Wheaton Franciscan Medical Group
In 1879, three Franciscan Sisters arrived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on a mission to provide nursing care to the community. Out of a small house on 4th and Walnut Streets, they began operating their health care ministry. At the same time, a group of Felician Sisters was also providing ministry and health care services to families throughout Wisconsin. Little did either group realize that their missions would link together and evolve over the next century into one of the region’s largest and most respected health care organizations.
Thirty-five miles to the south in Racine in 1882, Franciscan Sisters rounded up 10 beds and converted the old Blake House on Campbell and 16th Streets into a hospital.
As the areas expanded, so did the need for health care. In 1884, St. Joseph Hospital opened at 4th and Reservoir Streets. A rapidly growing patient population spurred the construction of a number of new hospitals over the next few decades including a new location for St. Joseph at 50th and Chambers Streets, St. Michael Hospital on Villard Avenue, and the Felicians’ St. Francis Hospital at 16th and Euclid Streets. These new facilities dramatically increased patient capacity and provided the opportunity to expand a number of important programs to meet the growing need for health services.
In 1983, Elmbrook Memorial Hospital, started by the Misericordia Sisters, became part of the Wheaton Franciscan system. A year later, the Wheaton and Felician systems each began providing home health services, which are now offered under the name of Wheaton Franciscan Home Health & Hospice.