Residents of Ionia County can rely on quality, dependable healthcare right in their own neighborhood. Ionia County Memorial Hospital, caring for the community since the 1940s, is an independent, community governed, non-profit health system. ICMH offers a full range of services including a 24-hour emergency room with ambulance service provided by Life EMS, an extensive line of radiology services, in-patient and our-patient surgeries, and a full service laboratory. Additional services include ICMH PROS, a physical therapy and sports medicine service. This is located off campus on the corner of M-66 and M-21 in Ionia.
The continually growing ICMH Home Care, also a service of the hospital, offers quality, safe and cost-effective home care with a well-trained and compassionate staff. Personalized 24-hour home care and homemaker services are a few of the services available. The Tony Balice Clinic, next to the hospital, provides an Obstetrician, Gynecologist, and Certified Midwife for women’s health issues. A Pediatrician provides healthcare for children up to age 16.
To compliment the healthcare services provided by Ionia County Memorial Hospital, four medical offices provide family medicine to area residents. The Family Health Center’s are located in Saranac, Ionia, Muir and Portland.
A wide variety of mental and physical healthcare providers are available to the Ionia community, including Internal Medicine physicians, Psychologists, General Surgeons, Dentists and Orthodontists, Social Workers, Ophthalmologists, Obstetricians, Gynecologists, Optometrists, Mental Health Counselors, Psychiatrists, Chiropractors, Rehabilitation Counselors and more. Grand River Physical Therapy provides rehab services and occupational therapy
For those in need of Assisted Living, Green Acres Retirement Living of Ionia cares like no other. Green Acres is a new retirement living concept that offers both independent and assisted living. Unique, one bedroom apartments open onto a charming interior streetscape - complete with street lights, park benches, towering trees and canopies. Dwellings include kitchenettes with appliances, large living and dining rooms, and spacious bedrooms. Bathrooms have call lights and large walk-in showers. Green Acres residents are independent, healthy, safe and secure. The assistance provided through "Activities of Daily Living" include: bathing, dressing, grooming, nutritional management, and medication monitoring. There are therapeutic activities and housekeeping/laundry services as well. On Park Avenue at Green Acres, the forecast is always sunny.
Ionia Area Hospice provides pain and symptom management for the terminally ill in the client’s home or residence. Other services offered include 24-hour RN emergency availability, chaplaincy/clergy coordination, nutrition counseling, and bereavement support for the entire family from time of admission to 13 months after the patient’s death.
For those in need of care and accommodations, Heartland Health Care Center provides round-the-clock health care in a home-like retirement complex. Accommodations include private and semi-private rooms and amenities such as individual emergency call systems, homemade meals supervised by a registered dietitian, and a beauty salon, to name a few. Professional services include IV Therapy, Respiratory Services, Wound Management, and Rehabilitative Services. Residents will enjoy Heartland’s social activities, community outings, and many special events and programs.
PUBLIC SERVICES
Residents of Ionia are proud of their excellent municipal services, police and fire protection, and public works. New sewer and water lines have been installed and sample tests have indicated that, unlike many older cities, Ionia is free from lead problems. All public works equipment have been upgraded or replaced with state-of-the-art sewer maintenance, road grading, and other equipment available to serve Ionia 24 hours a day. Streets and downtown area sidewalks are quickly plowed, ensuring the safety of our neighborhoods.
The local Public Safety Department, which recently earned accreditation status, consists of cross-trained public safety officers. In addition, the Ionia County Sheriff’s Department and Michigan State Police are based in Ionia. Ionia’s fire and police departments were consolidated in 1987; in 1993, a one million dollar state-of-the-art Public Safety Building was completed, upgrading the city’s ISO rating to a six. Other community services include a county-wide emergency 911 system, and cable TV availability.
Ionia government is led by a Mayor, City Clerk, and eight Council Members. A general election is held every two years.
EDUCATION
Ionia residents have the advantage of first-class educational resources for people of all ages. Knowledgeable, experienced faculty, active school boards, and involved parents work together to provide an academic environment conducive to learning.
