Rooted in Our Community | 100 YEARS OF CARING - Munson ...

Rooted in Our Community | 100 YEARS OF CARING

Rooted in Our Community | 100 YEARS OF CARING 29

1926 Hospital Dedication Gives Glimpse of Another Era ‘For the cure and recovery of loved ones’ James Decker Munson Hospital and the adjoining Hannah-Lay-Morgan Memorial Pavilion were dedicated on July 29, 1926 during a ceremony at Lars Hockstad Auditorium in what was then the high school on Seventh Street. James Decker Munson, MD, had retired two years earlier as medical superintendent of Traverse City State Hospital (the former Northern Michigan Asylum), but he was on hand to preside over the ceremony. Speaker for the day was His Excellency, Hon. Alexander J. Groesbeck, governor of Michigan. Young Traverse City violinist Mozelle Bennett-Sawyer provided the music.

The audience joined in the following recitation: Leader: We dedicate the James Decker Munson Hospital... People: To science for the diagnosis and treatment of human ills. Leader: We dedicate this hospital... People: To the trained nursing and scientific care of the sick and disabled. Leader: We dedicate this hospital... People: To the practice of all duly qualified and recognized physicians and surgeons. Leader: To the name of James Decker Munson Health Care... People: We dedicate this hospital that he may be held in honor and remembrance for his high character and faithful service. Leader: We dedicate the Hannah-Lay-Morgan Pavilion... People: To the recuperation of the convalescent and the reception of their friends. Leader: We dedicate this Pavilion... People: To the memory of those pioneers, Perry Hannah, A. Tracy Lay, and James Morgan. Leader: We finally dedicate the James Decker Munson Hospital and the Hannah-Lay-Morgan Pavilion... People: To all people, as a home for the cure and recovery for their loved ones in any time of illness or physical misfortune. Leader: We dedicate this Hospital and Pavilion... People: In the name of the Commonwealth of Michigan that through the state the people may find service for themselves. All: The Lord’s Prayer

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A Message to Our Community If you stroll around the Grand Traverse Commons just south of Munson Medical Center, you’ll walk past an impressive variety of century-old trees planted as early as 1886 by James Decker Munson, MD, first superintendent of the Northern Michigan Asylum. Dr. Munson believed that “beauty is therapy.” As a physician who was raised on a farm, he used his knowledge and expertise to create pleasant surroundings that would be “a calming tonic for the nervous mind.” He collected and planted an interesting assortment of varietals, such as catalpa, ginko biloba, and tulip trees to create the soothing arboretum we still enjoy today. Like Dr. Munson’s trees, the hospital that bears his name has thrived over the years and is deeply rooted in its community. This year, Munson Medical Center is observing 100 Years of Caring that began with one act of generosity in 1915 when Dr. Munson responded to a community need for a general hospital. From the beginning, Dr. Munson strongly advocated for quality health care for everyone in northern Michigan. You can read more about him on the following pages, but the story doesn’t end with him. He was among the first of a long line of medical pioneers who have called Traverse City home. Each has added his or her own vision and expertise, building on the foundation laid by those who went before them.

Join us for cake under the tent on the Elmwood Street lawn. Brief tree dedication ceremony at 5:30 pm.

And so, it is with immense gratitude and pride that we bring you this brief history of Munson Medical Center. You will read how the hospital repeatedly expanded to meet the community’s needs, only to again outgrow its capacity. At every turn, the community rallied and generously supported growth and medical advancements, which resulted in it becoming one of the nation’s best hospitals. Today, Munson Medical Center serves all northern Michigan with advanced health care services and outstanding quality. As a relative newcomer to this hospital, what continues to impress me the most is the people who provide and support that care. The professionals at Munson Medical Center still embrace and exemplify Dr. Munson’s example of treating each person with respect, dignity, and compassion. Dr. Munson had a vision. He planted trees, ideas, and values that thrive today, and we are all benefactors of his foresight and actions. People who plant trees take the long view – they plant for the future. And so, 100 years later, we pause for a moment to look at our history, but we also are keeping our eyes on the generations to come, continuing to plan for those who will next need the best care we can offer. I hope you enjoy reading this publication. Best regards,

Alfred E. Pilong, Jr. President, Munson Medical Center Sr. Vice President Hospital Operations Munson Healthcare

Rooted in Our Community | 100 YEARS OF CARING 3

James Decker Munson, MD: ‘A Grand Old Man’ Dr. Munson chose the young Dr. Sladek to become his personal physician during the last decade of his life. Born June 8, 1848, on a dairy farm in Oakland County, just days after the U.S acquired California, Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico for $15 million following the Mexican War, young James would make expanding boundaries a big part of his personal life.

He eliminated straitjackets, advocated for compassionate mental health care, planted trees, investigated Holstein breeding and milk production, and told stories from the downtown barber chair. And when he did, a lot of people showed up to listen. Call James Decker Munson, MD, a renaissance man, pioneer, and visionary. He may not have been a Moses, but he certainly turned a lot of untilled, logged-over acreage into a land of promise. In addition to sought-after medical skills, the 37-year-old Dr. Munson arrived by train to Traverse City in 1885 with 43 patients and a determination that would weather many difficulties and challenges, and instill a culture of care that remains part of Munson Medical Center today. “Dr. Munson was singularly gracious of manner, winning the confidence of patients entrusted to him, and always possessed of an understanding of their needs,” Edward F. Sladek, MD, told a gathering of medical staff at the Traverse City State Hospital in 1961. “He never lost sight of the beneficial value of the personal relationship.”

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He attended Pontiac schools and high school in 1868 as Civil War veterans flocked to the state to settle the north. He left his farm and agriculture background near Pontiac to attend the University of Michigan’s Medical School. He graduated from the two-year program in 1873, the same year the medical school graduated its first African-American physician – the son of a slave.

“Dr. Munson caused considerable alarm and criticism when he inaugurated a program of land clearing, draining, and preparation for garden and farm use. The objectors scorned his policy of using inmates for this work,” a Traverse City Record Eagle reporter wrote on July 1, 1924 in an article looking back on Dr. Munson’s life. “Sending insane persons into the forests armed with axes, hatchets, and explosives, they said, was a deadly course. Dr. Munson, however, did not alter his plan. The stumps were blasted and the land cleared and drained by the patients, with no single accident that could be ascribed to their mental condition.” His alma mater, the University of Michigan regularly called upon Dr. Munson to lecture on mental health. Its 1909-10 calendar of speakers shows he spoke to the Department of Medicine and Surgery on “Insanity.”

After opening a medical practice in Detroit, his skills and reputation began to result in consultations around the region. He served as a demonstrator in anatomy at the Detroit College of Medicine and there, through his first use of a microscope, became fascinated with the microscopic structure of neurological tissue. He would become an authority on the histological and pathological makeup of neurologic tissue. His interest in general medicine resulted in talks and articles on medical topics.

Heading North

Appointed as chief medical assistant of the Eastern Michigan Asylum in Pontiac in 1878, he spent time receiving additional training at the first mental institution created by the state in Kalamazoo. After being selected to lead the state’s third mental health institution, located in Traverse City, Dr. Munson set about transforming mental health care.

This prize Holstein, Colantha Walker, set records for her milk production as part of the state hospital’s dairy herd.

His philosophy of care removed the straitjacket from patients, and he instituted a therapy that involved productive work. The farm activities resulted in noted improvement for many of the patients under his care, Dr. Sladek told his gathering in 1961. “In 1920, it was Dr. Munson’s idea that there was a need for social service case workers in the treatment of mental disease in an institution, and all of you know what that idea has developed into,” he said.

1885

1915

James Decker Munson, MD, arrived in Traverse City as first superintendent of the new Northern Michigan Asylum, a third mental institution in Michigan.

Dr. Munson offered a cottage at Elmwood and Eleventh Streets as a temporary general hospital after a March fire destroyed the Smith Sanitarium, previously called the Grand Traverse Hospital.

The 22-bed facility became a “teaching hospital” where Traverse City State Hospital nurses received general medical training. Funds paid by patients were accumulated until 1921, when the fund totaled $35,000. Dr. Munson understood the Eleventh Street facility was inadequate for community needs and spent $5,000 of his own funds in 1920 to hire a Detroit architect to draw up plans for a new hospital.

An operating room in Traverse City State Hospital. (Photo courtesy History Center of Traverse City)

As part of a mandatory report to the state Legislature dated June 30, 1898, Dr. Munson wrote that he had 701 male patients and 618 female patients under his care during the previous two years and that 310 of those patients had been discharged. Of the discharged, he listed 133 as improved, 74 as unimproved, 38 as recovered, and 65 as having died. “The number of admissions, 306, has not been as great as for former biennial periods, partly due to the uniformly overcrowded condition of the institution asylum, and, as more fully explained in your report, to the beneficial results of State care extending over a period of nearly 20 years,” Dr. Munson wrote. “It is a gratifying fact that the number of occurring cases of insanity within this district have been decreasing for several years past.” Dr. Munson’s involvement in the local medical society and concern for the community led him to offer the use of a two-story “cottage” at the corner of Eleventh and Elmwood Streets for a community hospital when Traverse City’s only hospital, the Smith Sanitarium, burned to the ground on March 12, 1915. There was no charge for nursing or food. Cost for the patient was $2.50 or $3 per day. That gift marked the beginning of what would become Munson Medical Center.

Meanwhile, when state officials saw the $35,000 in a general hospital fund on the state hospital’s books, it was moved to the state general fund.

Lobbying the Governor

Dr. Sladek recalled Dr. Munson and 30-some other prominent citizens immediately traveled to Lansing to lobby Governor Alexander Groesbeck to return the money as it was intended for a community hospital. “Governor Groesbeck told this committee, ‘We can’t do anything about this. That money is gone. The only thing we can do is to create in the Traverse City State Hospital a general hospital, and we will put in a bill creating such, we will put in $78,000 to build it.’”

Dr. Munson as a younger man.

