Since 1965, UM Baltimore Washington Medical Center (UM BWMC) has evolved to meet the ever-changing needs of our community.

From our beginnings as a small, community hospital, we have become a member of the University of Maryland Medical System, where we continue to affirm our dedication to academic medicine.

UM BWMC is proud to celebrate our 60 years of healing and our commitment to always caring for our community.

Take a look at some of the key eras in UM BWMC's history: 

The Beginning

1955 – The North Arundel Hospital Association is formed. Just 6 years later, a groundbreaking ceremony is held on the 28-acre site in Glen Burnie.

July 4, 1965 – North Arundel Hospital opens its doors with four patient care areas, 10 pediatric beds, 20 obstetric beds, 24 bassinets, 41 surgical beds, three major operating rooms, a two-bed recovery room, two delivery rooms, a surgical recovery room, an emergency room, a lab and blood bank, a pharmacy and an x-ray department. There are 75 doctors representing every medical discipline except neurosurgery, 54 registered nurses, 11 licensed practical nurses, plus some nursing assistants. There are 120 additional employees. The hospital logs 1,276 admissions, 303 major surgeries and 663 minor surgeries. In less than six months, 7,466 patients visit the three-bed ER.

1974 – The hospital expands its capacity with the construction of a 6-story patient care tower.

1988 – North Arundel Hospital further grows, adding a new intensive care unit and advances to the coronary care unit, connecting it to existing services such as cardiopulmonary rehabilitation. The hospital also builds a new emergency department with an immediate care area.

1989 – The hospital opens its 14-bed inpatient behavioral health unit.

1990s – The North Arundel Health System is created to extend additional health services to the community. The system includes Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital, Special Beginnings Birth and Women's Center and Sunrise Independent and Assisted Living of Severna Park. 

1991 – After a 30-year tenure, Alfred J. Bryan retires as president of the hospital. He is succeeded by president and chief executive officer James Walker.

1993 – North Arundel Hospital expands and renovates the Surgical Department and builds a new Endoscopy Unit. 

1994 – The North Arundel Hospital Foundation is established.

1995 – Nearly 400 physicians and health care practitioners have joined the medical team. Seven new operating rooms are in service, bringing the total to 12. 

1999 – The Emergency Department expands to double its original size and includes a fast track pod with 12 cubicles, 3 psychiatric beds, one decontamination room, two major trauma rooms and a radiology unit.    

Connecting to Academic Medicine

2000 – North Arundel Hospital joins the University of Maryland Medical System, a nationally recognized academic medical center that includes some of the most advanced clinical services available. This kicks off 25 years of being a part of an academic medical system.

2003 – The Tate Cancer Center, named for community philanthropists Creston and Betty Jane Tate, opens its doors. It is a $17.4 million project that now allows cancer patients to receive outpatient care on the hospital's campus.

2003 – The Maryland Vascular Center opens at North Arundel Hospital. The center houses five ultrasound rooms, a clinic area with five exams rooms, physician offices, reception and administrative areas and a conference room. It also features a noninvasive, vascular laboratory that provides timely diagnosis of arterial and venous disorders.

2005 – The Aiello Breast Center, a component of the Tate Cancer Center and named for Joseph and Doris Aiello, opens to provide all-encompassing breast care, including breast cancer care, to women throughout the region.

New Name, Same Exceptional Care

July 5, 2005 – North Arundel Hospital becomes Baltimore Washington Medical Center. The name change is made to reflect BWMC’s position as a comprehensive, high-quality medical center with a wide range of services and advanced capabilities while meeting the medical needs of citizens throughout the Baltimore/Washington region. 

2006 – The BWMC Foundation awards the first round of scholarships to team members. Since then, the BWMC Foundation has awarded over $600,000 in scholarships, supporting team members at all stages of their higher education. 

2007 – The Maryland Institute for Emergency Services Systems designates Baltimore Washington Medical Center as a Primary Stroke Center, allowing the medical center to provide life-saving treatment to patients who may have suffered a stroke.

2008 – BWMC opens a new endovascular suite bringing the latest technology for minimally invasive vascular treatments to the region. The suite includes a highly advanced patient monitoring system, as well as an intravascular ultrasound system. BWMC is one of the first locations in the country to combine these technologies in a single, interventional operating room.

2008 – Longtime BWMC President and Chief Executive Officer James Walker retires. Then-Chief Operating Officer Karen E. Olscamp is named as the new president and CEO. 

2008 – The Emergency Department expands again with an additional 15,000 square foot renovation. It includes 17 new treatment rooms, a three-bed pediatric unit and a new radiology suite.

2009 – The new seven-story patient tower with 111 private rooms opens. The tower also houses outpatient services including the Wound Healing Center, Outpatient Infusion Center and Sleep Center.

