Altru Announces Bold New Era in Care
New approach addresses momentous $250 million investment in facilities, technology and population health.
Altru Health System announced plans to comprehensively address the region’s future health and healthcare needs leading to:
- The investment of well over $250 million dollars
- A brand new 21st century hospital
- Expanded clinic services
- Extensive deployment of new technology
- Cutting-edge surgical and emergency services
- A population approach to healthcare
“The needs of our patients, and our communities, are changing,” said David Molmen, CEO of Altru Health System. “As the region’s health care provider for 130 years, it is our responsibility to innovate so we can continue to meet those needs for generations to come.”
These innovations include processes for increasing collaboration among providers to further enhance patient care, and eliminating tasks that don’t directly provide value to the patient. It also means significant investments in new facilities and new technologies that better support world-class care.
“The structural failure at the clinic in 2016 created an opportunity for Altru to design tomorrow’s healthcare today,” said Dr. Eric Lunn, Altru President. “It challenged us to understand how care needs to be delivered long into the future and gave us the opportunity to build on the plans we have in place and to do things that were previously unattainable.”
The design process is well underway. While the specifics of the new hospital are still being determined, Altru envisions it to be a state-of-the-art center for health and wellness, with new technologies and treatment options the current facility cannot support. These include a 21stcentury procedural platform including computer-assisted and robotic surgery, expanded emergency and telehealth capabilities and more outpatient services. Altru has also remained steadfast in having all displaced clinic practices optimized within the two-year timeframe from the structural failure. With several million dollars of additional investment, Altru will implement long-term solutions for clinic practices by the end of next year, mostly within its current footprint.
“We commend Altru Health System for thinking ahead to the future health care needs of our region,” said Keith Lund, President and CEO of Grand Forks Region Economic Development. “These innovations will position our region as a medical destination, providing an economic boost that attracts new businesses and families looking for a vibrant place to call home.”
Our community-owned health system has provided outstanding healthcare to our region for over 130 years. Today, we are launching the plan for the next 130 years. It is a commitment to our region’s physical and economic health for generations to come. It will also enable us to expand our efforts in population health and engaging with our residents throughout their lives to keep them well.
About Altru Health System
Altru Health System is a regional-owned, integrated system with a general acute care hospital, a specialty hospital, more than a dozen clinics in Grand Forks and the region, and a large home care network. It employs nearly 200 physicians and 4,000 staff and has an annual net operating revenue of more than $549 million. As the first member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, Altru’s providers have access to clinically integrated tools extending Mayo Clinic’s knowledge and expertise to patients.
Source: Altru Health System News Release