Photos: Staff of the new hospital at the 1955 Opening; Aerial view of the original Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
In Troy’s 60th year, Beaumont Health System is also celebrating its 60th birthday. On Jan. 24, 1955, the 238-bed William Beaumont Hospital opened its doors on 113 acres of donated farmland, as well as adjacent land from an undeveloped subdivision, at 13 Mile and Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak. Beaumont’s founders had a three-part vision: to establish a private practice, not-for-profit medical center that would deliver high quality care, always focused on the patient; to provide first-rate teaching and research; and to involve the community in supporting the hospital through philanthropy.
Growth came quickly: residency programs in 1962; a Research Institute in 1966; Beaumont’s first open-heart surgery in 1967; the first kidney transplant in 1972. And in 1977, the Troy hospital opened its doors on Dequindre Road.
Growth continued with a Critical Care Tower, Cancer and Imaging Centers, expanded Research Institute and Heart Center at Beaumont, Royal Oak. In 2004, the South Tower was opened, leading to the birth of the Beaumont Children’s Hospital. In 2007, Beaumont, Troy, broke ground on a larger Emergency Center, a Critical Care Tower, and a bridge linking inpatient facilities in Troy with outpatient facilities across Dequindre Road in Sterling Heights. That same year, Beaumont acquired Bon Secours Hospital, renamed Beaumont Grosse Pointe.
This growth was driven by medical innovation. From the nation’s first closed-chest heart valve replacement, to pioneering surgery to treat urology disorders, and other minimally-invasive techniques, Beaumont doctors helped develop procedures that are used around the world. And, now, a new generation of Beaumont doctors are training at the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, which opened in 2011.
In September 2014, Beaumont joined with Oakwood Healthcare and Botsford Health Care to create Beaumont Health, an eight-hospital, non-profit health care organization to provide high quality, efficient, accessible services in a caring environment for southeastern Michigan residents and beyond.
Did you know?
Beaumont Hospital was originally named Oakland Hospital. The name was changed to Beaumont when construction materials were sent mistakenly sent to Oakwood Hospital.
Want to learn more? Click here for a video history.
To commemorate the City of Troy’s 60th Anniversary in 2015, we will publish a different story each day that highlights a person, discovery, or event that occurred locally, regionally, nationally, or even globally between 1955 and 2015 and that helped shape our lives and our community. We will try to post stories on important anniversary dates, but we also realize that dates are less critical than content and context. We will include the facts related to controversial stories, allowing our readers to form their own opinions. We invite you to read and comment on the stories. Your suggestions for topics are also welcome and can be posted on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/TroyHistoricVillage. You can also email stories or ideas to the 365 Story Editor at ed@thvmail.org.
