GREEN BAY – Fifty years ago this month, Dr. Paul Koch became the first oncologist in Northeast Wisconsin, treating patients in a Green Bay hospital hallway.

Today, the practice he founded has grown into Green Bay Oncology, Wisconsin’s largest physician-owned oncology and hematology practice, with a team of 16 physicians, 21 advanced practice providers and more than 50 employees providing care at 12 locations across Northeast Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

“There were no oncologists in Northeast Wisconsin, so people had to travel to Madison or Milwaukee,” Koch recalled of his decision to come to Green Bay. “I came from the east coast and visited St. Vincent Hospital. We were looking to move to the Midwest and I was impressed.”

Over the next five decades, Green Bay Oncology grew alongside the rapidly changing field of cancer care. The practice expanded into communities throughout the region and developed partnerships with local health systems to bring medical oncology, hematology, radiation oncology and breast surgical oncology closer to the people who needed those services.

Through all that growth, Green Bay Oncology President Dr. David Groteluschen still sees a direct line between the organization of today and the work Koch began in 1976.

“In many ways, all we’ve done is accelerate what Dr. Koch started — bringing communities together, caring for patients and building relationships throughout the region,” Groteluschen said. “We’re doing it at a different level today, but it’s basically what was started 50 years ago.”

That commitment to providing specialized care close to home remains central to Green Bay Oncology’s model. Today, its physicians and advanced practice providers care for patients through partnerships with Ascension Wisconsin, Hemophilia Outreach Center, HSHS St. Vincent Hospital Cancer Centers, OSF HealthCare St. Francis Hospital & Medical Group and Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital.

The practice’s growth has also occurred during a period of extraordinary change in oncology. Koch remembers a time when a new cancer drug might become available only once every five years. By the time he retired, roughly five new drugs were arriving each year. Today, that number has more than tripled, giving oncologists a robust portfolio of options to tailor treatment plans to each patient’s needs.

While treatments, technology and the size of the organization have changed, Koch said the people caring for patients have remained fundamental to Green Bay Oncology.

“The providers who joined us over the years were hard workers and extremely good with patients. They always put patients first,” Koch said. “That attitude was fostered and passed on, and I see them doing the same thing today.”

A refreshed look for the next 50 years

Green Bay Oncology is also marking its golden anniversary with a refreshed logo that honors elements of the organization’s history while reflecting the practice it has become.

The updated shield carries forward the clasped hands and sun-filled rays that have been part of Green Bay Oncology’s identity for decades. Its new “Leaders in Blood & Cancer Care” descriptor more clearly communicates the practice’s expertise in both oncology and hematology (the diagnosis and treatment of blood disorders).

The refreshed brand represents an organization that looks considerably different than it did when Koch began seeing patients in Green Bay 50 years ago, but his hope for its legacy remains simple.

“I hope people have a warm feeling in their heart about Green Bay Oncology — that we were able to help. But, more than that, even when we couldn’t help as much as we wanted, that they knew we really cared,” Koch said.

Learn more about Green Bay Oncology’s 50-year history and refreshed brand at gboncology.com.