2009 – BWMC opens BWMC Health Services at Arundel Mills, a multi-specialty office building that brings physicians, specialists and support care to western Anne Arundel County.

2009 – The Pascal Women’s Center opens, bringing obstetric care back to the campus after 41 years. Since then, our Pascal Women’s Center team has delivered more than 18,000 babies.

2011 – BWMC unveils a new logo which identifies it as a proud member of the University of Maryland Medical System. The new logo features a representation of Davidge Hall on the University of Maryland’s Baltimore campus, the oldest facility in the country continuously used for medical education.

2011 – BWMC completes an 18-month, $31 million surgical suite expansion. The project expands the number of operating rooms from 14 to 17. The rooms allow for the ability to add to the complexity of surgical cases BWMC performs in neurosurgery, vascular, orthopedics and robotics.

2011 – BWMC completes a $5.6 million, 2,900-square-foot expansion to the Tate Cancer Center. As part of this expansion, the facility adds the latest technology for radiation treatment that allows physicians to target small tumors with large doses of radiation and minimal impact on surrounding, healthy tissue.

2012 – BWMC goes through its second name change, becoming University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical, further emphasizing our commitment to academic health and our collaboration with the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM). Many UM BWMC providers also hold appointments at UM SOM.

Commitment to Innovation

2012 – UM BWMC launches new electronic medical record system called EPIC Portfolio, which integrates all inpatient and outpatient offices with one another, ensuring that physicians and nurses have easy and timely access to all relevant patient information, including medications and lab results. UM BWMC is the first acute care hospital in UMMS to implement this advanced electronic medical record system. 

2013 – New surgical intensive care unit opens to expand critical care services through additional surgical intensive care beds and surgical intermediary beds.  

2015 – The Tate Cancer Center receives accreditation by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer as an Academic Comprehensive Cancer Program (ACAD). ACADs are cancer centers that provide post graduate medical education, accessions more than 500 newly diagnosed cancer patients each year, offer a full range of diagnostic and treatment services, and participate in cancer related clinical research. Only two other programs in Maryland held this honor in 2015.

2016 – UM BWMC opens a Transitional Care Center to help patients navigate access to the right care in the right setting. The center delivers care coordination to patients who frequently utilize the Emergency Department, have repeat observation or inpatient hospital readmissions, or need help securing a primary care provider or accessing support services.

2017 – Three new state-of-the-art operating rooms open in UM BWMC's Surgery Center. Three of the older ORs are replaced with new modern, larger rooms equipped with the latest technology.

2017 – UM BWMC becomes one of the first health care institutions in Maryland and the only one in Anne Arundel County to install a cogeneration power plant on campus to significantly reduce emissions and cut energy costs.

2018 – UM BWMC becomes the first hospital in Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic region to install a new robotic imaging system that allows vascular surgeons to offer the most advanced clinical procedures and techniques to patients, combining unmatched positioning flexibility with high-definition imaging.

2018 – UM BWMC expands its inpatient behavioral health unit, nearly doubling the available beds and helping the team care for an estimated 650 more patients per year.

2018 – UM BWMC becomes a Kaiser Permanente premier hospital, enabling both teams to provide access and care for the thousands of Kaiser Permanente members throughout the region.

2018 – Arundel Heart Associates joins UM BWMC becoming University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Heart Associates and providing robust inpatient and outpatient cardiac care for the community.

2019 – The Lung Associates of Anne Arundel County join UM BWMC, becoming the UM Baltimore Washington Medical Group - Pulmonary Care.  The providers ensure seamless care covering the critical care needs of hospital patients and pulmonary care for outpatients in the practice.

2020 – UM BWMC joins a premier group of organizations that have received Pathway to Excellence designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). UM BWMC is just the third hospital in Maryland to receive the Pathway to Excellence designation from ANCC.

2020 – UM BWMC and medical centers across the state, country and globe, respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and continue providing the safest, highest quality care to community members who become critically ill due to the novel coronavirus. 

2020 – UM BWMC is the first hospital in the world to employ the percutaneous ultrasound-guided gastronomy (PUG) procedure. This procedure enables critical care providers to place feeding tubes for patients dependent on a ventilator at the bedside, using technology that is already familiar to them.

2020 – UM BWMC opens its new Intermediate Care Unit (IMC) on 6 West. This unit is developed to support the growing intermediate care needs of our community, evidenced by an increased volume of patients with advanced oxygen needs, a rise in the number of rapid response calls and patients occupying critical care beds best served in an intermediate setting.

2020 – UM BWMC vaccinates its first team member with newly approved Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and begins its efforts to vaccinate as many team members, patients and community members as possible.

