About McLaren Macomb
The Pride of Macomb County For More Than 60 Years
McLaren Macomb is a 288-bed acute care hospital located in Mount Clemens, Michigan. With more than 2,000 employees, McLaren Macomb is one of Macomb County's top employers. The hospital also has more than 420 affiliated physicians.
McLaren Macomb provides a full range of services including cancer and cardiovascular care. The hospital operates one of the busiest emergency departments in area. McLaren Macomb also has top-notch surgical services using state-of-the-art technology.
McLaren Macomb has a rich history and holds a strong place in the community it serves.
Prior to 1944, the 108,000 residents of Macomb County had few choices when it
came to choosing a hospital. The patients of osteopathic physicians had even less. For their medical care, most had to travel to downtown Detroit, an inconvenience considering that most of the area roads were unpaved.
Dr. Campbell A. Ward
Dr. Campbell A. Ward was one of only a few osteopaths in the area. Dr. Ward and several others saw the need to provide obstetric and gynecologic care locally and offered services from a house on Gratiot Avenue in Mount Clemens. In time, the group realized that if they were to meet the medical needs of a growing population, a new area hospital had to be formed.
In 1944, 12 physicians and community leaders took steps to organize and establish a hospital suitable for labor and delivery and surgery. The physicians and their families used their own money and appealed to the community to raise the necessary funds to renovate a building on Macomb Street in downtown Mount Clemens.
On February 10, 1945, Mount Clemens General Hospital (MCGH) officially opened with 40 beds and a staff of 17 physicians.
In its first year of operation, the facility treated nearly 1,300 patients, delivered 360 babies and performed 616 surgeries.
The success of the small hospital soon led to a need for a larger facility. In 1955, with federal grant assistance and donor contributions, the hospital broke ground at its current site on Harrington Boulevard, on the southwest corner of Mount Clemens bordering Clinton Township.<
The following year, the new 104-bed Mount Clemens General Hospital was opened and began serving the community.
The need for more beds saw the construction of a 3-story addition in 1963, bringing the bed total to 200.
Just three years later, the hospital activated a long-range, three-phase construction plan and in 1968, plans were approved for another three-story addition at a cost of $3.3 million.
In 1972, the hospital dedicated the additional floors, adding medical/surgical floors, pediatrics, and a library. Later that year, the hospital dedicated its intensive care and coronary care units.
Plans soon began for more growth and in 1975 the hospital approved the 5-story Campbell A. Ward Tower.
The following year, the Michigan Department of Public Health approved additional beds, bringing the total bed count to the current day total of 288.
In 1982, Phase 2 of the hospital's long-term construction plan was completed with the dedication of a 2-story addition to the hospital's east campus. The new facility housed new operating rooms as well as lab and radiology areas.
In 1989, the Mat Gaberty Heart Institute was dedicated expanding the heart program, which would soon become the flagship service for the hospital.
The 1990s marked a decade of consistent growth for Mount Clemens General. In 1991, the hospital began offering laparoscopic procedures, a service that would continue to expand and evolve technologically right up to the addition in 2005 of the da Vinci robotic surgical system.
In 1994, the hospital began construction of a medical building south of the hospital.
That same year, ground was broken for a new 144,000 square foot addition to the hospital that would eventually house the intensive care unit and family birthing center.
In 1997, the hospital consolidated its cardiovascular care services into one area of the hospital, creating the Mat Gaberty Heart Center.
At this time, the MCG Foundation began to raise funds for a new 125-seat medical education auditorium. The auditorium and adjoining classrooms provided much-needed space to train interns and residents.
In 1998, a major renovation and expansion was completed on the hospital's lab. At the same time, plans were underway to build a medical office building. With its beautiful atrium and pleasing amenities, the $9.6 million, 48,000 square foot office building transformed the main entrance to the hospital.
In 2000, the Emergency Department underwent a major renovation and expansion. Dedicated in 2003, the Emergency Department now offers 24 private exam rooms, seven open treatment areas, and three trauma rooms.
As the hospital continued to grow, parking became a major challenge. In November 2002, construction of a new 6-level parking deck began. The esthetically pleasing structure has a capacity for 900 vehicles.
In March of 2004, the hospital held dedication ceremonies for the Ted B. Wahby Cancer Center, featuring radiation oncology services. In 2008, McLaren Macomb opened the new state-of-the-art freestanding Ted B. Wahby Cancer Center on the hospital's campus.
One of the hospital's largest-scale construction projects began in late 2003. Two years later, the new, 151,000-sq. ft. Surgery Center was completed. The Surgery Center features world-class amenities along with state-of-the-art technology. The center has eight operating rooms with expansion capacity to ten.
In 2006, MCGH became a wholly-owned subsidiary of McLaren Health Care. It was decided at this time to change the name of the hospital to better reflect its place in the community it serves. McLaren Macomb Medical Center (McLaren Macomb) now joins McLaren's seven other hospitals serving central, southeast Michigan.
McLaren Macomb has enjoyed consistent growth for more than 60 years. With numerous of physician offices and medical buildings, McLaren Macomb continues to make its presence known throughout Macomb County. Today, McLaren Macomb stands out in the county as an important community resource.
More than 420 physicians are on staff at the hospital, including more than 100 family medicine and internal medicine specialists who provide primary care. Many work to encourage and train new students in the area. The hospital's teaching program, with its high standard of excellence, now attracts hundreds of top students from across the nation.
The hospital, with its rich history and strong place in the community, is poised to grow for many years to come.