Campus History

Milwaukee's first county executive, John L. Doyne, saw the potential for a world-class regional medical center in Southeastern Wisconsin.

Together, with visionary allies from public and private sectors, they set out to provide one exemplary standard of medical care for all. The Milwaukee Regional Medical Center, as it stands today, evolved as a result of this groundbreaking collaboration.

In 1968, the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Day Hospital was the first auxiliary building constructed as part of the new regional medical center.  The outpatient facility allowed patients to receive treatment while remaining active members of the community.  

The Day Hospital was designed by the Milwaukee architectural firm of Ebling, Plunkett, Keymar, Reginato & Associates in the Contemporary style.  The building's modern design helped promote a healing environment.

Curative Care Network joined the campus in 1976, providing services for persons with disabilities or limiting conditions.

The CT scan became widely available, and useful as a teaching tool, as seen in a 1983 Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) photo. MCW relocated the college to the campus in 1978.

With every new decade came more sophisticated surgical suites and advancements in surgical techniques and procedures, which campus members continued to embrace.

Specialized health care services for children expanded as Children's Wisconsin joined the campus in 1988.

Froedtert Hospital, named after a Milwaukee businessman who donated $11 million to found the hospital, opened in 1980. Froedtert took over operations of the county hospital in 1995.

Hospital birth centers, with private birthing suites, started to gain popularity in the late 1980s.

During its early years of operation, Flight For Life air medical helped transport organs for Froedtert's growing transplant program.

Hospitals started to transition to private patient rooms in the late 1980s, an individualized approach to health care that remains widespread today.

Flight For Life air medical transport began operations in 1984, and for almost a decade it included an airplane for longer-distance patient transports.

The Blood Center of Wisconsin joined the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center in 1991 and added its Blood Research Institute in 2006, furthering the expansion of medical research on the campus. As of 2018, MRMC and its member organizations continue to provide patients with world-class care, conduct life-saving research and embrace the latest medical technologies and practices.

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