Rick Failing, Hallock, Minn., letter: Kittson Memorial Healthcare Center remains independent

HALLOCK, Minn. — I am writing to clarify a misstatement in the story about Altru Health System and Sanford Health (“Competitive giant,” Page C1, May 15).

The story says Sanford “manages” Kittson Memorial Healthcare Center of Hallock. Kittson Memorial Healthcare Center since 1922 has been a locally owned and operated integrated health care facility serving residents in and immediately around Kittson County.

Kittson Memorial Healthcare Center decided to acquire Sanford’s electronic health record system and currently is in the process of implementing this system.

As part of this electronic health record acquisition, Kittson Memorial Healthcare Center was required to sign an affiliate agreement with Sanford. But this affiliate agreement does not diminish in any way Kittson Memorial’s independent status.

As a matter of fact, Kittson Memorial continues to enjoy a longstanding relationship with Altru. For the past 15 years, Kittson Memorial’s patients who require occupational and physical therapy have been and will continue to be served in Hallock by Altru therapists.

In the past few years, joint management arrangements or flat-out acquisitions of rural health care facilities have occurred more often in the Red River Valley. But Kittson Memorial’s board of directors has concluded that at this time, there is no advantage for the patients served by this organization to formally align this organization with any regional health system.

Rick Failing

Failing is chief executive officer of Kittson Memorial Healthcare Center.

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