Essentia Health, Altru Health System To Collaborate With City Of Devils Lake, Spirit Lake Nation On State-Of-The-Art Medical Campus

Essentia Health, Altru Health System, the City of Devils Lake and Spirit Lake Nation are excited to announce the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) to explore the development of a new, state-of-the-art medical campus in Devils Lake.

The signing will occur at a 10:30 a.m. news conference today in the Chautauqua Gallery on the campus of Lake Region State College. Dignitaries expected to attend and speak during the signing include U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer, as well as Tom Brusegaard from U.S. Senator John Hoeven’s office. Also delivering remarks will be Essentia CEO Dr. David Herman; Altru President Dr. Josh Deere; Devils Lake Mayor Jim Moe; and Spirit Lake Nation Chairman Doug Yankton.

Essentia and Altru both have a history of serving rural populations, which demonstrates our belief that everyone deserves access to expert health care close to home. The prospect of working alongside trusted and community-focused partners in the City of Devils Lake and Spirit Lake Nation is energizing.

“Collaborating on a transformational public-private partnership such as this, which will improve health outcomes throughout the Lake Region, is a terrific opportunity for us to advance our mission of making a healthy difference in people’s lives,” said Essentia West Market President Dr. Bill Heegaard.

“Altru is deeply committed to the Lake Region and to improving care for the residents we serve,” shared Altru CEO Todd Forkel. “This collaborative approach and a focus on high-quality, patient-first care is the right path forward for the future of health care in Devils Lake. We are proud to work alongside Essentia, the City of Devils Lake and Spirit Lake Nation to advance these efforts.”

Today’s LOI signing is the first significant step in this process. Essentia, Altru, the City of Devils Lake and Spirit Lake Nation will now work together to define the scope of the project and how we can best enhance access to sustainable, patient-centered, high-quality care for the area.

There is not yet a firm timeline for construction of the project, but we look forward to seeking input and engaging the community as we move forward. We will share more details as they become available.

EVENT LOGISTICS:

There will not be a press conference-style question-and-answer session. However, individual media interviews will be possible following the program. Also on hand for those interviews will be Essentia’s Dr. Heegaard and Altru’s Forkel.

CONTACTS:

Louie St. George III (Essentia): Louie.StGeorge@EssentiaHealth.org, (218) 260-6557

Ken Harvey (Altru): KCHarvey@altru.org, (701) 780-1514

Spencer Halvorson (Devils Lake): spencerh@dvlnd.com, (701) 662-7600, Ext. 222

Doug Yankton (Spirit Lake Nation): douglasy@spiritlakenation.com, (701) 766-4221