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| Name |
Bay Area Medical Center |
| Address |
3100 Shore Drive |
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| Town |
Marinette |
| State |
Wisconsin |
| Country |
USA |
| Post Code |
54143 |
| Phone |
715 735 4200 |
| Fax |
888 788 2070 |
| Email |
| Website |
YES
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About Bay Area Medical Center
** Mission Statement **
We are your Medical Center, striving to exceed your expectations by providing compassionate, cost-effective, quality healthcare to all.
** Vision Statement **
A great local hospital.
No reason to go anywhere else.
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History Of Bay Area Medical Center
** History **
Bay Area Medical Center was created in 1985 but its history dates back to the late 1800s when Marinette and Menominee each had their own hospital.
That history is marked by two recurring themes: institutions looking to find better ways to meet the healthcare needs of their community, and communities demonstrating a strong interest and a willingness to support their hospitals.
Marinette
The first qualified surgeon to come to the Twin City area was Dr. Horace Mann, who founded what was then known as the Menominee River Hospital. In 1884 it was renamed the M&M Hospital.
The M&M Hospital was located on Mann Street behind
the old Knights of Columbus building. The history of the hospital was closely tied with the Boren family. In 1886 John Boren became the hospital’s superintendent, and his wife, Anna, became the nursing supervisor.
The hospital served the lumber camps as far away as Dunbar and Spalding. Boren began selling hospital tickets, a form of health insurance, to the workers. A $10 ticket was good for a hospital stay.
As early as 1935, the idea of building a Marinette County Hospital was considered. However, it was not until 1938, when it became apparent that the 57-year-old M&M Hospital was likely to close, that the Marinette County Board began the process of building a replacement facility. Marinette General Hospital opened its doors on September 3, 1940. Located at the current BAMC site, Marinette General had an 80-bed capacity and cost $315,000 to build. It was said to rival the facilities of any city hospital.
The hospital was funded through a Public Works Grant, a citizens’ fundraising effort and county dollars. The site, which included 52 acres, cost the county $1,200. The architect was Allan Wallsworth, a graduate of Marinette High School.
The beds, frames and nursery equipment were designed by Dr. J. W. Boren and manufactured at the Lloyd Manufacturing Company in Menominee.
In 1966, Marinette General expanded its role in patient care with the addition of a 40-bed Extended Care Unit. An additional 57 beds were added in February, 1972, because the average occupancy level was more than 115 percent during the period of 1968 through 1971. This made a grand total of 175 beds available in the facility, but by 1975, most of these beds were decertified, leaving only 99 medical/surgical beds.
Menominee
Menominee, Mich., was a leading lumber center of the Midwest in the late 1800s. Accidents frequently happened in the lumber camps, and there was no hospital or medical facility in the community. A Bay Shore Hospital Association was organized in 1889. Its members contacted the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, who had recently established a hospital in Escanaba, asking them to assist in providing medical and hospital care for Menominee. The association purchased a two-story, nine-room hotel in west Menominee - The Montreal House - which was remodeled and renamed Providence Hospital.
The small hospital was always overcrowded, and in 1891 a new building was constructed. The new St. Joseph’s Hospital was built on the current site of the Menominee facility, next to what was then Epiphany Church (now Holy Spirit Church) on 10th Ave. The nuns solicited the lumber camps for money, traveling by foot from camp to camp.
St. Joseph’s Hospital underwent a number of expansions, beginning in 1900 that continued until 1911, including a surgical suite, 16 additional beds in the north wing, a three-story structure with 16 private rooms, a laboratory and x-ray department, a third floor maternity department, a chapel and quarters for the Sisters. The hospital’s bed capacity at that time was 75.
When local industrialist Marshall Lloyd died in 1927, he left his fortune to the people of Menominee specifically to be used for the healthcare of the community. A new hospital, located adjacent to St. Joseph’s Hospital and called the Marshall Lloyd Hospital, was dedicated in 1950. The two hospitals were operated by the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis and shared a variety of services to avoid duplication. The hospital was later renamed St. Joseph’s-Lloyd Hospital to reflect this relationship.
The years 1973 and 1974 brought financial problems to the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis. Few physical plant improvements had been made and in 1973, the Order determined that it could not afford to make the necessary upgrades to meet fire and safety codes.
In 1973, by mutual agreement, the obstetrical unit of St. Joseph’s-Lloyd was relocated to Marinette General Hospital. This move marked the first shared service and the first consolidation discussions between the two hospitals.
In 1974, the Order announced that it was divesting its interest in St. Joseph’s-Lloyd. With overwhelming community support, the County assumed legal ownership of the renamed Menominee County Lloyd Hospital.
In 1976 the people of Menominee County overwhelmingly voted for a bond issue to build a new wing to the Lloyd portion of the hospital. That work was completed in 1980.
The merger
In 1983, following critical changes in the healthcare industry, a study, jointly commissioned by the hospitals, recommended the consolidation of the two facilities to ensure the continuation of quality healthcare. Plans to merge the two hospitals began, and community meetings were held to inform the public of the proposed changes.
In 1985, the officials from Marinette and Menominee counties signed a 20-year lease with Bay Area Medical Center, a newly created not-for-profit healthcare organization. The counties would retain ownership of the two hospital buildings and would lease them to BAMC in exchange for providing care to the medically indigent. This marked a first in the merging of hospital facilities across state lines.
A consolidation plan went into effect in 1986, combining services at each building, including the emergency department being consolidated at the Marinette facility. After a lengthy public debate, acute care was moved to Marinette, with the psychiatric unit moving to Menominee. Then, in a final step of the consolidation, BAMC paid off the Menominee facility’s $3.5 million debt to Menominee County.
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