Firm roots in the past, with an eye on the future
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June 15, 2026
WAUPUN – SSM Health Waupun Memorial Hospital is marking 75 years of serving the Waupun community this year, a milestone hospital leaders said reflects decades of growth, innovation and patient care.
As part of the anniversary celebration, President DeAnn Thurmer said the hospital will host a public open house from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 28, featuring refreshments, the unveiling of a new Agnesian HealthCare Foundation donor wall and an opportunity to view the Waupun Fine Arts display located across from the gift shop.
“The new art display in our lobby is a community event where different groups, including schools and other nonprofits, can bring in different artwork and display it in our lobby for a month,” she said.
As part of the celebration, Thurmer said staff and guests will have the opportunity to sign a commemorative banner during the open house, which will be preserved and displayed again during the hospital’s 100th anniversary celebration.
“We’re excited to celebrate with our community the incredible history present at SSM Health Waupun Memorial Hospital,” she said.
Thurmer said the anniversary celebration is especially meaningful to her because it comes just before her retirement July 1, providing an opportunity to reflect on the hospital’s history and say goodbye to a community she has served through Waupun Memorial for 41 years.
“It’s been a really good experience, both personally and professionally, in addition to being able to have that relationship with the community and the people who’ve worked there,” she said.
Those in attendance will be able to learn more about the Art & DeAnn Thurmer Endowment Fund, which Thurmer said she and her husband established to support employee-focused initiatives at Waupun Memorial Hospital, including wellness programs, recognition efforts and small gestures of appreciation.
According to a release issued by the hospital, this endowment “reflects DeAnn’s enduring belief that caring for those who care for others is essential to a thriving health care environment.”
Thurmer said the endowment was an idea she and her husband developed with the Agnesian HealthCare Foundation as part of her retirement legacy and a way to give back to hospital staff after she leaves.
“Our endowment is to make sure there are funds there to recognize and appreciate the staff with some fun things, whatever it is they decide to do for the staff,” she said. “People can donate to the endowment if they want to help support my legacy. We’re excited this can be part of a continued blessing for the staff who work hard every day.”
Thurmer said the celebration would not be possible without the efforts of those who came before her and the colleagues she has worked with over the years.
“All the people I’ve worked with are kind, caring, compassionate people who really wanted the best for the community members – whether it was physicians who worked there, to the nurses I have today and all the other staff who are there with the same purpose in mind,” she said.
Thurmer said the event also gives attendees a chance to look back on the hospital’s history and the deep community ties that have guided its growth.
“We’re looking forward to reminiscing about our past, while acknowledging all the wonderful services we now offer within our own community,” she said.
It all started with an idea
According to a hospital timeline provided by SSM Health to The Business News, Waupun Memorial Hospital’s roots can be traced back to 1943 when then-mayor Judson J. Rikkers appointed a Citizen’s Hospital Committee to evaluate the need for a local hospital.
By 1945, community leaders had launched a fundraising campaign to build a new healthcare facility.
The School Sisters of St. Francis, the timeline notes, also joined the effort, providing operational leadership and significant financial support.
Construction began in 1949, and Waupun Memorial Hospital was dedicated in 1951, the timeline further states, as a tribute to veterans of both World Wars and as a vital healthcare resource for the region.
It officially opened its doors on July 5, 1951.
In 1987, sponsorship of the hospital, per the timeline, shifted from the School Sisters of St. Francis to the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes.
It became part of Missouri-based SSM Health in 2018.
“We definitely have seen us go from a small stand-alone to a small system to a larger system corporation, but always providing faith-based care as our background,” Thurmer said. “We have continued the thread of who we are through all these changes. No one is ever turned away because of their inability to pay, or whether they have insurance or not. That’s part of our mission.”
Thurmer said a large part of the hospital’s success has been the result of the community itself.
“The Waupun community has been an unwavering partner from the very beginning,” she said. “Their generosity, advocacy and engagement have shaped this hospital for 75 years, and continue to make our mission possible today.”
Thurmer said the hospital’s bed count has changed over time, beginning at about 100 beds.
That number, she said, later dropped to 60 beds in double-occupancy rooms before transitioning to single-patient rooms and a total of 25 beds.
“We became a critical-access hospital in the 1990s and remain that today,” she said. “As such, we are limited to 25 beds only under federal guidelines for critical-access hospitals. We can expand our services on an outpatient perspective, but as far as inpatient beds go, we have to stay within that 25-bed limit.”
