Subscription Services

 

print article Print     e-mail article E-mail
Published June 03, 2012, 12:00 AM

Essentia Health’s 124-year history

What we know today as Essentia Health — a major health system with facilities in four states — traces its roots back nearly 125 years to a hospital established by nuns in Duluth.

More...

What we know today as Essentia Health — a major health system with facilities in four states — traces its roots back nearly 125 years to a hospital established by nuns in Duluth.

That was St. Mary’s Hospital, established in West Duluth in 1888 by the Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica. Essentia also has its origins in the Duluth Clinic — founded by a group of five physicians in 1915 — and Duluth’s Miller Memorial Hospital, which opened in 1934.

From those beginnings, here are some key events in the history of the organization:

  • 1969: Miller Memorial Hospital expands, thanks to a gift from the Dwan family, and is renamed Miller-Dwan Medical Center.

  • 1985: St. Mary’s Hospital is reorganized and renamed St. Mary’s Medical Center.

  • 1995: Superior Memorial Hospital joins St. Mary’s Medical Center and is renamed St. Mary’s Hospital of Superior.

  • 1997: St. Mary’s Medical Center integrates with the Duluth Clinic to form St. Mary’s/Duluth Clinic Health System, also known as SMDC.

  • 2001: Miller-Dwan Medical Center joins SMDC.

  • 2004: SMDC integrates with Benedictine Health System (BHS) to form Essentia Health.

  • 2008: Innovis Health of Fargo joins Essentia.

  • 2008: Essentia’s long-term care operations are spun off into a separate unit operating under the BHS name.

    Historical information courtesy of Essentia Health

    Tags: , , , 

    More from around the web