Dr. Munson returned home in victory. The hospital broke ground in 1922 and the Traverse City Record-Eagle gave him credit for making it possible: “The Grand Traverse region owes Dr. Munson a debt of deep gratitude and it is hoped the new general hospital will be a fitting memorial to his untiring efforts on behalf of the people of the region.”

In July 1924, the 76-year-old resigned his state hospital role and retired to his home on Bowers Harbor with his wife.

In the words of Dr. Sladek, he was still “a grand old man at least 10 years younger in physical activity and mental activity.” When the 55-bed James Decker Munson Hospital was dedicated on July 29, 1926, Dr. Munson stepped back into the spotlight. It was the only community hospital in the state under the jurisdiction of a state mental institution. In his personal life, Dr. Munson experienced tragedy and hardships. His first wife, Mary Sutherland, a New Jersey native, died after a lingering illness in 1902. Together they had a son, James Fredric Munson, who went on to become a physician. While serving as a captain in the U.S. Army at Plattsburgh, N.Y. during World War I, he caught the flu during the 1918 pandemic and died. Marian Ward, a member of a prominent Manistee family, became Dr. Munson’s second wife in 1904. She died suddenly of a brain tumor on August 23, 1927. Ironically, Traverse City’s beloved medical pioneer died after developing pneumonia while trying to recover from a broken leg he suffered getting out of bed at the Pantlind Hotel in Grand Rapids on a trip back from California. He had his chauffer drive him back to his Old Mission Peninsula farm. When Dr. Sladek arrived, the former medical school lecturer refused an X-ray or any extensive care. “The only thing I could do was practically daily go out there and put on massive elastic bandages to try to give him a little support,” Dr. Sladek recalled. “He lived alone in the house and the caretaker of the farm and his wife would come in and cook the meals and do the housework, but he stayed in the place all alone, which of course is not good for anyone.” Dr. Munson died on June 24, 1929. He is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Pontiac next to his first wife and son.

1920

1922

1925

Realizing the cottage was inadequate, Dr. Munson spent $5,000 of his own money for architectural plans for a small community hospital.

Groundbreaking for a permanent community hospital at Sixth and Elmwood Streets took place on Oct. 16.

The new 55-bed James Decker Munson Hospital opened on April 6 at a cost of about $225,000. Twelve patients were moved to the second floor. The hospital included a training school for nurses.

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A Closer Look at the Life of James Decker Munson The following stories were shared by James Decker Munson’s personal physician, Edward Sladek, MD, in a 1961 address to Traverse City State Hospital medical staff. They offer a fascinating glimpse into the character of Munson Medical Center’s founder and namesake.

the Commission, down to the railroad station, which at that time was on Union and Sixth Streets, this man went out and cut off all the watermelons – removed them all! When Dr. Munson went to show his beautiful patch of watermelons, there wasn’t anything there, much to his chagrin.”

A Barbershop Visit

“I believe everyone in town knew who he was. For instance, in his frequent trips to the barbershop, in those days the barbers used to shave a person, and he would go down and have his beard trimmed. It was a common thing when someone would see Dr. Munson go into the barbershop, word would quickly pass around the immediate neighborhood, and people would filter in to listen to the humor of Dr. Munson, while sitting around or being taken care of by the barber. He had an extreme sense of humor, and sometimes it backfired on him.” A copper beach tree, one of the species planted by Dr. Munson.

The Watermelon Caper

“This was in the days of the horse and buggy, and the State Mental Health Commission was coming to town to inspect the institution . . . And something was wrong – the horses weren’t groomed enough or the carriage wasn’t as meticulous as it should have been, and evidently Dr. Munson cracked down on the person who was supposed to have taken care of that and mentioned the fact that how awful it was to have a person so careless as to send out a dirty carriage to meet this very important group of people. Everyone in the institution knew that the first thing Dr. Munson was going to do was to take this Commission – this was in the early days of starting his farm – out to the watermelon patch, and he was very, very proud of it. He was going to show them just what he could do about raising food for the institution. Well, this man got a little bit peeved, and while Dr. Munson drove down to get

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The state hospital cabbage patch in the late 1800s. (Photo courtesy of History Center of Traverse City.)

His Beautification Efforts

“With his farm upbringing and boyhood knowledge, he cleared the land, and planned its landscaping and beautification... All these trees were planted by Dr. Munson. The planting was entirely planned by Dr. Munson. The trees were selected by him, and even went so far that if you look at the willows on the Asylum Creek, or Kid’s Creek as it is called now, the willows on one side of that creek are just a little different variety from the willows on the other side of the creek.”

1926

1946

A FIRST: Direct heirs of city founders Perry Hannah, A. Tracy Lay, and James Morgan donated $30,000 for a convalescent wing to be attached to the new hospital. It represented the first philanthropic gift of any size in Traverse City and was the first memorial building erected in the city.

The first three Munson hospital employees make their donations to the hospital building fund to hospital superintendent, Bennett McCarthy.

Putting on the Gloves

“The description (of Dr. Munson) in 1878 absolutely fitted him in 1920, and there is only one physician that even begins to compare in courteousness and impressiveness and manners, and that is our Louis Hirschman. They could stand up together and neither would be superior to the other, except Dr. Munson wore gloves when he went downtown – oh, Dr. Hirschman does, too!”

Words of Wisdom to a Young Physician

“I recall many times after he retired, when I was taking care of him with his final illness... my wife would often go out to the farm that he retired to, and we would make the call together, and he would remark: ‘Now Bess, Ed, remember, don’t put off things until you are too old. I never went on an extended vacation while I was at the hospital.’ I doubt that he ever went on a vacation until he retired.”

Dr. Munson’s Oldsmobile. (Photo courtesy of History Center of Traverse City.)

Surgery for the Shotgun

“He was, as you can suppose, a very meticulous individual, and the employees chipped in and bought him a beautiful shotgun with a specially constructed stock – black walnut – with his initials engraved and inlaid in silver on this stock. In some way he thought he had laid the gun up against a tree, but if he did, it fell down to the ground and his automobile was there, and he got in and backed up and backed over the gun and broke the stock. He broke the stock of this beautiful gun. He took the gun with the broken stock down to Stan Ray, who was in town here, and asked Stan whether he could replace this stock in such a way that no one could ever tell that is was repaired. Stan sent the broken walnut to the gun factory and had them replace the piece of walnut with the identical grain in it that the old stock had, and then Stan very meticulously carved it out and put the initials in exactly the same spot. Dr. Munson got out a ruler to measure the thing to see that it was exactly in the same spot that it was before being broken.”

The entrance to Munson Medical Center as it looked in its beginning.

1946

1948

A FIRST: The Munson Hospital Auxiliary (now Munson Medical Center Volunteers) was formed by 20 local women.

A FIRST: The hospital launched a program to train medical interns in medicine, surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, and pediatrics. The program was approved by the American Medical Association in 1951.

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1949: Hospital Moves from State to Local Control James Decker Munson Hospital began its existence in 1925 as the only community hospital in Michigan under the authority of a state institution – Traverse City State Hospital. Property belonging to the state hospital was designated for the community hospital named for James Decker Munson, MD. Its administrators and staff were all state employees. Steam, hot water, laundry, and other utilities were provided by the Traverse City State Hospital and charged to the community hospital’s fund. Electricity was purchased directly from the city. Other supplies were requisitioned and purchased through the Central Purchasing Department in Lansing.

Ground was broken on the much-needed expansion project in 1950, but rising costs and funding shortfalls required scaled back plans and additional fundraising in the community The new 64-bed addition finally opened in 1952 and helped relieve overcrowding, as well as adding space for surgery, radiology, lab, and maternity services. The project was funded with a $600,000 federal grant and $750,000 in community donations raised during three separate capital campaigns conducted between 1946 - 1952.

The general hospital was part of the state institution until post-World War II growth in the region necessitated a significant hospital expansion. In 1947, authority was given to a non-profit coalition of local citizens to lease the general hospital from the state for a 50year period. The James Decker Munson Hospital Corporation was formed on Jan. 1, 1948. The board had 11 members and there were 100 citizen members who represented the hospital’s five-county service area.

Aerial views of the hospital from its early days.

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Cornerstone for the expansion project.

In 1949, the lease arrangement was found insufficient for the hospital to qualify for federal Hill-Burton Act funds, which were needed to fund hospital expansion. So, all community hospital property was deeded to James Decker Munson Hospital, Inc. The Traverse City Record-Eagle reported on Thursday, April 7, 1949, that Gov. G. Mennen “Soapy” Williams signed legislation transferring the hospital from state to local control.

1949

1952

A lease arrangement with the state was deemed insufficient to qualify for federal construction funds, so all Munson property was transferred from state ownership to the nonprofit James Decker Munson Hospital, Inc.

After five years of planning and three capital campaigns, a new “y-shaped” wing opened adding 64 more beds (178 total), completed with a $600,000 federal grant and $750,000 in community donations.

At the Helm: Administrators Provide Astute Direction As a state-sponsored general hospital, administration of the new James Decker Munson Hospital initially fell under the authority of the Traverse City State Hospital superintendent. In 1946, the State Mental Health Commission divided the administrative duties and appointed Bennett J. McCarthy as the first superintendent of James Decker Munson Hospital. Coincidentally, both the first and the current top administrator of the hospital came to Traverse City from Winchester, Va. Bennett J. McCarthy, 1946 - 1948 Bennett McCarthy spent his childhood in Kingsley, then moved to Traverse City in 1928. He graduated from Traverse City High School in 1930. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan in 1939. He became superintendent of Memorial Hospital in Winchester, Va., until he resigned in 1943 to accept a commission in the United States Army Medical Administrative Corps. He accepted the post at James Decker Munson Hospital after leaving military service. A. Kent Schafer, 1948 – 1970 Kent Schafer moved to Traverse City from Indiana to become administrator of James Decker Munson Hospital. He was at the hospital’s helm for 22 years during a period of rapid growth and development. Under his leadership, the hospital grew from a 90-bed community hospital to a 245-bed regional facility, renamed Munson Medical Center.

