Jackson Magazine

10/01/2025

Voting for Round 1 of the 2026 Best of Jackson Awards is now open! Make your voice heard by casting your ballot - Round 1 voting ends October 1, 2025. 🔗loom.ly/8Tfa0B4

2026 Categories include:

🏆Best Chiropractor
🏆Best Credit Union
🏆Best Employment Agency
🏆Best Pet Groomer
🏆Best Preschool
🏆Best Steak

10/01/2025

In our cover story, we learn how Accelerate Jackson County helps drive economic development across the region, especially in manufacturing. To fulfil its mission of creating wealth in Jackson County, the organization helps manufacturers identify problems and find solutions, provides support for expansions, creates partnerships, and invests in organizational excellence.

One of our stories features several manufacturers investing time and creativity to overcome one of the industry’s obstacles ― a limited pool of talented workers. We learn how Parma’s Michigan Automotive Compressor, Inc. retooled an apprenticeship program to create workers skilled in new automation processes, and how Jackson’s American Tooling Center builds a robust and talented team from the inside. We hear, too, about a training program that brings talent from across Michigan to Jackson manufacturers’ doorsteps.

In our final story, we follow one local manufacturer’s path as it navigated the complications thrust upon the manufacturing industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. In challenging times, Jackson’s Orbitform diversified its efforts, invested in the future, strengthened partnerships, and put people first ― efforts that have kept the company on top of its game and a leader in precision parts manufacturing.

This issue also includes the Jackson Area Manufacturers Association’s annual directory — a valuable tool for finding trusted partners and resources within our local manufacturing community. In times of challenge and growth alike, these connections matter.

Read the digital edition: loom.ly/r1QMAXU

09/30/2025

Ambs Call Center is proud to announce that it has earned the ATSI 2025 Diamond Plus Award of Excellence for the 15th consecutive year. This recognition, presented by the Association of TeleServices International (ATSI), honors the highest level of performance in phone answering services and virtual receptionist services across North America and Canada.

Ambs Call Center was recognized during the ATSI 2025 Annual Conference held in Phoenix, AZ. The award distinguishes Ambs Call Center as one of the best answering services for small businesses and highlights the company’s continued commitment to delivering reliable, friendly, and accurate customer experiences.

Read the entire press release: loom.ly/L7-cuuI

Ambs Call Center is proud to announce that it has earned the ATSI 2025 Diamond Plus Award of Excellence for the 15th consecutive year.

09/29/2025

Missy Furlette-Koski, CNM, is a board-certified nurse midwife with more than eight years of experience providing full-scope midwifery care in Jackson. At the Center for Family Health, she delivers inclusive, person-centered support through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.

She also provides preventative care through well-person exams, chronic conditions management in reproductive health, contraceptive care, and management of gynecological issues. In addition to providing one-on-one patient care, Missy works to support expectant parents through a group prenatal care model, called CenteringPregnancy®, combined with a community-driven program that addresses both medical and social needs of patients during pregnancy and postpartum, known as WIN-Jackson.

Read the article 🔗loom.ly/mZs2Yqw

09/27/2025

We’re excited tonight to be the entertainment sponsor for Cascades Humane Society’s Punchlines for Paws event with comedian John Heffron.

09/26/2025

Turning 65 is an important milestone, and for many, it also means becoming eligible for Medicare. While most people have heard of the program, understanding how it works — and how to make the best choices for your health care needs — can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to provide you with the information you need to approach Medicare enrollment with clarity and confidence.

Read the article 🔗loom.ly/6Jn7ogs

09/25/2025

In communities across America, including here in Jackson County, medical debt remains a silent yet powerful force affecting both patients and health care providers. As of 2024, more than 100 million Americans carry some form of health care debt, with recent estimates placing the total at more than $88 billion. It's not just a financial issue; it’s a crisis of access, opportunity, and sustainability.

From my unique vantage point as both a registered nurse and the owner of a health care-focused debt collection agency, I’ve seen the complexity firsthand. Patients often face impossible decisions between receiving necessary care and taking on bills they know they can’t afford. Meanwhile, hospitals, private practices, and clinics operate under tight margins, struggling to absorb the costs of uncompensated care. It’s a vicious cycle, one that affects everyone.

Read the article 🔗loom.ly/u0bt2eU

09/24/2025

The use of advanced robotic surgery technology has positively transformed treatment for Jackson-area residents. As a general surgeon that treats this community, I’ve witnessed firsthand how this state-of-the-art technology has elevated the patient experience and surgical outcomes.

Robotic surgery involves the use of a system that translates a surgeon’s hand movements into precise micro-movements of small instruments. This allows for an exceptional level of control and dexterity, particularly in tight or complex anatomical areas. Compared to traditional surgery, the robotic approach is minimally invasive, meaning we make smaller incisions. This often results in less post-operation pain, reduced need for pain medication, less blood loss, less scarring, and a faster recovery time.

Read the entire article in this month's Jackson Magazine 🔗loom.ly/CCQMeco

09/23/2025

After shorter employment stints in construction, manufacturing, and facility maintenance, Tim Woolworth found his perfect niche 34 years ago when he joined the Spring Arbor Township Fire Department.

“We help the community in any way we can,” he explained. “I love where I’m at.”

He completed the intensive two-part firefighter training, additional training to become a medical first responder, and emergency medical technician training. He was promoted to captain in 2013 and became the department’s assistant chief in 2020. He leads the day-to-day operations of the 22-person department.

Read the article 🔗loom.ly/fV2z2HY

09/22/2025

“I’ve always felt it’s a calling for me to help people at their worst moment, not only the patient, but the family members,” says Amy Winget, an RN at Henry Ford Jackson. “I love being able to make a connection with them.”

Winget has been doing just that since entering the health care field 16 years ago. Her decision to pursue nursing was inspired by a personal health scare. Years ago, she was hospitalized for a week after experiencing a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. The nurse who cared for her left a lasting impact.

“She was there for me during a difficult time,” Winget said. “Because of her I decided to be a nurse. So, being a nurse is not just a job to me; it is my calling. I want every patient and family that I have the honor of caring for to feel like that nurse made me feel.”

Read the article 🔗loom.ly/i7Uc-xU

09/19/2025

When a parent gets a diagnosis of autism for their child, they are suddenly thrust into a world that may seem frightening and foreign. That is why having someone like Monique West, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), can seem like a godsend.

When West earned her undergraduate degree in child development, with a concentration in early childhood, she never imagined she would one day be working for Residential Options Incorporated helping families through Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). “I started with them as a behavior technician, which is what I was doing first before deciding to go back to school for my master's and become a BCBA,” West said.

Read the article 🔗loom.ly/ukZzOuc

09/18/2025

A pair of eyeglasses can change everything. In the field of optometry, providers like Dr. W. Darrell Smith, doctor at Eyemart Express in Jackson, have the joy of witnessing immediate results for their patients. They get to watch as patients slip on a new set of eyewear and whole new worlds open up for them.

“In real time, it gets the endorphins going,” Smith said. With the help of optometrists like him, “Patients receive care right away. People don't have to wait to get what they want. We help people see, function better, have a more full life."

Smith has been helping people see better in the Jackson area since 2018. Ever since attending a Career Day event in high school, where he met and spoke with an optometrist, Smith knew he wanted to be an eye doctor.

Read the article 🔗loom.ly/WTdH6f4