Company Profile
Altru Health System
Company Overview
Altru Health System, located in Grand Forks, ND, is a community of over 4,000 health professionals and support staff committed to serving the region for more than 100 years. Serving more than 200,000 residents in northeast North Dakota and northwest Minnesota, we provide an array of services to meet the needs of patients of all ages and levels of health.
As a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, we are helping to bring Mayo Clinic’s knowledge and expertise to the Red River Valley. Together, we share a common philosophy, commitment and mission to improve the delivery of health care through high quality, data driven, evidence-based medical care and treatment.
Through the Network, our patients have access to the highest level of clinical expertise available and benefit from enhanced communication with Mayo physicians. While caring for our patients, Altru physicians can seek advice from Mayo Clinic’s disease management protocols, clinical care guidelines, treatment recommendations and reference materials for complex medical conditions.
Altru Health System employs 4,100 employees, including 198 physicians and 77 mid-levels (nurse practitioners and physician assistants. There are 13 Grand Forks clinic locations and 11 regional clinic locations, with 67 specialties.
Company History
The roots of Altru Health System date back to 1892 when the first hospital was built in Grand Forks. Eight years later, three physician partners established a clinic. These pioneering physicians, and those who eventually joined the medical practice, achieved several "firsts" in North Dakota, including: the first Board Certified Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist; Radiologist; Internist; Surgeon and Obstetrician. Their practice would become known as the Grand Forks Clinic in 1940.
Over the years, the greater Grand Forks area and the medical community thrived. By the mid 1960's, the leaders of Deaconess Hospital, St. Michael's Hospital, the Grand Forks Clinic, and the University of North Dakota Medical Center Rehabilitation unit were discussing the problems of lack of space for expansion, duplication of services and a growing community and region. Their decision would be the number one strategic response to the changes and challenges in health care in the 90s.
In 1971, Deaconess and St. Michael's Hospitals became legally, but not physically, one United Hospital. The next year, plans and blue prints turned into bricks and mortar. Organizers broke ground for the first facility on Medical Park, a 90-acre campus of medical services and facilities. The medical complex grew to include an acute care hospital, a rehabilitation hospital, a large specialty clinic, an orthopedic clinic, a family practice clinic, a nursing home, a chemical dependency center and a unique senior living center.
Dedicated physicians and other medical professionals also nurtured the health care programs and services. In 1977, under the leadership of its physicians, the Grand Forks Clinic participated in the founding of the North Central Cancer Treatment Group, and United Hospital organized the first paramedic training program in the state. By 1988 cardiac services had expanded to include open heart surgery.
Over the years, United Hospital, the Grand Forks Clinic and other organizations learned to work together to meet the needs of their patients. This collaboration and trust eventually led to integrations. Partners came to the table willingly and as equals. Altru Health System is the result of that vision in 1997.