John C. “Jack” Bay, 1970 - 1990 Following a stint in the U.S. Army Security Agency Division, John Bay was among the first graduating class from the University of Michigan’s new MBA in Hospital Administration. He worked in hospital administration at the Rehab Institute in Detroit, Pencock Hospital in Hastings, and Bixby Hospital in Adrian before completing his career at Munson Medical Center. He was instrumental in the founding of the Munson Healthcare system in 1985 and was the system’s first president and CEO. Ralph Cerny, 1990 - 2004 Ralph Cerny joined Munson Medical Center in 1985 as the hospital’s chief operating officer before being named president and CEO in 1990. Prior to joining Munson Medical Center, he served as CEO of Memorial Medical Center of West Michigan in Ludington from 1973 to 1985. At Munson Medical Center, he focused on quality and patient safety. During his time as president, Munson Medical Center was singled out from among all the nation’s hospitals to receive the National Quality Health Care Award for 2000, presented in Washington DC by the National Quality Forum.

Edwin A. Ness, 2004 -2013 Ed Ness joined Munson Medical Center as executive vice president and chief operating officer in 1999 and was appointed president of Munson Medical Center in 2004. Under his leadership, Munson Medical Center was nationally recognized numerous times for quality, including the prestigious American Hospital Association-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize in July 2008. He became president and CEO of the Munson Healthcare system in 2010. Alfred E. Pilong, Jr., 2013 – Present Al Pilong serves as president of Munson Medical Center and senior vice president of hospital operations for Munson Healthcare. His administrative focus at Munson Medical Center revolves around making the hospital a safe place for patients, a great place to practice medicine for providers, a great place to work for employees, and financially strong for the future. Prior to joining Munson Medical Center, he served as president of the 445-bed Winchester Medical Center in Winchester, Va., where he also was senior vice president of the multi-hospital Valley Health System.

1954

1958

The Children’s Clinic Building was acquired by James Decker Munson Hospital through a $600,000 bequest from Hattie Hannah Keeney, daughter of city founder Perry Hannah.

The 12-bed east wing and new rehab wing were added, connecting the main hospital to the annex, increasing hospital capacity to 245 beds.

Rooted in Our Community | 100 YEARS OF CARING 9

Community Support Has Always Made the Difference From the beginning, James D. Munson, MD, advocated for medically advanced, compassionate, close-to-home care for all. One hundred years later, his vision and values are still strongly evident in the hospital that bears his name. All along the way, the community repeatedly rallied and generously supported growth and advancements, time and again taking the lead, organizing fundraising campaigns, going door-to-door when necessary to secure funding for projects. Community philanthropy always has, and always will, determine the quality of care at Munson Medical Center. Here is a sampling of historic philanthropic “firsts” at Munson Medical Center.

1926

Direct heirs of city founders Perry Hannah, A. Tracy Lay, and James Morgan donated $30,000 for a convalescence wing to be attached to the new James Decker Munson Hospital. It represented the first philanthropic gift of any size made in Traverse City and was the first memorial building erected in the city.

1946-1952

As World War II came to a close, James Decker Munson Hospital was “gravely overcrowded” and in critical need of expansion. Patients were sleeping in hallways. A newspaper photo showed a 14-year-old tourist who underwent an emergency appendectomy recovering at the Park Place Hotel because there were no available hospital beds. Her father, an executive at Chrysler Corporation, was astonished to find the hospital’s facilities so overtaxed. The community launched “Traverse City’s greatest fundraising campaign” in August 1946 to fund a hospital addition. Five years of planning, rising costs, scaling back plans, and three capital campaigns were needed to complete a new “y-shaped” wing added to the front of the hospital. A huge “Nightingale Torch” stood at the corner of Front and Cass Streets marking the progress of the final $300,000 push to fund the project. In 1952, 600 community volunteers armed with pledge cards engaged in a huge house-to-house canvass to raise the final

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funds needed. The addition brought the total bed count to 178, and was completed with a $600,000 federal grant and $750,000 in community donations.

“When completed, it will be the finest and most modernly appointed hospital north of Grand Rapids, staffed by the best medical and surgical men in the middle west.” – Traverse City Record-Eagle, July 1952

1954

When Hattie Hannah Keeney (daughter of Traverse City founder Perry Hannah) died in 1950 at age 90, she willed her entire fortune – $600,000 – to the “aid, assistance, and relief of crippled and afflicted children in the Traverse City area.” Her record bequest allowed the hospital to purchase the adjacent Central Michigan Children’s Clinic in 1954, which cared for all ailing children, particularly those stricken with polio, who often spent months in iron lung respirators. The balance of funds was placed in a trust to help children in need of treatment.

1962

Cancer treatment advanced with installation of a Cobalt 60 machine housed in a new $52,000 addition to the 1925 hospital structure.

1986

“The Campaign for Munson” raised $4.1 million in community gifts to fund the Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center, the Outpatient Surgery Center, and a $1.3 million linear accelerator for radiation treatment, made possible by a combined donation of $1 million from the late Les Biederman and Rotary Charities of Traverse City.

1960

1964

A $1.1 million expansion was completed, enlarging most patient and service areas in the hospital. The hospital had 428 employees.

A patient solarium on hospital’s west side was completed, thanks to funds raised by the Women’s Auxiliary annual Christmas bazaars.

1994

The Munson Healthcare Regional Foundation got off to a great start thanks to a $1 million contribution from the estate of Dr. Edward Sladek and his wife, Elizabeth. The new Foundation raised $3 million in community support for Munson Medical Center’s new Women’s Pavilion.

2005

Construction began on a new Emergency Department after a record $10 million fundraising goal was met in just over one year. Included in the total was $2 million from the “Munson family” of employees, physicians, volunteers, administrators, and board members.

2000

The “Opportunities for Giving Campaign” raised $8.1 million. That total included $2.8 million toward extensive renovation of a former state hospital cottage which became Munson Manor Hospitality House, providing the first guest lodging for patients and families. Munson Medical Center Volunteers donated $500,000 to the Hospitality House project. Other projects funded included Munson Family Practice Center ($125,000), Immediate Community Needs at hospital ($3.8 million), the Munson Endowment Fund ($800,000), and Munson Hospice ($600,000).

2001

Barbara MacFarlane, who had resided part-time on Big Glen Lake with her husband Frank, president of the MacFarlane Steamship Company, left a $1.75 million bequest to Munson Medical Center, the largest estate gift to date.

2003

2013 Munson Medical Center received an $8 million gift from the Wayne and Joan Webber Foundation for heart services, the largest single gift in the hospital’s history; the heart center was renamed the Webber Heart Center.

2012

A lead $5 million gift for a new cancer center was made by Casey Cowell of Traverse City, founder of U.S. Robotics, the largest single donation to date.

2014

Ground was broken in May for the $45 million Cowell Family Cancer Center just north of the hospital, thanks to a new record of $18.3 million in community donations.

The Truebeam™ STx stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) device was installed as part of an $11 million project to expand and enhance cancer services in northern Michigan. Munson Medical Center was among the first hospitals in the nation to purchase the device, thanks in part to donor dollars.

A $2.5 million campaign resulted in construction of the 8-bedroom Munson Hospice House, which provides residential care to people in the final days of life who cannot be cared for in their homes.

1964

1967

James Decker Munson Hospital was renamed Munson Medical Center to reflect its role as a regional referral center offering a wide range of services.

A FIRST: First Coronary Care Unit opened; in-hospital mortality from heart attack decreased by 50 percent.

Rooted in Our Community | 100 YEARS OF CARING 11

Visionary Pioneer Physicians Brought ‘the Right Stuff’ to Munson Medical Center A long and distinguished list of noted physicians have served at Munson Medical Center during the past 100 years. Several physician families passed the torch from generation to generation, whether intentionally or not. James Decker Munson, MD, not only influenced his own son, James Frederick Munson, MD, to become a physician, but also his son’s high school friend, Edwin L. Thirlby, who became a well-known local physician and community activist. Dr. Thirlby’s son became a noted physician in his own right. Several other pioneer physicians influenced their next generation of practitioners in ways that remain true for the medical staff in 2015.

James Fredric Munson, standing center, James Decker Munson’s son and a future physician, poses with other Traverse City scholars at the University of Michigan. (Photo courtesy of History Center of Traverse City)

Former Munson Medical Center Vice President of Medical Affairs Carl Benner, MD, a surgeon for many years before entering the administrative suite in 1990, observed that

when he arrived in 1973, most physicians who served on the hospital’s staff arrived with “the right stuff” or something fairly close to it. “Traverse City had a reputation of not letting just anybody in. You had to be a high quality physician, that was the reputation it had,” he said. “You had to be somewhat of a pioneer – independent, self-learning, and willing to provide a hand to other physicians in the region.” The physicians listed on the following pages by no means encompass all those worthy to be included. But they provide an historical sampling of those who reflect the “pioneer” spirit, quest for quality patient care, and ingenuity stamped into the hospital’s foundation by its namesake, James Decker Munson, MD.

Edward F. Sladek, MD: The Physician’s Physician Edward F. Sladek arrived in Traverse City in 1919 to start a private practice. Before coming to northern Michigan, he served in the U.S. Army during World War I. He graduated from the University of Illinois Medical School in 1918, and interned at the Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago.

Dr. Sladek’s career stretched through the construction of James Decker Munson Hospital in 1924-25 until his death in October 1970. He served as the hospital’s director of rehabilitation medicine and chief of proctology, and continued his practice at the Traverse City State Hospital.

Dr. Sladek practiced at Traverse City State Hospital and was a strong advocate for the establishment of James Decker Munson Hospital. His local career began with his rented office space in a Front Street building owned by James Decker Munson, MD, (now Red Ginger restaurant). He became Dr. Munson’s personal physician until Dr. Munson’s death in 1929.

During his career he served as president of the James Decker Munson Hospital medical staff, and was an officer in state and national medical organizations. He was involved in state medical education, helping initiate courses at medical schools, and was involved in the beginnings of the Michigan Clinical Institute, annual Rural Health Conference, Home Town Care program for returning World War II veterans, the speech and hearing clinic at Munson Medical Center, and Munson’s home care program for discharged patients.

