A Minnesota-based health system has been sparring with a city over what the organization calls "misinformation" being spread by the mayor and other officials, the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald reported.
Fosston, Minn., Mayor James Offerdahl has been critical of Duluth-based Essentia Health during arbitration over whether the local hospital will continue to be run by the health system or by a city-affiliated nonprofit, according to the July 18 story. "Not only does our community want you to leave, but your employees also want you to leave," he wrote in a July 18 letter to the editor. "And you know that. The time has come to admit that."
"It is unfortunate that the mayor continues to provide misinformation to the public," the health system said in a statement to the newspaper. "Essentia Health will remain in Fosston and operate the hospital if we are successful in arbitration."
The feud originated in 2022, when Essentia Health ended labor and delivery at the Fosston hospital, arguing they are not "core healthcare services" under a 2009 agreement with the city, the Herald reported. The First Care nonprofit owns the hospital and operated it until 2009, when Essentia took over.
In his letter, Mr. Offerdahl was responding to a July 7 letter to the editor of the Forum of Fargo (N.D.)-Moorhead (Minn.) from two Essentia Health executives. "Essentia Health wants to stay in the Fosston community, caring for the patients we are privileged to serve and employing hundreds of local residents," wrote Mark Thompson, MD, Essentia Health's west market president, and Tanner Goodrich, senior vice president of operations. "We are committed to providing the safest possible care for women in the region."