Transforming to Meet the Needs of our Community

2021 – President and CEO Karen Olscamp retires after 12 years in the position and 34 years at UM BWMC. A national search concludes that UM BWMC’s then-chief operating officer, Kathleen “Kathy” McCollum, is the best candidate to lead as its new president and CEO. Kathy continues to lead the organization’s efforts to deliver the highest quality health care services to the people of Anne Arundel County.

2021 – UM BWMC opens the new Outpatient Care Center on campus to provide high-quality specialty care, in one convenient location. The building houses many of UM BWMC’s signature outpatient services and physician offices, as well as a retail pharmacy, modern hospital learning classrooms, a simulation lab, an employee gym, a Community Wellness Center and the Courtney Conference Center, named for Dr. Leo and Mrs. Liz Courtney.

2022 – UM BWMC hosts its first Community Wellness Day in the newly opened Outpatient Care Center. More than 200 community members attend the event, participating in health screenings, educational demonstrations, and fun, family-friendly activities. Team members administer COVID vaccinations and provide free lunches and produce boxes.  

2022 – Tate Cancer Center is reaccredited as an Academic Comprehensive Cancer Program, a status awarded to only 13 percent of cancer programs nationwide.

2022 – UM BWMC hosts the first community meeting in the new Community Wellness Center. The center, on the fourth floor of the Outpatient Care Center, is a dedicated multi-use space to provide community classes and programs that foster health and well-being, such as blood drives and exercise classes. 

2022 – UM BWMC earns The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Palliative Care certification recognizing the hospital for its efforts to provide patient and family-centered care that optimizes the quality of life for adult and pediatric patients with serious illnesses.

2022 – UM BWMC hosts the inaugural Special Performance Award Recognizing Quality (SPARQ) event, recognizing teams across the hospital who have made a demonstrable difference in quality through the implementation of an innovative solution. The following year, the SPARQ program expands to include SPARQ Tank, where UM BWMC teams are selected for the chance to compete for innovation grants. In this first year, teams are awarded a collective total of $30,000.

2022 – A newly renovated critical care unit opens in the hospital featuring advanced medical technology designed to improve efficiency and meet the growing community care needs. The new unit features 22 large, private patient rooms with space for family and loved ones, as well as a pharmacy on the unit. Two large resuscitation rooms contain all necessary medical equipment needed for an emergency. The resuscitation rooms were built with space for more than 10 providers to be in the room at the same time coordinating patient care.

2023 – UM BWMC receives three 2023 Minogue Awards for Patient Safety Innovation from the Maryland Patient Safety Center. The hospital received the top two highest honors – a first in the program's history – for its work to implement an acute interdisciplinary care model to improve COPD outcomes, and for its adaptation of STEMI care during the pandemic. 

2023 – UM BWMC formally creates a dedicated Population Health department to better address the social drivers of health for members of our community. Since its creation, this team has connected with over 20,000 patients, helping them access vital resources to improve their health and well-being. 

2023 – County Executive Steuart Pittman declares Anne Arundel County Stroke Smart thanks to the high-quality stroke care provided by UM BWMC to residents of Anne Arundel County. To earn the "Stroke Smart" designation, hospitals must meet certain standards of care outlined by the American Stroke Association and Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) that demonstrates the organization's ability to provide life-saving treatment to patients who may have suffered a stroke.

2023 – UM BWMC acquires and has its first case with the new robotic assisted bronchoscopy system. This system allows interventional pulmonologists to biopsy smaller lung nodules and diagnose—and treat—lung cancer at earlier stages, providing patients with better outcomes.

2024 – Bringing team members, patients and the community together, the BWMC Foundation unveils the COVID-19 Memorial Mural. The mural, graciously sponsored by Patrick Taylor and All Green Management, represents growth, resilience and courage. It commemorates the shared experience of team members, patients and the community as we collectively navigated the unprecedented challenge presented by the pandemic.

2024 – UM BWMC is recognized by several third-party organization for excellence in care and creating a supportive work environment. The hospital is ranked #5 in the state by U.S. News and World Report, redesignated as a Pathway to Excellence organization for creating an optimal work environment for nurses, and receives two Gold-level Beacon Awards for Excellence for its Intensive and Intermediate Care units. 

2024 – UM BWMC opens new Cardiology and Pulmonology practices in the Outpatient Care Center. The new space includes a CT scanner that allows for lung cancer screening and angiography to take place onsite, as well as offer calcium screenings to provide preventive care for patients at high risk for heart disease and cardiology problems.

2025 – Thanks to funding support from the State of Maryland, Anne Arundel County and key donors and grants, UM BWMC opens its new newly renovated Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory suite.