12 Rooted in Our Community | 100 YEARS OF CARING

His 1961 address to medical staff at the Traverse City State Hospital, titled “Who was Dr. Munson?” provided historians important information about the man whose name continues to represent quality health care today. Dr. Sladek and his wife, Elizabeth, left the hospital an estate gift of $1 million, which was used to establish the Sladek Nursing Education Fund. That fund has provided scholarships for scores of hospital nurses over the years and is administered by Munson Healthcare Foundations.

1972

1972

A FIRST: The first total hip replacement was performed by surgeon Oswald V. Clark, MD.

A $4 million expansion was completed, making Munson a 259-bed hospital. Two new floors were constructed on top of the hospital, with two floors expanded and remodeled in the front “y-shaped” wing.

Edwin L. Thirlby, MD: ‘Michigan’s Foremost Family Physician’ Edwin L. Thirlby was a good friend of James Frederick Munson, son of James Decker Munson, MD. He spent a lot of time as a young man in the Munson family apartment in Building 50. Both he and James graduated from Traverse City High School in 1898 with 26 other classmates. Encouraged by Dr. Munson, they both went on to graduate from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1903. In 1904, the young Dr. Thirlby traveled to London, where he received additional training with physicians at a hospital there, accompanying them on rounds and taking notes in a small notebook that can be found today at the History Center of Traverse City. As a physician, Dr. Thirlby was among the local practitioners who lobbied with Dr. Munson for a community hospital, and then spent his lifetime practicing at the hospital, serving in many roles. He was named Michigan’s “Foremost Family Physician” by the Michigan State Medical Society in 1960. He also received a University of Michigan Regent’s Citation for his 35 years of sponsoring post-graduate medical education in the Traverse City area.

The Traverse City Record-Eagle published an editorial following the University of Michigan recognition, praising the physician for his service to his profession and the community: “It is a tribute well earned and richly deserved.”

represented one of the first group practices in the state, formed to bring better medical care to patients. Dr. Thirlby’s son, Richard L. Thirlby, became a urologist and also practiced in Traverse City.

In 1921, Dr. Thirlby was co-founder of the Coller-PenberthyThirlby Medical Conferences in Traverse City. Thirlby Clinic

Artist’s Depression-Era Letter to Physician: ‘Let’s Make a Deal’ The following letter to Edwin L. Thirlby, MD, dated Feb. 26, 1931, illustrates the impact of the Great Depression on medical care and payments in Traverse City. The letter was written by Maud Miller Hoffmaster, who became an internationally renowned landscape artist and who organized the Art Department at Interlochen Center for the Arts.

Dr. Thirlby, If I need your help, will you please trade work with me? I am interested in a girl, 18 years old, who tells me that she has a small hernia which troubles her. She wants to have it sewed up, but she hasn’t any money; neither has her father who is a farmer with four children. I would like to help her with this matter, but these aren’t such good times for an artist, either. I am considered just as expert in my line of work as you are in yours, and I will give you a painting that took weeks and months to finish if you will do this work for me. This painting has been appraised at $1,000; I am asking $250 for it. This painting is a big wave just at the point of breaking as it appears from the side of a ship out in the middle of the Atlantic. I thought it would make a nice gift for your wife, as she could show her friends how the Atlantic looks when it gets restless. Of course, your diagnosis of this case may be different than the one the girl gave me and you may not consider an operation necessary, but I know I can trust you to do whatever is right, and I’d rather have you do it. I put this girl through high school and now I would like to see to it that she isn’t handicapped with ill health or a big debt hanging over her head. A girl has it hard enough when she has to earn her own living and this is a good little girl and deserving of your and my help. Please telephone me as soon as you read this letter and if you will cooperate with me, and if the girl will accept, I will send her to you for an examination. I want this attended to right away, so she will be ready for the summer work, whatever she does. Very sincerely yours, Maud Miller Hoffmaster

1972

1973

A FIRST: A six-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit was opened.

A FIRST: First cardiac catheterization lab opened at Munson Medical Center, called the Cardiac Diagnostic Unit. In its first year, 120 catheterizations were performed and 25 permanent pacemakers were placed. Rooted in Our Community | 100 YEARS OF CARING 13

Harry Weitz, MD: Brought Radiology Technology to Traverse City in 1938 Radiology was a long way from the 256-slice CT scanner some hospitals boast today when Harry Weitz, MD, arrived in Traverse City in 1938 to bring a new technology to the 13-year-old hospital. Dr. Weitz was recruited by Dr. R. Phillip Sheets, then superintendent of the Traverse City State Hospital. Munson Medical Center Radiologist Charles Weitz, MD, his son, recalls a story his father recounted about the obstacles of being the new doctor in town with the new technology.

“He told the story many times of Dr. Gauntlet who was a general practitioner that he met when here interviewing for a position. After my father explained to him the role of a roentgenologist/radiologist, he said Dr. Gauntlet spit into his spittoon and said, ‘Well doctor, I’ve been practicing medicine for nearly 50 years and never needed a roentgenologist, so I don’t know what I would need one for now.’ My father was distinctly someone who persevered despite any obstacles, so he and my mother came to Traverse City anyway.” Jewish, in a town that had a country club that excluded Jews, Dr. Weitz literally rolled up his sleeves and proved to the region the value of his specialty. Before he could train his first technologist, he performed the X-rays, processed them by hand, interpreted them, and transcribed his own reports on a typewriter. “The high quality of his work and that of his radiology department was his mantra and paramount to anything else, including how much he earned or how many hours he worked,” his son said. During his first few months in Traverse City, Dr. Weitz had just two machines to work with – a movable diagnostic unit and a stationary 100KV therapy unit. The film used at the time had a material on it that glowed when exposed to X-rays. The new fluoroscope was used for imaging internal structures, such as the intestines. Dr. Weitz would give the patient a contrast material, like barium, and when the X-rays went through the patient’s body, he would see the material as it flowed through the intestinal tract.

Harry Weitz, MD, “was always willing to help patients and physicians at any time day or night.”

During World War II, he joined the U.S. Army but was asked to stay in northern Michigan. One assignment was to scan

all state hospital patients for tuberculosis (TB). He examined about 2,700 patients, found 12-15 patients with TB, and others with malignant tumors that would not have been otherwise diagnosed. He remained the only radiologist at Munson Medical Center until 1955, and then recruited Don Otto, MD, who stayed five years. Robert Williams, MD joined him in 1960 and Maurie Pelto, MD in 1963, and the three physicians officially formed Grand Traverse Radiology, PC, in 1968. In addition to single handedly creating a state-of-the-art radiology department in northern Michigan, Dr. Weitz made his mark in helping separate James Decker Munson Hospital from the state hospital. He also left a legacy of physicians behind him. “As I was growing up, I saw my father’s love of medicine and how he enjoyed embracing the challenges faced daily helping to diagnose and care for patients,” Dr. Charles Weitz said. “He had seemingly boundless energy and was always willing to help patients and physicians at any time day or night. Observing how much he enjoyed his work, despite the long hours, made it a fairly easy decision for me to wish to pursue a career in medicine.” Charles Weitz said, in addition to himself, five other family members entered the field of radiology, including three cousins, a grandson (Charles’ nephew), and his own daughter, who recently finished her radiology residency at Emory University. Dr. Harry Weitz died in 2009.

1979 The five-floor east tower was completed at a cost of $10 million. The addition included a new lobby, emergency room, and three nursing floors. 14 Rooted in Our Community | 100 YEARS OF CARING

New services included CAT-scanning, inpatient rehabilitation, and a mental health unit. Munson Medical Center grew to 315 beds.

Mark Osterlin, MD: Traverse City’s First Pediatrician Left Mark on Community Traverse City’s first pediatrician, Mark Osterlin, MD, arrived in 1935 and became one of the city’s most prominent citizens and medical figures. Dr. Osterlin was a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School and completed graduate work in pediatrics in Europe. He was instrumental in founding the Central Michigan Children’s Clinic adjacent to James Decker Munson Hospital, and became its medical director. The clinic’s 18-bed pediatric ward was built to serve children from “remoter regions of the state.” He also served as an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Osterlin was the guiding force behind the founding of what is now Child and Family Services of Northwest Michigan. His work on behalf of children and example of community activism became a magnet for other outstanding pediatricians who followed him. A well-regarded expert in pediatrics, Dr. Osterlin cared for thousands of children from northern Michigan during his tenure at James Decker Munson Hospital. In addition to his medical contributions, he was awarded the Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Citizenship Award in 1956 for his role in securing financial and medical help for the Children’s Clinic from the Couzens Fund, Kellogg Foundation, and Hattie Hannah Keeney. He was among the founders of the National Music Camp at Interlochen, Northwestern Michigan College, and Community Concerts. At Northwestern Michigan College, Dr. Osterlin advocated for a library as the first major addition to the campus.

James Johnston, MD: Established Munson’s First Neonatal Intensive Care Unit James Johnston interned in Traverse City in 1959-60, then went on to become a pediatrician. While performing his residency at Columbus Children’s Hospital, he cared for patients who were part of the last polio epidemic in the Midwest. When he arrived back in Traverse City to start a solo pediatrics practice, he experienced many long hours and sleepless nights. He recalled that all medical staff took turns in the Emergency Department. “When I first came here, there was no physician in the Emergency Room all of the time, except when we had interns,” he said. “The medical staff would all take turns on call in the Emergency Room, taking care of every kind of patient.

For years, we had a very fine series of programs in which we taught each other emergency procedures in each specialty.” During his years at Munson Medical Center, he witnessed the advent of cardiac care units, intensive care, specialty nursing, and the rise of diagnostic technology, including the CT scanner. Dr. Johnston’s legacy at the hospital was establishment of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which was launched in 1971. He also was instrumental in helping establish a statewide air and ground transport system for premature and critically-ill infants.