Gradually expanding services
Thurmer said services and amenities have expanded over the years as well to meet growing demand for patient care.
“With the newest addition we did, we’ve made patient rooms more modern,” she said. “They have lifts in the ceiling if we need to move patients around for the safety of both the patients and our staff. The bathrooms are huge in case you have to get wheelchairs in there. There are roll-in showers. The OB suites are completely renovated to make them a beautiful experience for families with their new child.”
As technology has evolved, Thurmer said Waupun Memorial has worked to keep pace with those changes, with patient rooms now wired for IT.
She said the hospital has also added a new surgery center, a medical office building and set aside space for future emergency room updates.
Thurmer said improvements have also extended beyond facilities to the equipment and services within them – including both CAT scan and MRI capabilities.
However, she said the challenge has been integrating new technology with existing infrastructure to ensure adequate space for expanding care services.
“Our physical plant wouldn’t hold the infrastructure we needed, so we now have a long-term mobile unit that’s situated next to the hospital [for those services],” she said.
Furthermore, Thurmer said the hospital now offers diabetic services, dialysis treatment, IV infusion services and medical oncology – offerings that were not part of its original scope of care.
“We’ve expanded for those,” she said. “And our surgery center today offers larger cases, such as full knee and hip replacements.”
Thurmer said another major addition came in 2003, when the hospital built a secured unit to treat inmates from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, particularly those housed at Waupun Correctional Institution.
She said she was approached by the State of Wisconsin, which was looking to reduce the cost of transporting inmates to Madison for all levels of care, including minor services.
“We had a wing we weren’t using because of the changes in how we were using our beds,” she said.
Thurmer said state leadership at the time established a contract with the hospital, agreeing to pay a set amount if it remodeled the wing to prison standards and converted it into a secured unit.
“So, we worked with them and within the walls of Waupun Memorial we have this secured unit where we take care of incarcerated patients…,” she said. “We can take care of them in a locked unit with security officers and our medical staff… It’s pretty unique. In fact, we’re only the second hospital in Wisconsin that has this. The other one is the University of Wisconsin-Madison.”
Meeting community needs beyond health care
As demand for care has grown and more patients lack insurance or the financial means to pay, Thurmer said the hospital has “gotten smarter” about expanding its role, broadening efforts to support the community in ways indirectly tied to health care.
“We set up our Samaritan Clinic and were able to get resources to help those who didn’t know how to get on Medicaid or other resources that are out there,” she said.
Thurmer said this year’s focus on food insecurity has highlighted strong coordination between local churches, the hospital and the city in meeting community needs.
“In fact, the group we call our Mission Action Team, raised money by doing a coin drive to pay off the lunch debt of those children or families who couldn’t pay their debt at school for their lunches,” she said. “Those are some of the small things we’re able to do. We do food drives for the food pantry and interact that way with the community.”
Thurmer said working with communities and counties to identify top needs – such as housing, transportation and food – has shown the hospital’s impact extends beyond its medical care.
“If we don’t [partner with others on those issues], then we find ourselves with the same patients coming back with some of the same concerns,” she said.
Various honors
As the hospital reflects on 75 years, Thurmer said it is important to note the variety of awards Waupun Memorial has received over the years for the care it provides.
Among them, she said, are national recognition as a Top 100 Hospital, continued accreditation from The Joint Commission and a 5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
However, Thurmer said the heart of the celebration belongs to the people of SSM Health Waupun Memorial Hospital.
“Our caregivers and volunteers are the true legacy of this hospital,” she said. “Their compassion, skill and devotion to serving friends, family and neighbors are what make SSM Health Waupun Memorial Hospital exceptional.”
And as the hospital celebrates three-quarters of a century of caring, leaders are also reflecting the hospital’s origins.
Seventy-five years of service, Nicole Gill – SSM Health Ripon Community Hospital/SSM Health Waupun Memorial Hospital vice president and clinical administrator – said is a “profound milestone” for both our organization and the communities we serve
Whether caring at the bedside, supporting operations or volunteering time and talent, Gill said “every individual contributes to a culture of excellence that honors our past and inspires our future.”
“We are grateful for the generations of caregivers and community partners who have advanced our mission and strengthened local access to high-quality, faith-inspired health care,” she said.
Thurmer said the 75-year milestone reflects the hospital’s ability to maintain high-quality health care in a small community, a point she said she is proud of.
“I’m sure that is a tradition that will continue into the next 75 years and beyond,” she said.
