WBRMC's History:

The original Tolfree Memorial Hospital was built in West Branch in 1929, through the generosity and vision of local farmer, lumberman and banker John Tolfree. Over the years, as the community grew and the hospital became more regional in scope, several additions were constructed.

In 1991, the Tolfree Memorial Hospital’s Board of Trustees determined the 76,000 square foot building and its six-acre site had reached its maximum capacity, and that a new facility was needed. Following the formation of an affordable financing package, which included a successful fundraising campaign, the board broke ground for a new medical complex in 1996.

The new medical center, renamed and dedicated in 1999 as the West Branch Regional Medical Center, is the cornerstone of medical services in Ogemaw and the surrounding counties.

The 88-bed acute care facility includes four operating suites and a coronary/intensive care unit. The medical center’s emergency services department, open 24 hours, features 11 patient treatment areas. At the heart of the medical center is its dedicated staff of professionals. Each team member is an integral part of the success of the organization.

Since opening, West Branch Regional Medical Center has added many new services to stay on track with its mission – “to be the preferred health center through service and excellence.” Some of those new services include heart catherization, magnetic resonance imaging, cardiac rehabilitation, the pain clinic, increased rehabilitation services and a pediatric surgery orientation program.

In addition, with the help of the Tolfree Foundation, the medical center constructed a helipad in 2001 to make it easier and safer for medical evacuation helicopters to land.

Behind the scenes, the medical center currently is installing a state-of-the-art computerized information system to help bridge the gap between business and medicine. The new information system, which will be implemented in multi-steps, is an aggressive undertaking by several internal medical center departments and will ultimately help streamline patient information, improve patient care and increase customer satisfaction.

Another very important priority to the medical center is its commitment to be the community’s leading source for healthcare information. Currently the medical center offers monthly seminars focusing on important health-care topics and various health screenings free of charge for community members.

Complementing the medical center is the Medical Arts Center located at 335 E. Houghton Ave. (formerly the Tolfree Hospital). Some of the medical center’s departments remain at the Medical Arts Center, including its laundry, materials management and business office. With the bulk of its services relocated – and not wanting to simply abandon the old hospital – WBRMC deeded the building and property to the Medical Arts Center.

In 1999, the Medical Arts Center became a municipal Health Facility Corporation under state law and a subsidiary of the West Branch Regional Medical Center. The Medical Arts Center continues to maintain its own budget and board of trustees. Its mission: to provide outpatient health services to support the medical center while remaining a separate entity.

The West Branch Regional Medical Center has become a magnet for other health ventures. Soon after construction was started on the new facility, the West Branch Regional Medical Center, the Medical Arts Center and St. Mary’s Hospital of Saginaw collaborated to construct the Seton Cancer Institute – West Branch campus, which opened in June 1999.

The 32,000 square foot institute, connected to the medical center via a corridor on the second floor, is a comprehensive radiation and oncology cancer treatment center. No longer must area cancer patients make the long drive to Saginaw for care.

The new medical center and cancer center are the infrastructure to take us well into the new millennium.