I came to Cook County last week fully expecting to see a completely remodeled hospital that represented a lot of effort and work over a four-year period by a lot of people including the board, management and employees. I was not disappointed – it is a wonderful result and I was blown away, particularly by ER and X-ray results.
But as I was taking in the visuals of the effort and walking through the hospital I realized my reaction was much deeper than just admiring a physically remodeled facility. Prior to taking on this project Cook County North Shore Hospital reflected a typical small rural hospital operating in today’s healthcare environment. An older facility with various add-ons over the years to keep pace with growth and change, outdated and borderline functional space, old equipment in many cases, and a very dedicated body of employees, professional, proud of what they did, and innovative in their ability to patch and improvise to make the aging hospital and its equipment serve its constituency at a modern-day healthcare level. It was something to be admired, but not a situation to be envied.
One had to wonder how facilities like ours would keep pace with healthcare change in the future?
Four years later, last Thursday, walking through the new North Shore Hospital (NSH), it was far more than the physical remodel that impressed me. NSH in total, building, equipment and its body of employees projected a whole new image. It was still a feeling of a small critical access rural hospital to be sure. But it was also a feeling of a facility that knew who it was, modern, up-to-date in space and equipment and operated daily by healthcare professionals that could deliver care to constituents second to none.
There was no feeling of a struggle to improvise and adapt just to keep services available, it was a feeling that any service offered at this facility would be delivered in a modern, professional manner by a unique group of people with a high level of confidence. In short, it was a feeling of understated employee pride and confidence in what they had accomplished and how they function in today’s healthcare environment. A feeling that they were secure in the knowledge that nobody would find better rural health care anywhere else.
I left immensely proud of what I saw in total, and how I felt about the facility and its employees. I thought that any Cook County resident that has been going to Duluth or the Twin Cities for hospital care that is offered at NSH would definitely want to rethink what they were doing and start taking advantage of the gem they have in this hospital and its people. Also, that Cook County’s senior population had senior care living accommodations second to none and families would be very comfortable with the living arrangements available at the care center.
Finally, I could say you did a great job, but we both know that would be a far too narrow of a statement. Better said, all of the NSH people have pulled off an amazing accomplishment that will last for many, many years to come. Each of them deserves to be thanked, and take a personal pride in the resulting transformation.
Editor’s note: Tom Spence was a longtime Cook County North Shore Hospital board member, beginning his service in January 2007. In 2010 he was honored for becoming one of two Minnesota hospital trustees for completing a board membership certification program, and he served on the MHA’s trustee council. Tom, an attorney, also served on the board of directors for Arrowhead Electric Cooperative. He and his wife now live in St. Paul.
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