Bronson Methodist Hospital is a 434-bed

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the context of an educational institution. Teaching is closely ...

hospital located in downtown

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropoli ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, United States, and is a

Level I trauma center A trauma center (or trauma centre) is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major traumatic injuries such as falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. A trauma center may also refer to an emergen ...

. Bronson Methodist Hospital is the flagship of the Bronson Healthcare Group, a non-profit healthcare system serving all of southwest Michigan and northern

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. Bronson Methodist Hospital provides care in cardiology, orthopedics, surgery, emergency medicine, neurology, oncology; in neurological care as a Comprehensive Stroke Center; in cardiac care as a Chest Pain Center; in obstetrics as a BirthPlace and high-risk pregnancy center, and in pediatrics as a children's hospital. The hospital is located on a urban campus, which includes a

heliport A heliport is a small airport suitable for use by helicopters and some other vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also have limited facilities such as fuel or hangars. I ...

History

This hospital first opened in 1900 as "Kalamazoo Hospital." After a new building was built for the hospital in 1905, the hospital was renamed "Bronson Hospital" in 1907 after the founder of Kalamazoo, Titus Bronson. After several years of financial difficulties, in 1920 the hospital was acquired by the Michigan Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The hospital was then renamed “Bronson Methodist Hospital.” In 1951, an expansion project was completed, which included the addition of 121 new beds, a new emergency clinic, pharmacy, laboratories, and

x-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

rooms. In 1956, the hospital opened a heart catheterization clinic. Bronson Methodist Hospital established ties with local colleges, training medical students from the

University of Michigan Medical School Michigan Medicine (University of Michigan Health System or UMHS before 2017) is the wholly owned academic medical center of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan Medicine includes the Univers ...

from 1947 and sending its nursing students to attend classes at

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

. WMU's nursing school bears the name Bronson School of Nursing in honor of this relationship. This hospital was featured in the ''

Reading Rainbow ''Reading Rainbow'' is an American educational children's television series that originally aired on PBS and afterwards PBS Kids and PBS Kids Go! from July 11, 1983 to November 10, 2006, with reruns continuing to air until August 28, 2009. 155 ...

'' episode "Mummies Made in Egypt" on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

in 1989.

Bronson Healthcare Group

With more than 8,000 employees, the Bronson Healthcare Group is one of Kalamazoo’s largest employers. In 2007, Bronson provided more than $83.1 million in community benefits through outreach and charitable care for the uninsured and under-insured. Bronson also serves the largest percentage of

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and per ...

patients of any hospital outside of the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

area.

Bronson Neuroscience Center

Bronson Neuroscience Center is part of the Bronson system. Patients come to the Neuroscience Center for the treatment of

head injury A head injury is any injury that results in trauma to the skull or brain. The terms ''traumatic brain injury'' and ''head injury'' are often used interchangeably in the medical literature. Because head injuries cover such a broad scope of inju ...

, stroke, epilepsy,

nerve damage Nerve injury is an injury to nervous tissue. There is no single classification system that can describe all the many variations of nerve injuries. In 1941, Seddon introduced a classification of nerve injuries based on three main types of nerve f ...

, problems with memory or involuntary movement, and spine and back surgery. Located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA, Bronson Neuroscience Center has assembled a team of more than 20 specialists. The Center serves all of southwest Michigan, and focuses on providing patient and family centered care. Along with an inpatient Neurovascular Unit, Bronson Neuroscience Center also includes an Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, a 24-hour Acute Stroke Intervention Team and a Rapid Response Team on-site. A laboratory provides diagnostic equipment and techniques for the investigation of neurological problems.

Specialties

The following list constitutes the categories of services that Bronson Neuroscience Center provides for both adults and children with neurological disorders:

Neurology Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal ...

– offers the diagnosis and treatment of conditions such as

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

, stroke,

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrica ...

, problems with

memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered ...

or involuntary movement and migraine, as well as nerve damage and

Neurosurgery Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and pe ...

– offers comprehensive non-surgical and surgical treatments for brain tumors, vascular disorders, and spine and nerve problems. Some of our surgical approaches include minimally invasive surgery, routine to complex procedures and traditional open procedures. Neurointerventional Radiology – offers noninvasive treatment for the most complex strokes and aneurysms using high-tech imaging equipment. Spine Services – offers services for the full scope of spinal diseases, disorders and injuries, including the diagnosis and treatment of

lower back pain Low back pain (LBP) or lumbago is a common disorder involving the muscles, nerves, and bones of the back, in between the lower edge of the ribs and the lower fold of the buttocks. Pain can vary from a dull constant ache to a sudden sharp feel ...

and more complex problems such as spine fractures. Collaboration among a physiatrist (a doctor that specializes in physical rehabilitation), neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, neuroradiologists and physical therapists is the basis for a thorough assessment and treatment plan. Neurodiagnostics – offers a laboratory providing diagnostic equipment and techniques for the investigation of neurological problems. Choosing the right tests is important to achieving good results. The neurodiagnostic laboratory has various studies that can be used either individually or in combination with other tests to help solve neurological problems of the

brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a ve ...

spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the sp ...

, muscle, nerves, and

blood flow Hemodynamics or haemodynamics are the dynamics of blood flow. The circulatory system is controlled by homeostatic mechanisms of autoregulation, just as hydraulic circuits are controlled by control systems. The hemodynamic response continuously m ...

Behavioral health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

– offers the diagnosis and treatment of behavioral disorders such as

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

, depression and emotional and behavioral problems associated with forms of

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

such as Alzheimer's disease.

References

External links