiman recalled. “But I really got involved and liked the political process.”
After working for 16 years for the two full-time elected officials, he figured it was time to strike out on his own in politics.
In 1995, Kooiman was elected
“You sort of get that political bug, and I wanted to expand my involvement in the community,” he reflected.
Kooiman won the House seat and served as a state representative for six years, the last two as speaker pro tem, one of the top leadership positions in the House.
“It was an incredible opportunity not only to be at the leadership table, but to preside over the House on a daily basis for those two years,” Kooiman said.
Now his attentions are fixed on integrating the
, where the first of the medical students will take classes. In 2008 and 2009, 50 second-year students will take classes at the
When the new
It’s projected that by 2020 there will be an 8 percent shortfall of physicians, while in Michigan the shortfall is expected to be about 12 percent, Kooiman pointed out. The new medical school is a concerted effort by
The synergies of Spectrum Health and Saint Mary’s Health Care, the Van Andel Institute and a brand new state-of-the-art medical school are exciting, Kooiman remarked. With all of the activity on
hill, he can’t wait to see where the community will be five to 10 years from now.
“I think the transition is going to be absolutely remarkable. The chances of