Hospital Week

National Hospital Week 2025

National Hospital Week - May 11-17, 2025 - is an opportunity to highlight Wisconsin hospitals and health systems for the many ways they are more than health care. From creating jobs to supporting education, youth sports, wellness initiatives and more, their impact reaches far beyond the bedside.

Join us on social media in thanking and celebrating the contributions made by hospitals and health systems for their essential role in serving and supporting their communities, both inside and outside hospital walls.

Wisconsin Hospitals are More Than Health Care

In 2024, Wisconsin hospitals provided over $2.3 billion in community benefits and charity care. In addition, Wisconsin hospitals employed over 110,000 Wisconsinites last year and rank among the top states in patient satisfaction.

Grow Wisconsin's Health Care Workforce

To keep pace with rising health care demands, we need to take immediate and sustained action to minimize barriers, foster innovation and support the development of a strong and sustainable workforce.  Read more.

Benefits to Communities

In addition to providing health care, Wisconsin’s hospitals provide more than $2.3 billion worth of community benefits annually, including charity care, subsidized health services, public health programming and initiatives that improve population health in communities they serve. Read more.

An Economic Asset

Our state’s hospitals and health systems are among the largest drivers of Wisconsin’s economy. Wisconsin hospitals employ over 110,000 people and create $48 billion of economic impact for our state. Read more.

Hospital Week Resources

During the week, WHA will concentrate its social media messaging on celebrating Wisconsin hospitals and health systems and recognizing the many ways they are more than health care. We invite you to join us in this celebratory campaign. Please incorporate the hashtags #WIHospitals and #MoreThanHealthCare and tag WHA in your posts for maximum reach and engagement and follow WHA's social media channels to get the latest updates on National Hospital Week.

Get engaged by downloading one of our three toolkits created specifically for hospital members, corporate members or legislators. Our press release template is a great resource for showcasing examples of how your hospital impacts the community. 

The History of Hospital Week

This ad from the Dunn County News from May 4, 1955 is selling jewelry and furs for Mother’s Day. It also incorporates a shout out for National Hospital Week with some stats for the local hospital: Memorial Hospital in Menomonie.

National Hospital Week has been a health care tradition since 1921.

National Hospital Day was first observed on May 12, 1921, which would have been Florence Nightingale’s 101st birthday. The publicity campaign was devised by the managing editor of a trade magazine, Hospital Management, to boost citizens’ confidence in hospitals following the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic. The deadly flu caused the deaths of approximately 20 to 30 million people worldwide, including some 675,000 Americans.

The event expanded to an entire week in 1953 and today, the Hospital Week is celebrated throughout the nation. This annual celebration, sponsored by the American Hospital Association, serves as a reminder that hospitals and health systems are the foundations of the communities that build and nurture them. Hospitals serve people in every community, from all walks of life, 24/7, 365 days a year.