A young cowboy entertains pediatric patients at the hospital. (Photo courtesy of History Center of Traverse City)

He died in 1960 at the age of 56. In 1961, the new NMC library was dedicated to his memory. A plaque in the building reads: “This building is named in honor of Mark Osterlin who valued knowledge and worked to bring science and the arts to the people of this region.” Upon his death, Dr. Osterlin’s wife, Helen, joined the Interlochen Board of Trustees, serving until her death in 1996. Helen Osterlin was instrumental in stabilizing Interlochen Public Radio in its early years and organizing its advisory board.

In 1966, the Traverse City Record-Eagle chronicled a partnership between the hospital and the local Michigan State Police Post to use a specially-designed isolette unit to transport infants. At that time, the hospital had a “premature infant intensive care center” prior to the NICU. At the state level, Dr. Johnston later helped establish standards for NICUs at hospitals throughout Michigan. “Before that, any hospital could set up a room for infants and call it a NICU,” he said. “We created three levels of care, and we were the first level-two NICU in the state.”

1985

1986

1987

Munson Healthcare was launched as the parent company of Munson Medical Center and numerous subsidiaries.

A FIRST: Munson Medical Center began helicopter transport service (North Flight).

A FIRST: The Biederman Cancer Treatment Center opened, featuring a $1.3 million linear accelerator for radiation treatment, made possible by a combined donation of $1 million from Les Biederman and Rotary Charities of Traverse City. Rooted in Our Community | 100 YEARS OF CARING 15

Visionary Leaders: John Milliken, MD, an Innovator in Internal Medicine John Milliken was born and raised in Traverse City, the son and grandson of state senators. In high school, he learned how to operate the X-ray machine at the state hospital and sometimes would be called out of an activity to help with a patient. “He always wanted to be a physician, even though he grew up in a family of politicians and business people,” said James Milliken, MD, who, with his brother J.P. Milliken, MD, also entered the medical profession and are currently members of the Munson Medical Staff. “He liked science and he liked people, it’s a combination you see in many physicians.” After Amherst College undergraduate studies and Wayne State University Medical School, Dr. John Milliken did his internship at Baylor University Hospital in Dallas, and nine months as an internal medicine resident at Alexander Blaine Clinic in Detroit. He served for two years as a captain in the U.S. Army as a psychiatrist at Percy Jones Hospital in Battle Creek. Later, he did residency training and served on staff at University of Michigan Hospital.

He began with offices in downtown Traverse City, Kingsley, Empire, and Cadillac. Those offices were pulled back after the Traverse City patient load grew. He purchased land and built a small office on Madison Street, where – 12 additions later – the multi-practice Milliken Medical Building functions today. The building was initially constructed so it could be converted into a home if the practice did not pan out. “He was a very practical person and he could shift gears easily,” Dr. James Milliken said. “Sometimes after a busy morning, he would come home for lunch, go for a swim in the bay, and then go back to work.” An innovator, Dr. John Milliken pioneered efforts to read EKGs for a hospital in Manistique, having information sent by facsimile. “It was very avant-garde at the time. Sometimes if he was gone, maybe up on the boat in Harbor Springs, I would be his courier,” Dr. James Milliken said. “I first started working for him at 5, mowing the lawn at the office.”

Other innovations for the one-time president of the Munson Medical Staff included installing a laboratory in his office, and in 1975, an X-ray machine. He did all of his own allergy testing. His physician group also became the first to go to electronic medical records in 2004. “He was instrumental in physician office innovation, as well as in bringing good people to the area,” Dr. James Milliken said. Initial recruits included Lee Hawkins, MD; William Howard, MD; and John Zachman, MD. Dr. John Milliken practiced medicine until he was 84. Four years later, on Sept. 16, 2008, he passed away peacefully at Munson Hospice House. His son said he never heard him once complain about being called in the night for a patient matter. And those calls were frequent. James Milliken said his father also never was a man who tried to steer his sons toward his chosen profession. “There was never any push to go into medicine,” he said. “He liked what he did. It was more his example that drew me.”

He returned to Traverse City in 1950 to begin a private practice in internal medicine. At that time, internal medicine was the specialty. There were no sub-specialists, such as cardiologists, pulmonologists, or gastroenterologists.

The Milliken family at their home in the early days. (Photo courtesy of History Center of Traverse City)

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1988

1989

A $17 million Ambulatory Care Center opened, housing outpatient and surgical services.

Munson Professional Building opened with 30 physician offices and the new William and Leni Carls Speech and Hearing Clinic.

Physician Specialists Helped Cement Hospital’s Regional Reputation Carl Benner, MD, arrived at Munson Medical Center in 1973 to practice general surgery. He joined a staff of growing physicians making their mark in the region and cementing the renamed Munson Medical Center as a regional referral hospital for northern Michigan. Dr. Benner, who joined a practice with Ted Cline, MD, and Edward Stokes, MD, characterizes orthopedic surgeon, Oswald “Ozzie” Clark, MD, as one of the main drivers in the 1960s and early 1970s who moved the institution forward as a regional medical center. “He was a guy who never turned down seeing a patient,” Dr. Benner recalls. “He worked like a dog and really was instrumental in the early rise of Munson as a referral center. I can recall being on call with Ozzie on summer weekends and getting a call from Grayling or Cadillac, ‘There’s been a car wreck and we are sending people over with broken legs or broken arms.’ He would never say ‘no.’” When Dr. Benner arrived on the medical staff, there were no emergency room physicians. Each member of the medical

staff, whether a psychiatrist, internist, or family practice physician, took turns rotating coverage. Often patients would arrive by hearse because there were no ambulances at that time. Dr. Clark took it upon himself to start educating first responders on how to apply basic first aid to accident victims, manage fractures, protect their necks, and stop bleeding. “He was instrumental in doing that,” Dr. Benner said. Dr. Clark was a graduate of the University of Michigan and member of the university’s football team. His team won the national championship in 1949 and the Rose Bowl in 1951. Ten years later, he chose to practice orthopedic surgery in Traverse City and was on the medical staff for 28 years. Famous for his bed-side manner and surgical skills, Dr. Clark performed the first total hip replacement surgery at the hospital in 1972. He also gave generously of his time and talents to care for nuns at the Carmelite Monastery, students at Camp Royale and Interlochen Arts Academy, Ottawa and Chippewa tribal members at Peshawbestown, and the seasonal migrant population. The father of 10 children, Dr. Clark was described as “complex, spiritual, and caring.” Additional specialties at work at the hospital in the 1960s 1970s included cardiology, radiology, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, and others. In the mid-1980s, the hospital administration explored creating a vice president of medical affairs position to foster communication with the medical staff and help further referral efforts at the hospital. The hospital searched the nation and hired Donald Frank, MD, from Cincinnati, Ohio. He spent two years in the role and was forced to resign because of an illness that led to his death.

Ozzie Clark was a member of U of M’s 1949 championship team.

Dr. Benner was asked to replace him. He saw it as a communication role in helping the hospital understand physician perspectives and helping physicians understand hospital leadership thinking. “Don Frank spent a lot of time listening to physician concerns and not doing a lot of talking,” Dr. Benner said. “He did an important thing in terms of setting up the groundwork for the Vice President of Medical Affairs.” Among the many issues of the era was the need for a cardiothoracic surgery program at the hospital. A committee that included administrators and physicians met regularly to develop the program and the hospital’s regional role became more deeply rooted when it was implemented in 1990. “Everything got stepped up two or three steps with the advent of the cardiothoracic surgery program,” Dr. Benner said. “They required a lot of other support, such as radiography services. It made the whole hospital and medical staff grow.”

1990

1993

1994

A FIRST: New open-heart surgery and angioplasty programs began with the first coronary artery bypass operation on July 3, helping establish Munson Medical Center as a top quality facility with advanced care. The first open-heart patient, Agatha Plank, 73, of Cedar, lived for another 15 years.

A FIRST: Munson Medical Center was named a 100 Top Hospital by Thomson Reuters for outstanding clinical and operational performance.

A FIRST: Munson Healthcare Regional Foundation got off to a great start thanks to a $1 million contribution from the estate of Edward Sladek, MD, and his wife, Elizabeth. Rooted in Our Community | 100 YEARS OF CARING 17

Visionary Leaders: Warren Cline, MD: Father of Munson Medical Center’s Heart Program

“It takes a sacrificial personality to put your needs aside to see the vision through until the end.”

- Susan Noble, MD, referring to her father, Warren Cline, MD

Warren Cline and his brother, Ted, arrived in Traverse City in 1955 after driving up the west coast of the state searching for a place to practice medicine. An Ohio native, Warren lived in China as a young boy while his father worked for the YMCA, trying to bring peace to warring tribal factions. Warren served as a naval aviator at the end of World War II and graduated from Case Western School of Medicine in 1951. He completed his residency in internal medicine in 1955 at University Hospital and Crile Veteran’s Hospital in Cleveland. He held several leadership roles at Munson Medical Center, including development of the cardiac program at the hospital. He was responsible for the Friday noon medical conferences for several years. When he and his brother arrived at the hospital, there were 36 physicians on staff, including five internists. The hospital had 178 beds.

18 Rooted in Our Community | 100 YEARS OF CARING

“I practiced internal medicine for 10 years with a yen for cardiology,” he told the Munson Monitor in 1990. “Back then if a patient had a myocardial infarction (heart attack), you treated him somewhat fatalistically. About all we could do was try to control the pain, tuck the patient into an oxygen tent, and check periodically to see if he was still alive.”

Daughter Susan Cline Noble, MD, characterized her dad as a visionary who was not afraid of change. “He was able to step back and look at the big picture and see new innovations and better patient care,” she said. “You need to have the energy to see it through. It takes a sacrificial personality to put your needs aside to see the vision through until the end.”

In the 1950s, the only treatment for cardiac arrest was to open the chest and massage the heart by hand.

Following a year-long cardiology fellowship in Ann Arbor, he returned to Traverse City in 1973 as its first full-time cardiologist to set up and operate the cardiac catheterization unit.

