Our History

Mile Bluff Has Been Serving Area Residents for More Than 130 Years.

1893 Dr. J.S. Hess, Sr. began caring for patients in Mauston.
1912 Mauston Hospital opened its doors. The downtown store building and residence the doctor purchased and remodeled served the community for eleven years.
1923 The original Hess Memorial Hospital was built across the street from Mauston Hospital, admitting all types of patients and expanding the services available.
1959 The City of Mauston purchased Hess Memorial Hospital, which became governed by a board of directors.
1963 Hess Memorial Hospital, Inc. was formed and obtained the hospital from the city. The need arose for a new hospital, as well as beds for the aging population. A building was constructed and added to the existing hospital, and the older portion of the complex was turned into a nursing home.
1980 A new hospital and nursing home were built at the current location on Highway 58.
1981 A group of physicians built Mile Bluff Clinic, adjacent to the hospital.
1991 Mile Bluff - Elroy Family Medical Center opened.
1992 Terrace Heights Retirement Community opened next to the medical center.
1995 Mile Bluff - Necedah Family Medical Center opened.
1996 A 54,000 square foot addition was built onto the hospital. The new space doubled the size of the laboratory, relocated and created several more examination rooms in the Emergency Department, and also allowed for an Urgent Care Department to be added. The Rehabilitation Department also had new space with plenty of room for equipment and the ability to serve more patients.
2001 An addition to Mile Bluff's surgery wing was completed. This new space allowed Mile Bluff to treat more patients and to expand the types of surgical services available locally. Mile Bluff - Crest View Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, and Great Lakes CBRF was also opened.
2004 Mile Bluff - Delton Family Medical Center opened and Mile Bluff - New Lisbon Family Medical Center opened its doors in a new facility.
2009 Hess Memorial Hospital was legally changed to Mile Bluff Medical Center, Inc.
2013 The medical center and Mile Bluff, LLP (which included clinics in Mauston and New Lisbon) integrated into one organization, Mile Bluff Medical Center, Inc.
2015 Mile Bluff Cafe opened at the medical center in Mauston.
2016 Mile Bluff opened Wisconsin Dells Dialysis Center in the lower level of its Delton Family Medical Center. Mile Bluff also purchased Phillips HealthMart Pharmacy in downtown Mauston, which included prescription dispensing centers inside Elroy Family Medical Center (opened in 2014) and Mile Bluff Clinic (re-opened in 2015).
2017 Phillips Pharmacy opened its prescription dispensing center inside Necedah Family Medical Center.
2018 Mile Bluff purchased Raabe's HealthMart Pharmacy in New Lisbon. Mile Bluff Pharmacies was formed by bringing three long-standing community partners together: Phillips Pharmacy, Raabe’s Pharmacy, and Mile Bluff Medical Center.
2021 Mile Bluff opened its Kennedy Street location in Mauston to house its Rehabilitation and Audiology Departments.
2023 Raabe’s Pharmacy closed its downtown New Lisbon location. Services were moved to New Lisbon Family Medical Center where a prescription dispensing center was opened. Mile Bluff's Birthing Center was remodeled, and the former rehabilitation department at the medical center was transformed into a new space for the hospital pharmacy and Infusion & Wound Center.
2024 Mile Bluff’s prescription dispensing center inside Mile Bluff Clinic closed. Phillips Pharmacy was rebranded to Mile Bluff Pharmacy.
2025 Mile Bluff transformed the former Shopko building in Mauston (purchased in 2022) and opened Mile Bluff Gateway Center to provide more than 26,000 square feet of space to serve as the new home to Mile Bluff Pharmacy (formerly Phillips Pharmacy), urgent care, and Mile Bluff’s Mauston dialysis unit.

Over the past 130+ years, the name of the organization and the buildings it has called home have changed, and the services that it provides have evolved; however, one thing has remained the same: Mile Bluff Medical Center is committed to serving patients with healthcare excellence yesterday, today and always.