Company Profile
Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital
Company Overview
Mary Free Bed is the nation's most comprehensive rehabilitation provider and the largest not-for-profit, independent rehabilitation hospital system. Our System reaches across Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Virginia and provides advisory services nationwide. Our Grand Rapids Campus is home to an internationally accredited, acute-care rehabilitation hospital with an additional nine specialty accreditations. We offer a continuum of care & specialized physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R across inpatient and outpatient programs and services.
It's our privilege to restore hope and freedom through rehabilitation for adults and children who've experienced amputations, brain injuries, cancer, multiple trauma, spinal cord injuries, strokes, complex medical conditions and many other illnesses and conditions. This year, we'll do just that for over 93,000 patients.
U.S. News & World Report considered 1,049 hospitals in the country for their 2024-25 Rehabilitation Hospital category ranking Mary Free Bed as 9th Best Rehabilitation Hospital in the country according to U.S. News & World Report. National rankings like these are extremely helpful to patients in the midst of recovery, as they begin to look for rehabilitation services. Results were based on factors including clinical outcomes, physician perception, quality of care and patient experience. Mary Free Bed exceeded the national average in several key metrics including the rate of patients returning home after rehabilitation, versus requiring further care in another institution.
Company History
Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital has a storied history. Its roots date back to 1891, when a small group of women wanted to help people who couldn’t afford health care. Seeking support from the Grand Rapids community, they passed around a little black purse asking anyone named Mary – and anyone who knew someone named Mary – to donate 10 cents. Mary was the most popular woman’s name at the time, so the group quickly raised enough money to fund a bed at a local hospital. It became known as the first “Mary free bed.”
Initially, the Guild focused on children:
1920 – Sponsored the first pediatric orthopedic clinic.
1921 – Brought the first trained physical therapist to Grand Rapids.
1923 – Established accessible classrooms at Grand Rapids Public Schools so children with disabilities could attend school.
1930 – Opened the Children’s Convalescent Home.
1938 – Developed The Brace Shop, a forerunner to Orthotics.
1946 – Created the Juvenile Amputee Training Program, which became a national model and was featured in a Life magazine article.
As those needs grew, so did the group of women. It became incorporated in 1911 as the Mary Free Bed Guild of Grand Rapids.
Mary Free Bed began providing rehabilitation to adults in 1953, and beds were filled throughout the polio and thalidomide crises. And through its first century, a growing Mary Free Bed occupied several buildings as programs and services grew to meet the rehabilitation needs of the region.
Now 120 women strong, the Guild has representation on all hospital boards and committees. Its reach extends into the community, where the Guild has donated more than $25 million to dozens of organizations dedicated to furthering the quality of life for people with disabilities. That includes the lead gift for the Mary Free Bed YMCA, the world’s first universally designed health and wellness facility.
The Guild also provides services, support and sponsorship of many hospital and community events, including:
Annual Fine Arts Exhibition
Bikes for the Rest of Us
Halloween Heroes Parade
Junior Wheelchair Sports Camp
Hospital Appreciation Day for employees
Mary Free Bed Guild Scholarship
Hospitality cart for patients
Patient escorts and liaisons
Holiday Lunch for employees
Most importantly, the Guild is the keeper of our nurturing culture, ensuring a positive experience and a better future for patients.