Essentia Health is an integrated healthcare system with facilities in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota.[1][2] As of 2022 it has over 14,000 employees, including 2,125 physicians and credentialed practitioners.[3][4][5] The network includes 14 hospitals, 70 clinics, six long-term care facilities, six assisted and independent living facilities, and one research & education institute.[1][6][5] Essentia Health was accredited as an Accountable Care Organization by the National Committee for Quality Assurance in 2013.[1][6][7][8]
History
Essentia Health was formed in 2004, as the parent company of the partnership between the Benedictine Health System and St. Mary's/Duluth Clinic Health System (SMDC).[9] Essentia Health acquired Dakota Clinic/Innovis Health in January 2008.[10] In 2010, Essentia Health integrated the resources of all of its member organizations – SMDC Health System, Innovis Health, Brainerd Lakes Health, Essentia Community Hospitals and Clinics, and Essentia Institute of Rural Health – and united them under the one name, Essentia Health. [11][12][13] In 2022, Essentia Health acquired Mid Dakota Clinic. [14] In October 2022, Essentia Health and Marshfield Clinic Health System announced merger discussions. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed to evaluate how the two organizations might combine to form an integrated regional health system.[15] After almost two years of discussion, the merger was called off in January 2024, although the leaders did not rule out future collaboration attempts.[16]
Essentia Health has more than two dozen Catholic-sponsored clinics, hospitals, and other facilities.[17][18] The roots of Essentia's Catholic facilities trace back to a group of Benedictine nuns who established St. Mary's Hospital, Essentia Health's oldest hospital, in Duluth in 1888.[17]
Vision Northland
In 2018, Essentia Health announced plans to build a new medical facility that would be replacing the current St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth. The project was initially set at $800 million, but an additional $100 million was required to add an additional patient floor and outpatient care spaces. Changes in market conditions were also a cause for the increase. The building early 2023, with 98% completed in February.[19] In July 2023, they completed the moving of patients from the old location.[20]