In 1965, Dr. Cline helped establish the hospital’s Code Blue program, implementing hospital-wide training of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). In 1967, he was instrumental in setting up the first dedicated coronary care unit (CCU) in the region. He was named its medical director and led training efforts for CCU nurses. The opening of the CCU reduced in-hospital deaths from heart attack by half.

Switching Course, Taking a Risk

In 1971-72, Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey had a cardiologist and cardiac catheterization laboratory. Dr. Cline began to advocate for one in Traverse City, helped with the Certificate of Need application, and began to research equipment. He then contemplated leaving his internal medicine practice and moving to Ann Arbor for a year for a cardiology fellowship at Saint Joseph Hospital that would allow him to return and perform cardiac catheterization. His wife, Sonja Cline, recalls the cardiologist in Petoskey expressing surprise that someone his age would switch course. “It was a risk, we had no idea where it was going to go,” Sonja Cline said. “No one knew whether there would be enough business in Traverse City.”

“We designed the new unit from scratch, right down to the electrical system,” he said during the 1990 interview. “Our equipment was primitive by present standards, but it seemed beautiful to us back then.” Dr. Cline also became an early advocate for a cardiothoracic surgery program at the hospital and his planning laid the ground work for the program. He retired from practice in 1988, just three years before Munson Medical Center launched its cardiothoracic surgery program, and five years before Dr. Cline himself would need open heart surgery.

When the Doctor Becomes the Patient

In March 1993, Dr. Cline became a patient in the very department he had helped to create. Several months later, he met with the medical staff to describe his hospital experience from the patient point of view. He recalled noticing a tightness in his chest while shoveling the walk during a snowstorm. The next day, it occurred again. He called his internist, now Vice President of Medical Affairs David McGreaham, MD. Dr. McGreaham ordered a treadmill test, which Dr. Cline failed “miserably.”

1995

2000

Traverse City Community Hospital merged with Munson Medical Center.

A FIRST: Munson Medical Center was sole recipient of the National Quality Health Care Award for 2000, presented in Washington D.C. by the National Quality Forum. The award recognized Munson for being an exemplary role model in achieving meaningful, sustainable quality improvement.

Theodore “Ted” Cline, MD: First Physician to sit on the Hospital Board A cardiac catheterization revealed massive blockage and the need for surgery. He opted to have it performed at Munson Medical Center by cardiothoracic surgeons Daniel Drake, MD, and Mack Stirling, MD, because “the safety rate of bypass surgery at Munson is equal to or better than the best hospitals in downstate Michigan.” Dr. Drake said he appreciated Dr. Cline’s trust in the cardiothoracic surgical team. “It is always an honor to care for a colleague,” he said. “It was an especially great honor to care for Dr. Cline, a cherished cardiologist and dear friend.” Dr. Cline’s surgery included five bypasses. He recalled his nursing care as superb. “I was delighted to find out that the nurses I knew best actually asked to take care of me instead of running in the opposite direction,” he said. “I was spoiled rotten.” A strong advocate for nurse training, Dr. Cline was instrumental as a board member of Northwestern Michigan College in launching the nursing program. A nursing scholarship in his name continues at the college. Dr. Noble describes her dad as a kind and patient man, a “gentleman” who knew the value of those around him. “The attitude of a grateful heart and service to others – those two things really describe my dad,” she said. “If he received a call to see a patient, even if he wasn’t on call, he would go in. He was very dedicated to his career and the community.”

Ted Cline, MD, was born in China and spent nearly 13 years with his family there before they returned to the United States and lived in Ohio. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1943 and was a bomber pilot in World War II in the South Pacific for the Marine Corps, where he received multiple citations for his military service. After the war, he returned to Ohio where he met his wife, Jean, and earned his medical degree at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, completing a five-year residency in general surgery there, as well. His son, Bob Cline, MD, an anesthesiologist at Munson Medical Center, said his mother completed her pediatric residency two years earlier, but delayed starting her practice while starting a family. Together with Ted’s brother, Warren, an internist, they visited several hospitals along the west coast of Michigan, including Ludington, Muskegon, Traverse City, and Petoskey. “They were told at each community that they didn’t need any more doctors, but ultimately chose to make a go of it in Traverse City,” he said. “My dad was on active staff from 1955 until he retired from surgery in 1982, and Warren from 1955 until 1990. My mother also was on staff from 1955 to 1982. She helped run the original medical library, and later worked with Jim Johnston in his pediatric office, and was the Interlochen Arts Academy physician for several years in the 1970s.” Former Munson Medical Center Vice President of Medical Affairs Carl Benner, MD, a partner with Dr. Ted Cline in Surgical Associates of Traverse City, characterized him as an excellent surgeon.

“He spent a lot of time with people and was extremely conscientious as a physician,” Dr. Benner said. “He did that just like he did everything else. I think he was the conscience of the medical staff in many ways.” Dr. Ted Cline was the first staff doctor at Munson Medical Center to serve on its governing board, including a term as board chairman. He has been credited as one of the physician visionaries who helped establish the framework to make Munson Medical Center a regional, specialized medical center. Having both parents and an uncle serving as physicians definitely impacted his choice to enter the medical profession, Bob Cline said. “My parents, more than my uncle, were major influences in me ultimately becoming a physician,” he said. “Medical talk was very prominent in our household with two physician parents. Neither overly encouraged medicine, in fact, my mother probably spent more time making sure I was aware of all the drawbacks. And when I did go into medicine, it was with open eyes.”

2001

2004

A FIRST: The successful launch of PowerChart began the era of electronic clinical information at Munson Medical Center.

A FIRST: Northwest Michigan Surgery Center opened at Copper Ridge, a joint venture of Munson Medical Center and area physicians.

Rooted in Our Community | 100 YEARS OF CARING 19

Munson Medical Center was a Center for Polio Care In 1948, two days before Christmas, 13-year-old Greg Fiebing was admitted to James Decker Munson Hospital a short distance from his family’s home on Eleventh Street. Like so many other children at that time, Greg was diagnosed with infantile paralysis – better known as polio. He remained in the hospital for the next 43 days. Greg had been hospitalized earlier for an unspecified illness, treated with penicillin for a couple of weeks, and sent home. When Greg’s mother noticed that his back was no longer straight, she took him to see pediatrician Mark Osterlin, MD. “Dr. Osterlin took one look at me and said, ‘that kid’s had polio’ and sent me back to the hospital,” Greg said. In August 1948, four months before Greg’s polio diagnosis, James Decker Munson Hospital was named a polio center by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. The hospital received $5,000 worth of new equipment, including 12 pairs of crutches, bar bells, stationary bicycles, muscle stimulator, wrist rotators, ultra-violet lamp, whirlpool, short wave machine, Deka machine (rhythmic constrictor), and a parafin bath. Plans called for the procurement of two iron lungs to be added to the one already in use, and additional hot pack materials.

Greg was part of a huge polio epidemic in the country in 1949. By the 1950s, polio was one of the most feared and most serious communicable diseases among children in the United States. Greg’s 43 days of hospital care cost $446.60, according to the original bill still in Greg’s possession. Of that, $207 was paid for by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, founded in 1938 by Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was unable to walk after contracting polio in 1921. The Foundation’s grassroots “March of Dimes” helped fund research to uncover the mysteries of polio and to assist Americans suffering from the disease. March of Dimes research grantees – Jonas Salk, MD, and Albert Sabin, MD – created vaccines that eventually spelled the end of polio. Six years after Greg was a patient at James Decker Munson Hospital, the Salk vaccine was licensed for use in April 1955. But a massive immunization drive by the Tri-County Medical Society in northern Michigan did not take place until April 1964. On a single Sunday afternoon, 22 stations were set up in Benzie, Grand Traverse, and Leelanau counties for distribution of the Sabin-type polio vaccine. On that day, 36,000 people – children, parents, grandparents, and babes-in-arms older than three months – each received two drops of vaccine on a sugar cube. A second mass oral polio immunization clinic in June 1964 completed the two “feedings” of vaccine necessary for full protection against polio. The second clinic was attended by 40,000 area residents. The charge for the vaccine was 50 cents per person, but it was provided free to anyone who could not afford to pay.

Greg’s hospital bill in 1949 included $1.60 for drugs, $8 for lab work, and $134 for physiotherapy. Greg was treated twice a day with hot packs or hot baths and two to three hours of stretching exercises. “I couldn’t have asked for better care,” he said. “It seemed like they were friends rather than caregivers.” His room rate was $7 per day for a four-bed ward he shared with another teenager suffering from polio, a farmer with a broken back, and an older gentleman. His lasting memory is of the other boy waking up with nightmares, crying for his siblings who had died of polio. Except for a dropped toe, Greg made a full recovery and by the next summer was water skiing on Lake Leelanau. He served in the U.S. Navy on submarines, then came home to take over the family’s business, Ideal Dairy on West Front Street. Munson Medical Center was one of his best customers. He is now the grandfather of the sixth generation of the Fiebing family to live in Traverse City.

Thousands of local residents lined up for vaccine-laced sugar cubes.

20 Rooted in Our Community | 100 YEARS OF CARING

2004

2006

Munson Hospice House opened on the hospital campus with eight rooms for terminally-ill patients.

A FIRST: Munson Medical Center became the only verified Level II Trauma Center in northern Michigan.

Open-Heart Program in 1990 Propels Munson Medical Center to Next Level Nearly 15,000 patients have had open-heart operations at Munson Medical Center since 1990. John “Jack” Bay, president of Munson Medical Center until 1990, reflected years later that establishment of the open-heart program elevated the entire hospital to a higher level of advanced care and quality on its journey to becoming the leading regional referral center in northern Michigan. Ralph Cerny, who succeeded Bay in 1990 as hospital president and CEO, cited the development of the open-heart program as one of the most significant achievements that took place during his time at the hospital’s helm. A February 1990 edition of the Munson Intercom reported the arrival of the hospital’s first cardiothoracic surgeon, Mack Stirling, MD, this way:

Munson Medical Center’s cardiothoracic program has received recognition for its quality. Here Mack Stirling, MD, left, provides surgical care.

