Northland Hospitals Come Together to Improve Patient Care

DULUTH, Minn. - St. Luke’s hospital in Duluth is teaming up with nine smaller hospitals to form a new collaborative called Wilderness Health. It will allow smaller hospitals throughout the Northland to have a better opportunity to get supplies they need and offer better care to their patients. “We cover a large geographical area throughout northeastern Minnesota and some locations in northwestern Wisconsin and we all share patients,” explained Wilderness Health executive director, Cassandra Beardsley. “Patients come into the system at all different levels and we want to be able to keep healthcare local.” Hospitals within Wilderness Health are Bigfork Valley Hospital in Bigfork, Community Memorial Hospital in Cloquet, Cook County North Shore Hospital in Grand Marais, Cook Hospital in Cook, Fairview Range/Range Regional Health Services in Hibbing, Lake View Hospital in Two Harbors, Mercy Hospital in Moose Lake, Rainy Lake Medical Center in International Falls, and St. Luke’s in Duluth. Beardsley said the collaboration will also allow the hospitals to share data and supplies which will make the patients' experience even better."Long term, it'll be an impact. Short term nothing will change,” said Beardsley. “They'll still see their provider. Their provider's name doesn't change. Everyone still stays independent." The Wilderness Health collaboration is not a merger. Each hospital will continue to operate independently. For more information, click here.