Munson Medical Center

Munson Medical Center (MMC) is a 391-bed regional referral hospital in Traverse City, Michigan Its primary service area includes Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, and Leelanau counties (population: 166,774).

The hospital also serves as a regional referral center for 24 counties in northern Michigan (population: 593,431). It is the only verified Level II Trauma Center,^[1] north of Grand Rapids, and has the only Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in northern Michigan. Munson Medical Center has been designated as a Primary Stroke Center^[2] by the Joint Commission, and is a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence. Munson also offers the only inpatient Behavioral Health services in northern Michigan.

Munson Medical Center is the largest of eight Munson Healthcare system hospitals located throughout northern Michigan. It has a medical staff of 420 physicians representing more than 50 specialty services and employs 3,700 people. As part of Munson Healthcare, it is the largest employer north of US 10.

Munson Medical Center is nationally recognized for superior quality care and operational performance, recognized 14 times as a 100 Top Hospital. It is home to an award-winning heart program housed in the 127-bed Webber Heart Center. Munson’s latest addition – The Cowell Family Cancer Center – is expected to open in 2015, bringing coordinated, comprehensive cancer services to northern Michigan.

In addition to Munson Healthcare system hospitals, Munson Medical Center works closely with Helen Devos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, the University of Michigan Health System, in Ann Arbor, Alpena Regional Medical Center in Alpena, and War Memorial Hospital in Sault St. Marie. Relationships with these facilities further ensure patients have a smooth transition when they require the services of a larger medical center. Munson Healthcare is a member of Michigan Health Connect – the state’s largest health information exchange.

Munson Medical Center is a teaching hospital, and partners with Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and College of Osteopathic Medicine to provide training to third and fourth year medical students. Munson Medical Center also operates a residency program for Family Practice specialists.

History

The beginnings of Munson Medical Center and Munson Healthcare can be traced to James Decker Munson, MD (1848–1929). Dr. Munson was the first superintendent of the state-owned Northern Michigan Asylum founded in 1885 (later known as Traverse City Psychiatric Hospital which closed in 1989. He donated a boarding house for use as a community hospital in 1915. The permanent James Decker Munson Hospital opened in 1925 and still exists today within the Munson hospital complex. In 1949, the hospital and its land were deeded from the state to a new private corporation, James Decker Munson Hospital, Inc. The hospital was renamed in 1964 to reflect its changing status as a regional referral center.

Munson Medical Center became affiliated with Kalkaska Memorial Health Center in 1976 through a management agreement. Munson Healthcare was officially organized as a system of health care providers in 1985 when Paul Oliver Memorial Hospital in Frankfort affiliated with Munson Medical Center. The system now includes Charlevoix Area Hospital, Mercy Hospital Grayling, Mercy Hospital Cadillac, Otsego Memorial Hospital in Gaylord, and West Shore Medical Center in Manistee. Munson Healthcare employs more than 5,500 people, and as a regional, non-profit system, it offers a continuum of health care services for communities across 24 counties.

Recent Awards

• The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses honored A4 nursing staff in Munson’s Webber Heart Center with a silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence in 2013. The award recognizes unit caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with AACN’s six standards for a healthy work environment. Units that achieve this three-year designation meet national criteria consistent with Magnet Recognition, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, and the National Quality Healthcare Award.
• 2011 and 2012 America’s 50 Best Hospitals by Becker’s Review ^[3][4]
• 100 Top Hospitals® 14 times; one of only two hospitals in the nation to be named to the list 14 or more times; recognition of superior clinical and operational performance for 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. Award presented by Thomson Reuters, now Truven Health Analytics.
• Named one of the nation’s 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals in 2010 for superior clinical and operational performance and among the 100 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2008, and 2009. Award presented by Thomson Reuters, now Truven Health Analytics.
• Everest Award for National Benchmarks – Received award in 2008 (the only hospital in Michigan) and in 2009 (one of three hospitals in Michigan) for fastest improvement and top performance, and for setting national standards that other hospitals can emulate. Awarded by Thomson Reuters (now Truven Health Analytics).
• 2011 Most Wired by Hospitals & Health Networks Magazine ^[5]
• American Hospital Association-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize™ ^[6]
• Munson Medical Center was in the national spotlight in 2008 after being singled out from among all of the nation’s hospitals to be honored for leadership and innovation in quality, patient safety, and strong commitment to outstanding patient care.
• Munson Medical Center and three surgeons from Grand Traverse Surgery, PC, were recognized as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence in April 2008 by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery following a thorough review of the hospital’s program and physician practices.
• Munson Medical Center received the Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence,^[7] from the American Nurses Credentialing Center in 2006 and was redesignated as a Magnet hospital in 2011. Only 6.5 percent of hospitals nationally have achieved Magnet status.
• MMC was sole recipient of the National Quality Health Care Award for 2000,^[8] presented in Washington DC by the National Quality Forum. The award recognized Munson for being an exemplary role model in achieving meaningful, sustainable quality improvement.

References

External links

• Munson Medical Center website