History
Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare – All Saints Foundation was founded in 1992 with a mission to actively build and sustain philanthropic support for the advancement of All Saints’ health care services for the people of Racine. All Saints has a long history, bringing together the legacies of two major Racine hospitals and several smaller health care facilities.
Over 135 years ago, members of the Episcopal Church saw a need in Racine for a hospital. They formed St. Luke’s Hospital in 1872, operating in a leased facility until 1876 when the hospital trustees were able to erect their own building. In the first half of the 20th century, many additions were made to this building and, in 1952, the expanded hospital was renamed St. Luke’s Memorial Hospital. In the 1970s, another major remodeling and expansion of the hospital was completed.
St. Luke’s Memorial Hospital affiliated with Wheaton Franciscan in 1991, through an agreement which guaranteed that, while the management of the hospital would transfer to the Catholic Wheaton Franciscan order, certain elements of the hospital’s spiritual care program would remain Episcopalian. In 1995, St. Luke’s acquired St. Catherine’s Infirmary from the Sisters of Saint Dominic.
The history of St. Mary’s is similar. Over 125 years ago, the Wheaton Franciscan Sisters came to do charitable work in Racine. The Sisters opened St. Mary’s Hospital in 1882 in a donated building, originally the city’s first hotel. The Sisters replaced this small, 10-bed facility with a brick building in 1889 and over the next quarter century expanded the structure and acquired the surrounding land.
By the 1960s, the hospital was in need of significant updates to meet the needs of the growing community. Hospital leaders determined that the most efficient option would be the construction of a new facility on Spring Street. In 1977 the new St. Mary’s Medical Center was opened. Major additions were made during the 1980s, including the creation of the Center for Inpatient Rehabilitation and the Cardiac Care Center. In 1990, the Racine Medical Clinic moved to the St. Mary’s campus.
The collaboration between St. Luke’s Memorial Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center began in 1974, with an agreement not to duplicate services. Other collaboration followed, including a joint MRI program and a shared laboratory service. In 1987, the partnership was strengthened when the two organizations began offering mental health and inpatient rehabilitation services together as All Saints Healthcare. St. Mary’s and St. Luke’s officially affiliated under the same parent corporation, All Saints Healthcare, in 1991.
In 2006, All Saints Healthcare became part of Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare. Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare – All Saints now includes acute care, a Wheaton Franciscan medical group of over 120 physicians practicing at several locations, and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare – Lakeshore Manor, an extended care facility.