The History of BAMC (Download the .pdf brochure)

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 be rival the facilities of any hospital in any city.

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 by the addition of a 40-bed Extended Care Unit. An additional 57 beds were added in February of 1972, because the average occupancy level was over 115% during the period of 1968 through 1971. This made a grand total of 175 beds then 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 Avenue. The nuns solicited money at the lumber camps, 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 bed capacity of the hospital 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 both 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 1973-74 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 began to merge the two hospitals, 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 newlycreated 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.

Building and Growing

The scope of services was once again expanded with the opening of the Bay Area Cancer Care Center in January 1992. This joint venture with St. Vincent Regional Cancer Center in Green Bay allowed Bay Area Medical Center to provide chemotherapy services and radiation therapy.

In 1994, another major construction project allowed the hospital to further expand its services, as the Medical Office Building that adjoins the Marinette facility was completed. Major projects for 1996 included the relocation of non-clinical personnel to the Menominee campus, and the move of Occupational Health and Outpatient Rehabilitation Services to 1510 Main Street in Marinette.

Sale or Affiliation Talks

In 1997 the BAMC board began holding talks with Quorum, a forprofit hospital group, regarding the possible sale of the hospital. After introducing the sales offer to the county boards in late 1997, it became a hotly debated issue at county board meetings, hospital board meetings, in the newspaper, and in public forums through the better part of 1999.

The sale offer by Quorum took the county boards and the community by surprise and created a drawn-out debate on just who owned the hospital and who controlled its destiny, as well as just how open the hospital had to be with the public regarding its deliberations.

In 1999, the hospital medical staff issued a “no confidence” vote in BAMC CEO Rick Ament. Aurora also announced its intention to build a new hospital in Green Bay and a surgery center in Marinette.

In May 2000, BAMC CEO Rick Ament announced his resignation. The board appointed David Olson as interim CEO, and in November Olson was named permanent CEO. The issue of selling the hospital faded away as plans were put into place to expand services to better meet approaching competition.

NorthReach Healthcare

On October 1, 2000, BellinHealth of Green Bay and Bay Area formed a joint venture network of primary care physicians with clinics located in Marinette and Menominee counties. The move united 10 local clinics together to preserve and enhance healthcare services. The NorthReach Healthcare physician base has grown to become the largest group of primary care physicians in the community.

The Twin Counties Free Clinic

In 1998, Aurora Healthcare and BAMC announced donations of $150,000 and $100,000, respectively, to support the start-up of the Twin Counties Free Clinic. The clinic, which is currently housed in the BAMC Financial Services Building, helps meet the needs of county residents who do not have health coverage. BAMC and Aurora support the clinic through ongoing financial support and volunteer commitments from medical staff and employees.

Another Building Boom

In the summer of 2001, BAMC opened the Center for Outpatient Services. The 71,000 square-foot facility was the largest expansion in BAMC history and effectively consolidated outpatient services and surgery in one place. The three-story structure included a new laboratory as well as outpatient surgery rooms and private rooms for patients before and after their surgeries.

In 2004, after the most successful fundraising effort in community history, the newly-remodeled Bay Area Cancer Center opened its doors. The $7 million expanded center is now able to offer stateof- the-art radiation treatment and in 2006 began offering clinical trials to its patients.

A new facility for physical and occupational therapy also opened in 2004: the Mobility Center. It is home to a wide range of services and includes an aquatic therapy pool and the Bay Area Orthopaedics Consultants clinic.

In 2005, a new facility was built to house the financial services functions that had been located in the Menominee building. The move to the Financial Services Building in the summer of 2005 was the last step in returning the Menominee building to the county in October.