The first steps toward establishing a heart program at Munson Medical Center taken by Warren Cline, MD, in the 1970s eventually led to the launch of an open-heart program in 1990 that began a new era of high quality, advanced services. On July 3, 1990, Agatha Plank, 73, of Cedar was the first person to undergo open-heart surgery at Munson Medical Center. Agatha lived for another 15 years.

“Dr. Stirling was chosen from a group of surgical candidates by a committee of Munson physicians after months of careful deliberation. His eminence as an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Michigan and his highly-regarded reputation in medical circles across the state made him the clear choice of Munson physicians, many of who have trained with him in medical school . . .Dr. Stirling will be joined next year by his partner and friend, Dan Drake, MD, a native of Petoskey, who is presently completing his cardiothoracic residency at the University of Michigan Medical Center.” Dr. Stirling commuted between Ann Arbor and Traverse City to assist in staff training and the selection of surgical equipment. At the time, he said, “I feel we’ll be able to provide a solid open-heart program here so that people don’t have to leave the area. It’s always better for the patient and the family if you can provide this type of surgery locally.”

Many people from multiple disciplines were involved in the launch of the hospital’s highly successful open-heart program. The new open-heart team was largely recruited from the University of Michigan Medical Center. Besides Drs. Stirling and Drake, those who left the University of Michigan to join Munson Medical Center’s staff in the spring of 1990 included physician assistant Karen Tosiello, PA-C; perfusionist Roy Bolles, CCP; and adult cardiac surgery intensive care nurse Michelle Kauer (Recchia), RN. The first open-heart surgical team also included surgical technician Ron Butts, SA; anesthesiologists Mark Munro, MD, Robert Cline, MD, and Vince Macke, MD; circulating nurses Launa Rehard, RN, and Lynn Larsen, RN; and practice manager Ann Butts. All living members of the original open-heart team remain in the Grand Traverse area and/or are associated with Munson Healthcare services. Today, Munson’s four cardiothoracic surgeons, including R. Glade Smith, M.D. and Shelly C. Lall, MD, lead the team of physician assistants, nurse practitioners, perfusionists, and hospital staff who care for bypass patients. Munson Medical Center’s open-heart program was a Medicare Center of Excellence finalist and has received numerous awards and recognition during the past 25 years.

“We put together a quality team that works well together. We’ve always tried to deliver the best quality of care in cardiothoracic surgery, and we’re happy that our efforts have been recognized in this way.” - Mack Stirling, MD, Cardiothoracic Surgeons of Grand Traverse Founder, Munson Medical Center’s Open-Heart Program

2006

2007

A FIRST: Munson Medical Center received the Magnet Recognition Award for Nursing Excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Just one other hospital in Michigan and only 3 percent of hospitals nationally had achieved Magnet status for outstanding nursing practice.

A state-of-the-art Emergency Department opened, supported by $10 million in community donations. Three new cardiac care patient floors opened in the heart center located in the new “A Tower” above the Emergency Department.

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Interesting Patient Stories that Made the News Patients count on Munson Medical Center to have the best treatment and technology of the day. Hundreds of thousands of patients have been treated, including some whose care was deemed “newsworthy.” The following stories were culled from Munson Medical Center’s archives, as reported in the local newspaper.

August 1946

Little 20-month-old Peggy Ann Gaylord of Mesick was desperately ill at James Decker Munson Hospital with influenza meningitis. An urgent plea from her physician resulted in an emergency shipment of the new “wonder drug” streptomycin flown in from Boston. “Extremely expensive and difficult to make, streptomycin is the latest of the mold derivative types which include penicillin and is a more specific remedy for certain types of infections... This is the first time it has been used in this region and medical men here are watching carefully the results of its application in its initial use.” The drug was under the strict control of the National Research Council and was reserved for emergency treatment. Local nurse Dolores Sladek administered the wonder drug and Peggy Ann recovered fully. A follow-up photo of Peggy Ann two weeks later showed her standing in her hospital crib. The rest of the story: Peggy Ann grew up to attend nursing school at Northwestern Michigan College. She graduated in 1966 and began her career at Munson Medical Center. Peggy Ann married and gave birth to all three of her children at Munson.

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June 1949

Kimberly Paul Arp, born three months prematurely, made medical history by being the smallest baby in Munson Medical Center annals and one of tiniest babies to survive on medical record at that time. He was so tiny he was not weighed until four days after his birth, when his weight was recorded at one pound, 14 ounces. Under the care of pediatrician Mark Osterlin, MD, he was kept alive at the Central Michigan Children’s Clinic adjacent to James Decker Munson Hospital. He went home with his parents at two months of age, weighing five pounds, two ounces.

October 1952

Six-year-old Gary Gray of Bendon was admitted to the hospital with infantile paralysis (polio) and physicians believed he may need an iron lung. All four iron lungs and chest respirators at James Decker Munson Hospital were in use. An emergency call was made to the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis office in Grand Rapids. State police escorts worked in relay teams to speed transportation of an iron lung from Blodgett Memorial Hospital in Grand Rapids to Traverse City. The 150-mile trip was completed in just 2.5 hours. By October, 98 polio patients had been admitted to the hospital during 1952, the highest number to date; 31 of those patients remained hospitalized in October.

June 1955

Mary Joan Fox, “Nan” to her friends, opened a typing business from her hospital room during a very long hospital stay. Nan was recovering from a tragic auto accident on Platte River Road on Dec. 19. 1953, that claimed three lives. Initially treated at Paul Oliver Memorial Hospital, Nan was hospitalized there for just over one year and “doctors did wonders to heal her lacerations without leaving disfiguring scars.” She and Clayton Fox were married while she was hospitalized in Frankfort. In December 1954, Nan was transferred to James Decker Munson Hospital for major surgery. Six months later, still hospitalized, she opened “Nan’s Typing Service” from Room 217 to help raise some money to defray her medical costs. “Her new venture has been like a tonic. She is showing marked improvement and her doctors think the end of her hospitalization is in sight. It won’t be for some months yet, but the worst is over... ‘I’m always in my office,’ Nan laughingly explained. ‘I’m probably more devoted to my typing than any other person in the world. I just can’t leave it’.”

2008

2008

The Munson Healthcare Smith Family Breast Health Center opened at Copper Ridge.

A FIRST: Munson Medical Center won the coveted American Hospital Association-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize.™

May 1961

A 56-year-old Cadillac construction worker whose chest was crushed when a tractor wheel ran over him was alive and recovering thanks to a rare type of respirator purchased a few months earlier for the hospital by the Munson Hospital Women’s Guild. “The Morch respirator, only a few of which are available in Michigan hospitals, automatically takes over breathing for patients whose chest cavities are unable to function as bellows... A tracheotomy tube is inserted in the windpipe of the patient and the machine’s motor-driven piston takes over.” The machine cost about $1,500. The guild purchased about $7,000 in equipment that year, paid for by proceeds from a gift counter in the hospital lobby and the annual hospital bazaar.

August 1982

March 1983

Three-year-old Matthew Paul Eimers fell through thin ice into the icy waters of Arbutus Lake and was under water for 10 - 12 minutes. He was plucked from the lake bottom by Paul Plaga, a member of the 101 Rescue Squad, who was on his way to lunch when he heard the emergency call. Plaga barely knew how to swim, but was able to retrieve the boy in one dive. Little Matthew was in a coma for 26-hours, then woke up asking for two things: Kermit the Frog and lunch at Burger King. His mom called it “a miracle.”

June 1983

Two-year-old Jamie Pelka severed her ring finger when she fell on shards of glass from a broken window. Her parents, Chuck and Lorrie, rushed her to Grayling Hospital and she was transferred to Munson Medical Center. Orthopedic surgeons Ronald Clark and Barry Wickstrom reattached the severed portion of her tiny finger using a powerful microscope and precise microscopic tools. They reconnected the toddler’s blood vessels and two main arteries during a surgery that required two shifts of operating room nurses and anesthesiology specialists. Clark started doing reattachment surgery at Munson Medical Center in 1979. “The cosmetic aspects of the ring finger on a woman are a very important thing,” Clark said at the time. The Rest of the Story: Jamie Pelka Dixson is now a 34-yearold wife, mother, and production control coordinator for an automotive stamping company. Her husband happily slipped a ring onto her reattached finger on April 19, 2008. “Having my finger on my wedding day meant a lot,” Jamie said. I can’t thank my parents enough for their quick thinking and action, and all the doctors and nurses that took care of me and my parents during that time. The stories my parents tell about the whole thing are amazing!”

April 1983

On opening day of deer hunting season in 1981, 14-year-old Mark Rhodes of Honor accidentally shot off his thumb and badly damaged his right hand, requiring six operations. In a first-of-its-kind surgery at Munson Medical Center in August 1982, orthopedic surgeon Ronald Clark transplanted the second toe from Mark’s right foot onto his hand to give him a “new” thumb. Prior to the surgery, Dr. Clark traveled to San Francisco to observe the surgeon who invented the technique. A Chicago specialist who had done five previous transplants was brought in to assist during the 12-hour surgery. In a follow-up article a year later, Mark was doing well in auto body class, and had calluses on his new “thumb” – proving he was using it as intended.

Five sets of triplets were born at Munson Medical Center in a 12-month span in 1979 and 1980. The 15 babies were the first triplets born in Traverse City since 1969. The next set of triplets arrived on April 4, 1983 to Don and Diane Glowicki of Elk Rapids. Diane was a 25-year-old registered nurse at Munson Medical Center when her babies were born.

2008

2008

A FIRST: Munson Medical Center won the Everest Award for National Benchmarks, one of 23 hospitals nationally, for setting national quality benchmarks.

A FIRST: Munson Medical Center and Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine partnered to create the school’s seventh community campus and first new campus in 30 years. The first class of MSU CHM students arrived to begin their third year of medical school.

The Rest of the Story: Today, Diane is manager of Munson Medical Center’s Rehabilitation Unit. The Glowicki triplets are 32. Daughter Amy (Glowicki) Edington has an interior design degree from Kendall School of Art. Amy and her husband live in Grand Rapids with their two-year-old daughter. Sons Christopher and Matthew live together in a house they had moved next to their parents’ home.

