Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center

Adolf Gundersen, who arrived in 1891 from Norway, was the founder of Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center. Gundersen graduated from University of Oslo. In 1893 he married Helga Isaksaetre, with whom he had eight children. Four of the sons, Gunnar, Alf, Sigurd B. Sr. and Thorolf, joined their father in his first clinic, which opened in 1930 on the outskirts of the city. In 1944, three of the physician sons created Gundersen Medical Foundation, now known as Gundersen Medical Foundation. At the time, the work of the foundation helped attract specialists and sub-specialists from universities and large cities across the nation.

Continued growth led to the expansion of the Gundersen campus on the city's south side including the construction of the main hospital, clinic, Founders Building, East Building, Inpatient Behavioral Health Center, and more.

In 1995, Gundersen Clinic and Lutheran Hospital-La Crosse formed Gundersen Lutheran, Inc. Later, in 2013 the organization was renamed Gundersen Health System to reflect growth outside of the traditional service area and to provide simplified branding of properties and services.

In 2011, the health system launched construction on the Legacy Building, a 430,000 square foot trauma and urgent care center at a cost of nearly $200 million. With a patient centered designed, all rooms in the new facility are private occupancy. Completed in early 2014, the Legacy Building is Gundersen's fifth LEED certified facility and 93% of all material used in the construction were recycled.

Receiving national attention in late 2014, Gundersen Health System became the first energy-independent hospital system in the country.

Medical operations

Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center is the designated Western Academic Campus for the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

In 2013, Gundersen had 13,252 admissions, 1,437 births, and 20,842 emergency and trauma center visits. In total, the hospital and clinic saw 1,272,522 outpatient visits. Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center is an ACS verified Level II Trauma Center. There are approximately 6,316 employees, and 434 physicians and 259 physician assistants and nurse practitioners on staff.

Locations

Gundersen Health System has locations in 19 counties throughout western Wisconsin, northeastern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota. The network's sprawling flagship campus is located on the south side of La Crosse, Wisconsin.

On June 1, 2022, Gundersen announced its intention to merge with the Green Bay-based Bellin Health. Their merger was completed December 1, 2022.