SMDC Medical Center is the new name for Miller-Dwan Medical Center and continues its tradition of providing specialized hospital services such as burn treatment and rehabilitation. The newly named medical center also offers a full range of primary and specialty care at its Duluth Clinic locations.

Our history
The 50-bed Miller Memorial Hospital opened on May 1, 1934, nearly two decades after Duluth businessman and Mayor Andreas M. Miller left money to the city of Duluth “for the establishment of a free and public hospital” for “the secular use and benefit of worthy sick and helpless poor, without distinction of sex, color, creed or nationality.”

A gift from Mary C. Dwan in 1968 funded a major expansion that included a Burn Unit and 115 new beds. Renamed Miller-Dwan Medical Center, the hospital developed a regional reputation for outstanding services in rehabilitation, mental health and outpatient surgical services. It remains the region’s only Burn Center.

From the day Miller-Dwan opened its doors, Duluth Clinic physicians were there treating patients. The clinic began in 1915 when five Duluth physicians combined five different medical practices under one roof and created one of the first multispecialty clinics in the United States. The clinic’s first physicians were also active in public health issues, such as eradicating tuberculosis, which provided the foundation for the research programs and clinic trials that continue today. The clinic has grown into one of the nation’s largest multispecialty practices with more than 400 physicians practicing in 55 specialties and subspecialties.

In 1997, the Duluth Clinic integrated with St. Mary’s Medical Center to become SMDC Health System. In 2001, the partnership between the clinic and Miller-Dwan Medical Center was made stronger when Miller-Dwan also became part of the SMDC Health System.