1984

Five-year-old Brian Krause of Engadine severed his left arm between the shoulder and the elbow in a farm machinery accident. Four physicians at Munson Medical Center – Ronald Clark, Barry Wickstrom, Carl Benner, and Edward Schneider, reattached the boy’s arm during a six-hour surgery; after surgery, Brian told everyone, “I’ll be better when I’m 7.”

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100 years of Nursing at Munson Medical Center Nurses at Munson Medical Center have been nationally recognized for excellence since 2006 by attaining their profession’s highest award – Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. But Munson Medical Center nurses have always been something special. James Decker Munson, MD, valued nurses so much he and the Northern Michigan Asylum Board of Trustees founded the first nursing school in Traverse City in 1906. The Northern Michigan Asylum Training School for Nurses was renamed the Traverse City State Hospital Training School for Nurses in 1911, and remained open until 1947. More than 400 women and men were trained in their profession at the school. Candidates for nursing school needed two years of high school education and good health. There were no tuition or fees, and room and board were free.

Director of Nursing Has ‘Colorful’ Past

After the state of Michigan transferred ownership of the hospital to the community in 1948, a critical position to be filled was director of nursing. Miss Margaret McNaughton was hired in February 1949. She arrived from Detroit where she had been assistant director of nursing at Grace Hospital. She arrived with “a wide and colorful experience in teaching and administration in the United States and abroad. Prior to the opening of hostilities in World War II, she was in Europe and left just before Germany started its march of aggression. The next four years she worked and taught in Africa, visiting Rhodesia and Nyasaland. In 1944, she flew from Cape Town to Cairo enroute Lebanon where she accepted a position on the supervisory staff at American University. During this period she traveled extensively in Syria, Palestine, and Turkey.” - Traverse City Record-Eagle, Feb. 2, 1949

A hospital is only as good as its nursing staff. Over the years, thousands of dedicated nurses have aided Munson Medical Center in its growth and development. Nurses have served as leaders, educators, and advocates. Most importantly, they have been at the side of countless patients, giving them care, encouragement, and helping them return to good health.

2010

$25 million Women’s Pavilion opened, housing 19 LDRP (labor, delivery, recovery and post-partum) rooms, a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and 20 additional critical care beds. A FIRST: Munson Medical Center began offering minimallyinvasive robotic surgery with the purchase of the $1.7 million daVinci® SI robotic surgical system, the most advanced system available. 24 Rooted in Our Community | 100 YEARS OF CARING

The Rest of the Story: Anita Wells, now 78, worked as a surgical nurse at Munson Medical Center during a span of 44 years from 1957 - 2001. She continued filling in at the hospital as a pool nurse until 2010. “I have a lot of love and respect for Munson Medical Center,” she said from her home on Old Mission Peninsula. “It was always a friendly place. Everyone was proud of what they did, and they did their best.” Anita enjoyed everything about being a surgical nurse. “I just loved people and helping them – talking to them before and after surgery and being there to safeguard them during surgery. I loved the teamwork and I loved coming in on emergencies – you knew you were helping to save lives.”

Munson Nurse Wins National Award

Anita Wells, a 24-year-old registered nurse at James Decker Munson Hospital was named “Operating Room Nurse of the Year” in 1962. “Mrs. Wells, who successfully fills the role of wife, mother, and nurse, is winner of the annual national essay contest sponsored by the hospital division of Johnson & Johnson.” She won an all-expense paid trip to Denver to attend the ninth National Congress of the Association of Operating Room Nurses, and a $500 nursing scholarship for her hospital. Mrs. Wells wrote in her essay: “The thrill of knowing I helped a surgeon save a life in crisis... The precious cry of a newborn from a Caesarean section... the trust I see in the patient’s face... the feeling of belonging to a wonderful team... These are a few of the many satisfactions I feel.”

Anita was part of the surgical team during the first total hip replacement performed at Munson Medical Center in 1972 by Orthopedic Surgeon Oswald Clark, MD. The patient was Irish and gave each member of the operating team a silver coin from Ireland commemorating St. Patrick’s Day 1972. Anita still has her coin in its original green case. When Anita arrived at James Decker Munson Hospital in 1957, it was still a small hospital. “We all knew everybody,” she said. “It was just the east wing and the west wing – there was nothing out front. The operating room was in the back of the hospital. We had big picture window in one of our ORs that we could see the parking lot – and people in the parking lot could see us, too. They couldn’t see what we were doing, but they could see the big surgery light on. It was a good hospital at that time, too. I still have a lot of affection for the people and the place.”

- Traverse City Record-Eagle Feb. 14, 1962

2011

2012

The Daniel and Debra Edson Cardiac Diagnostic Suite opened, completing the Heart Center by consolidating all heart services in one tower.

A FIRST: The TruebeamTM STx stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) device was installed as part of an $11 million project to enhance cancer services. Munson was among the first hospitals in the nation to purchase the device. Rooted in Our Community | 100 YEARS OF CARING 25

Hospital Volunteers Play Critical Role for Nearly 70 years By 1946, the U.S. Navy had established a base at Traverse City’s airport, new factories were opening in this primarily summer resort town, and soldiers and sailors were returning from World War II. As a result, James Decker Munson Hospital was severely overcrowded and understaffed.

“This was a town that helped everyone,” she recalled.

Even with the help of Red Cross Gray Ladies and the hospital’s nursing students, the hospital staff was overwhelmed. Patients were being cared for in the lobby, in hallways, and in rooms usually used as offices.

The new Auxiliary’s first order of business was to renovate the furnishings and supply new draperies for the nurses’ quarters. A few months after the Auxiliary was launched, Beers spearheaded the formation of the hospital’s Junior Guild, and Mrs. William Smith was elected its first president. This group undertook operation of the hospitality cart which is still regularly taken into patient rooms. The two groups soon became a single unit.

“The hospital desperately needed all kinds of help,” recalled Mrs. Douglas Linder, Munson Medical Center Auxiliary’s first president, in a 1982 Traverse City Record-Eagle article.

In 1953, the Munson Hospital Women’s Guild opened a gift shop in the hospital’s main lobby, with all proceeds going to support hospital services, just as it does today.

Many changes have occurred since the Auxiliary was formed 69 years ago. For most of its history, volunteer roles were mainly filled by women. In July 2001, the group’s name was changed to “Volunteers” to reflect the changing face of volunteerism, which now includes many men and students among the hospital’s 400 volunteers. Munson Volunteers serve three important functions: service to the hospital in various capacities, fund-raising, and legislative advocacy. Volunteers have donated more than $2 million to the hospital, in addition to countless hours of service.

Mrs. Linder felt her services as a Gray Lady weren’t enough. She took a Red Cross nurse’s training course. She also accepted an invitation sent to 20 Red Cross volunteers to form a Munson Hospital Auxiliary being organized by Mrs. Julius Beers Sr. and Mrs. W. F. Wilson at the suggestion of Hazel Leisson, then assistant superintendent of nurses.

2015

$25 million Women’s Pavilion opened, housing 19 LDRP (labor, delivery, recovery and post-partum) rooms, a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and 20 additional critical care beds. Munson Medical Center observed 100 Years of Caring.

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Interesting Places You’ve Never Seen Forgotten tunnels. Vintage murals. A bomb shelter. Empty corridors. A therapy pool. These are some of the hidden nooks and crannies at Munson Medical Center that are well outside of today’s public view. Today, Munson Medical Center consists of almost 1 million square feet of space. As the hospital expanded over the years, additions were joined to existing structures. Most of the original hospital continues to be used – but a few areas have been abandoned.

Where is it?

Construction of the first permanent hospital began in 1923 and it opened in 1925. Following are descriptions of where things used to be.

The Original Hospital

Best seen from Brook Drive and Parking Lot C, the original 55-bed, two-story brick hospital is still being used. Original terrazzo flooring from 1923 can be seen in several locations, including the stairway that leads from the entrance under the Solarium. The 1925 hospital today houses multiple departments and some patient care rooms.

The Front Doors

In 1925, the hospital’s front door was about where the newspaper boxes sit near the C elevators. After 1952, the front entrance to James Decker Munson Hospital was moved east, where Ultrasound exists today.

The Original Emergency Department

Before ambulances, rescue personnel transported injured and ailing people to the hospital in hearses. For a time, the ambulance entrance was located under the Solarium. If you look closely, you can see scrapes on the portico roof, left by the first truck-type ambulances that were substantially taller than the low-slung hearses.

The Morgue

The old morgue was located downstairs. Because the morgue was small, the deceased was brought out into a hallway for viewing by family members. The industrial basement hallway was not pleasant and local artist Pat Baic thought it was too depressing. She painted lively murals on the hallway walls to make the environment more comforting for grieving families. Only one of her paintings survives today.

Munson’s Fallout Shelter

During the Cold War, nuclear fallout shelters were located around the city as a precaution. Munson Medical Center’s fallout shelter was located in the basement within the concrete walls of the original hospital. Today, you would never guess it was there. Movable medical record shelves cover the entrance. Inside the former shelter, shelves store old hospital medical records, including hand-written obstetric records in bound journals.

The Tunnels

Three tunnels run under Munson Medical Center from north to south to carry pipes for utilities, water, and steam heat. Two tunnels also run from east to west. These days, Munson maintenance crews rarely access the tunnels, but the hospital still relies on the utilities housed there.

The Therapy Pool

Sealed off and located between two tunnels, a physical therapy pool still exists under what is now the Munson Professional Building. The room is lined with yellow ceramic tile, and was used as a therapy pool for polio victims and others. It is no longer accessible.

The Horizontal Fire Escape

As Munson Medical Center grew, each new addition was directly attached to the pre-existing structure. To meet state fire codes, an interior horizontal fire escape was required. Today, a long fire escape route starts at the back of C1 and runs throughout the hospital to the A tower stairwell.

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1105 Sixth St. | Traverse City, MI 49684 | munsonhealthcare.org/100years

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