More than 3,500 of Ionia’s students attend Ionia Public Schools, home to one of Michigan’s most innovative and comprehensive educational programs. Ionia High School, Heartlands Institute of Technology and a branch of Montcalm Community College share a common campus at the Ionia Education Center, winner of national recognition for architectural design. Here students and community members are offered an unique blend of high school courses; IHS students can receive vocational training in 15 programs, including business, electronics/robotics, CAD health occupations, machine tool, and more. Ionia students, equipped with advanced academic and vocational training, are well prepared for the 21st century.
Students in grades 9-12 receive a solid education in math, language, science and social studies. They can choose from a full range of elective offerings, including four-year programs in industrial arts and drafting, Spanish and French. Ionia High School’s top-rated music program offers a marching band, concert band, jazz band as well as chorus, chorale, vocal ensemble, and choir. More than 50% of Ionia’s students participate in extracurricular activities and athletics, including debate, drama, National Honor Society, SADD, basketball, golf, cross country and swimming, to name a few.
In addition to the Education Center, Ionia Public School students are served by five neighborhood elementary schools and one middle school. All the elementary school programs focus on mastery of the basics - reading, writing, math and science - while encouraging students to develop their own intellectual curiosities. The average K-3 class size is 22, allowing each student to receive the individualized attention he/she deserves. In addition to networked computer labs, media centers and modern playgrounds, elementary students are served by school nurses, counselors and social workers. They participate in art, music and physical education as well as Gifted and Talented Programs like Young Authors and Odyssey of the Mind. Each school invites parental involvement and encourages frequent visits through Breakfast Buddies, Grandparents’ Days, Open Houses, and other events.
Sixth, seventh and eighth grade students spend the transition years between elementary and high school exploring a diverse curriculum at Ionia Middle School. Students can take advantage of a wide range of academic programs and extracurricular activities, such as art, band, woodworking, and synergistics as well as Odyssey of the Mind, Science Olympiad, and Student Council. Intramural and interscholastic sports are very popular. Ionia Middle School offers six-week exploratory classes structured in a seven period day to give students the opportunity to challenge themselves in a variety of subjects.
Ionia Middle School’s Career Awareness Planning Program helps prepare students for high school and beyond by working to develop a four-year plan for high school individualized for each student. Middle School students are also introduced to advanced subjects before freshman year; for example, many students take algebra as eighth grade math.
In addition to Ionia Public Schools, five private schools, six preschools and nursery schools, and a number of excellent daycare centers are also available.
For those pursuing higher education, over a dozen universities and colleges are located within an hour’s drive. Adult education classes and credit courses from Central Michigan University and Montcalm Community College are available at the Heartlands Institute of Technology in Ionia. Montcalm Community College offers associate degrees and certificates in more than 20 distinct areas. Customized classes at area businesses teach everything from statistical process control to interpersonal communications. Montcalm Community College awards more than $1.9 million in scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study positions annually, making it an affordable choice for higher education.
HOUSING
Residents of Ionia take advantage of some of the finest housing options available in all of Michigan. Ionia is famous foremost for its abundance of historic homes; nearly 200 are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Many of the homes, built in the mid to late 1800s, have been meticulously preserved; a stroll through Ionia’s historic neighborhoods will leave you feeling as if you have defied time and were transported into the pages of Ionia’s history.
Nestled amongst historical icons and along tree-lined streets are a wide variety of newer housing options, sure to please even the most discriminating buyer. Quiet, immaculate subdivisions, excellent school systems, and diverse neighborhoods all contribute to Ionia’s reputation as a superb place to live. Ionia is proud of its array of quality housing, designed to suit any taste and budget: luxury homes on large lots, affordable single family homes, mobile homes, condominiums, and rental properties ranging from upscale apartments and townhomes to smaller units within one of Ionia’s historical mansions. People of all ages will find that Ionia is truly "A Home in the Heartland."
