Metro Milwaukee Hospitals
Health Care in Southeast Wisconsin
Southeast Wisconsin is home to a broad network of hospitals, academic medical centers, specialty care providers, children’s health services, research institutions and community clinics. The region offers everything from routine and preventive care to highly specialized trauma, cardiac, cancer, neurological, pediatric and burn care.
Milwaukee Regional Medical Center
The Milwaukee Regional Medical Center (MRMC) in Wauwatosa is one of the region’s most important concentrations of health care, medical education and biomedical research. The campus brings together major hospitals, research institutions, educational facilities and health-related organizations.
Major institutions on and around the campus include:
- Children’s Wisconsin, a nationally recognized pediatric health system affiliated with the Medical College of Wisconsin.
- Froedtert Hospital, the region’s academic medical center and home to eastern Wisconsin’s only adult Level I Trauma Center.
- Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), Wisconsin’s largest private research institution and the nation’s third-largest private medical school.
- Versiti Blood Research Institute, an internationally recognized center for research into blood health, hematology, transfusion medicine and blood disorders. The institute is undergoing a major expansion designed to nearly double its research capacity.
- Curative Care, which provides services and support for children and adults with disabilities, developmental differences and other complex needs.
Other Major Medical Centers
Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee is one of Wisconsin’s major tertiary-care hospitals and is particularly known for advanced cardiovascular and neuroscience care. It is the only Wisconsin hospital with a 24/7 on-site heart-care team.
Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital – Milwaukee is home to the Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Regional Burn Center, providing advanced burn care for both adults and children. The center is verified by the American Burn Association and American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma.
The region also has major hospital and specialty-care campuses in Waukesha, Brookfield, Menomonee Falls, West Bend, Grafton, Summit, Racine/Mount Pleasant, Burlington, Kenosha and Pleasant Prairie.
Area Health Systems
Health care throughout southeastern Wisconsin is increasingly delivered through integrated systems that combine hospitals, primary and specialty care, outpatient centers, urgent care, rehabilitation, home health and other services.
Aurora Health Care
Aurora Health Care is one of Wisconsin’s largest health systems and is part of Advocate Health, the nation’s third-largest nonprofit integrated health system. Aurora currently operates 18 hospitals, nearly 300 sites of care and 70 pharmacies, primarily throughout eastern Wisconsin.
Its southeastern Wisconsin hospitals include Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center, Aurora Sinai Medical Center, Aurora West Allis Medical Center and medical centers in Grafton, Summit, Washington County, Burlington, Mount Pleasant and Kenosha.
Phone: (833) 528-7672
Aurora Health Care
Important change: I would use Aurora Health Care rather than “Advocate Aurora Health” as the consumer-facing heading. Advocate Aurora combined with Atrium Health in 2022 to form Advocate Health; Aurora Health Care remains the Wisconsin care-delivery brand.
Ascension Wisconsin
Ascension Wisconsin is part of Ascension, a national Catholic health system. In southeastern Wisconsin, Ascension operates hospitals, medical groups, specialty centers, urgent care and outpatient facilities serving Milwaukee and surrounding communities.
Major regional facilities include Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital – Milwaukee, Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital – St. Joseph Campus and Ascension All Saints Hospital in Racine, along with numerous community clinics and specialty-care locations.
Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s is also home to the region’s specialized verified burn center.
I would remove the old “17 hospital campuses, 100 facilities, 1,100 clinicians” statistics. Ascension’s Wisconsin footprint has changed considerably, and its current location directory is a much safer source than carrying forward those older figures.
Children’s Wisconsin
Children’s Wisconsin is one of the region’s leading pediatric health systems, providing inpatient, outpatient, specialty, primary and urgent care for children and adolescents. Its specialists provide care across a broad range of pediatric disciplines, and Children’s Wisconsin is affiliated with the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Its main hospital is located on the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center campus in Wauwatosa.
Mailing/Official Business Address: 9000 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53226
Phone: (414) 266-2000
Change: I would replace chw.org with childrenswi.org and use the current hospital/business address rather than the older 8915 W. Connell Ct. listing.
Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin
The Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin health network is a partnership between Froedtert ThedaCare and the Medical College of Wisconsin, combining academic medicine, community health care, research and medical education.
The network operates 10 hospital locations, more than 45 health centers and clinics and includes more than 3,400 physicians and clinicians. Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa is eastern Wisconsin’s only academic medical center and adult Level I Trauma Center.
The network includes hospitals and facilities throughout southeastern Wisconsin, including Wauwatosa, Menomonee Falls, West Bend, Mequon, New Berlin, Oak Creek, Pewaukee and Pleasant Prairie.
Address: 9200 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53226
Phone: (414) 805-3666
Change: The old copy’s “nearly 2,100 physicians” is substantially out of date; the network now reports more than 3,400 physicians and clinicians.
ProHealth Care
ProHealth Care is a community-based health system serving Waukesha County and surrounding communities, with hospitals, primary and specialty care clinics, urgent care, cancer care, rehabilitation, home health and hospice services.
Its major hospital facilities include ProHealth Waukesha Memorial Hospital and ProHealth Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital, supported by an extensive network of outpatient and specialty-care locations.
Address: N17 W24100 Riverwood Dr., Waukesha, WI 53188
Phone: (262) 928-2745
A Leader in Medical Research & Education
The Milwaukee region’s health care sector is closely connected to its universities and research institutions, creating a significant concentration of medical education, biomedical research and clinical training.
Medical College of Wisconsin
The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) is a private medical, graduate and pharmacy school with campuses in Milwaukee, Green Bay and Central Wisconsin.
MCW is currently the largest private research institution in Wisconsin and the third-largest private medical school in the United States. It ranks among the top 100 of approximately 20,000 U.S. research institutions and among the top 45 nationally for clinical trials.
Current MCW figures include approximately:
- 5,100 active research studies
- $424 million invested in research and teaching
- More than 1,600 students in its medical, graduate and pharmacy schools
- More than 1,700 physicians providing care in virtually every medical specialty.
MCW works closely with Froedtert Hospital, Children’s Wisconsin, the Zablocki VA Medical Center and other institutions to combine medical education, research and patient care.
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) is another important contributor to the region’s health care workforce and research community.
UWM offers programs in nursing, public health, health sciences, health care administration, informatics and related disciplines. Its Joseph J. Zilber College of Public Health offers nationally accredited public-health programs.
UWM’s nursing programs continue to receive national recognition. In the 2026 U.S. News rankings, its undergraduate nursing program ranked No. 74 nationally, placing it among the top 11% of programs evaluated. Its graduate Master of Nursing program ranked No. 69, while its Doctor of Nursing Practice program ranked No. 90.
Versiti Blood Research Institute
Milwaukee-based Versiti Blood Research Institute (VBRI) is an internationally recognized center for blood-health research. Its scientists conduct research in areas including hematology, transfusion medicine, immunology and blood disorders.
A major expansion of the institute on the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center campus is designed to nearly double its research capacity, further strengthening Milwaukee’s role in biomedical research.
Versiti Blood Research Institute
Health Insurance & Health Plans
Southeastern Wisconsin residents have access to a broad selection of employer-sponsored, individual, Medicare and Medicaid health plans. Provider networks can vary significantly by plan, so newcomers should confirm that their preferred hospitals, physicians and clinics participate in their insurance network before selecting coverage.
Major insurers and health plans serving Wisconsin include national carriers as well as Wisconsin-based and provider-affiliated plans. Network Health, for example, is a Wisconsin-based health plan affiliated with major regional health care providers.
For individuals purchasing their own coverage, current plan availability and eligibility for financial assistance can be compared through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace.