About Munson Medical Center

Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, Mich., is the regional referral center for all of northern Michigan. The 442-bed hospital has earned a national reputation for top quality care. Some of the best medical care in the nation is available to you here in Traverse City.

Our highly accomplished specialists, surgeons, doctors, nurses, and technicians could work anywhere. They choose to work here because they are surrounded by outstanding colleagues in new and updated facilities with all of the tools, technology, and support they need to do their jobs well.

Munson Medical Center is a verified Level II Trauma Center and has the only Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in northern Michigan.

Munson Medical Center invests in the latest sophisticated diagnostic technology, such as 3D tomography, so patients receive precise, timely diagnoses. Our state-of-the-art surgical services offer the latest minimally-invasive techniques, including daVinci robots and stereotactic radiosurgery, for less pain and faster recovery.

Our goal is to provide advanced, quality care as close to home as possible. If patients require the services of a larger medical center, we work closely with Helen Devos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, and Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor. Cooperative relationships with these leading facilities ensure patients have a smooth transition of integrated care.

Above all, we keep the patient at the center of all we do. Your comfort, recovery, and return to health is our passion and our purpose.

A Teaching Hospital

Munson Medical Center serves as a robust teaching hospital for residents, interns, medical students, and nursing students. We partner with Michigan State University, Northwestern Michigan College, and other academic centers to expertly train the next generation of health care providers.

A Research Hospital

Heart and cancer research programs at Munson Medical Center give northern Michigan patients access to nationally-funded clinical trials and the most promising treatments before they become widely available.    

Award-winning Heart Care

Munson Medical Center is home to an award-winning heart program in the Webber Heart Center. Our respected heart team of cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons do more advanced procedures, and have been doing them longer, than any other team in northern Michigan. Cardiologists travel to nine clinics around the region to see patients as close to their homes as possible for evaluations and follow-up care.

Advanced Cancer Care

Munson Medical Center’s state-of-the-art Cowell Family Cancer Center, which includes stereotactic radiosurgery, other advanced radiation therapies, medical oncology, and broad support services, is part of the Munson Healthcare Regional Cancer Network serving all of northern Michigan.

Orthopedics

The high level of expertise among orthopedics specialists available through Munson Medical Center is comparable to that found in many large metropolitan areas, making it one of the best places in the country for orthopedic care. Munson Medical Center’s fellowship-trained orthopedic subspecialists include specialization in complex trauma care, expertise in innovative procedures such as arthroscopic shoulder nerve release, and minimally invasive joint replacements. Wherever you live in northern Michigan, you are never far from a skilled orthopedic specialist who is ready to help you.

Primary Stroke Center

Munson Medical Center is designated as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission and is recognized as a regional stroke center for northern Michigan. The designation demonstrates the hospital’s program meets critical elements of performance to achieve long-term success in improving outcomes for stroke patients. It verifies that Munson Medical Center is providing evidence-based best care and best practices to stroke patients in Traverse City and the surrounding region.           

Our History

Our namesake was James Decker Munson, MD, the first superintendent of the Northern Michigan Asylum in Traverse City. Dr. Munson arrived in Traverse City in 1885. When the community’s only hospital burned to the ground in 1915, he offered a cottage at Elmwood and Eleventh Street as a temporary general hospital. He was instrumental in lobbying the state to provide funds for a new hospital. The 55-bed James Decker Munson Hospital opened in April 1925. It was renamed Munson Medical Center in 1964 to reflect its role as a regional referral center for all of northern Michigan. Dr. Munson’s guiding principles of putting patients first and treating them with respect and dignity are still central to the way care is delivered today at Munson Medical Center. 

What Patients Say About Us

• “My son who is 13 months was recently in Munson for almost 2 days for an infection in his foot and the staff in unit C3 were so awesome! They were so polite, kind and caring! I love that they have a play room for the kids. Neither my son nor I wanted to be there but they took excellent care of him and I while we were there! Thank you all for your hard work and dedication to your jobs!”

• “Thank you to all of your amazing staff that got Mom through a very difficult medical emergency. From the ER staff, doctors and nurses all the way to the wonderful food and room service meal servers! A big thank you to the Observation Wing staff, nurses and doctors! She is in a beautiful room in the B Wing. I am home and resting well tonight knowing that Mom is there and in such good hands! Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!”

• “Everybody from ER security to lab techs and the doctors are all incredibly attentive and kind, have a very positive attitude, and make sure you are as comfortable as possible. I've spent far too much time in hospitals but I have to say, this one is by far a tier above the rest. Thank you all for helping me feel better and doing it with the best attitudes.”

• “Every single person I have interacted with during the care of my father has been absolutely fantastic. They are competent, compassionate, focused on the needs/goals of the patient and family, they work well together as a team, they all give great recommendations and honest reports with outstanding bedside manner. This all happened while we were on vacation, and we see it as a sign from God that this is where it was all meant to happen. Would highly recommended MMC!”

Mission

Munson Healthcare and its partners will work together to provide superior quality care and promote community health.

Purpose

We improve lives.

Vision

To be our communities’ trusted source of compassionate, seamless care for another 100 years.

Joint Commission Notice

Munson Medical Center is fully accredited by The Joint Commission. To ensure the highest quality health care for our patients, Munson Medical Center participates in the accreditation process through The Joint Commission, which conducts periodic unannounced accreditation surveys of the hospital to determine our compliance with nationally established Joint Commission standards.