Hoeven Joins Community Celebration for Acquisition of Devils Lake Hospital, Agreement was Approved by Pope Leo XIV, First American Pope, with Final Transition to Occur March 1

DEVILS LAKE, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today joined officials from Altru Health System and CommonSpirit Health for a community celebration to mark the acquisition of Devils Lake Hospital. Hoeven recognized Devils Lake Mayor Jim Moe, Altru CEO Todd Forkel and President Dr. Josh Deere, CommonSpirit Health Central Region President Tim Bricker, health care professionals and community members from the region for their work to advance this multi-year effort. Theagreement was approved by Pope Leo XIV, the first American Pope, in Decemberand the final transition of ownership will occur on March 1, 2026.
“The acquisition of Devils Lake Hospital is a pivotal milestone in our efforts to bring the best possible health care to the Lake Region. I appreciate the hard work of Mayor Moe and the teams at Altru and CommonSpirit Health to advance this agreement, as well as all of the community members who provided feedback and input as we worked to identify the right solution,”said Senator Hoeven.
Specifically, this effort sought to:
“The timing of this acquisition is fitting, as North Dakota has just started moving on its plan to transform rural health care across our state. We’ve set a goal of securing $1 billion for this initiative, and we’re off to a strong start, having secured $200 million in the first year. Updating Critical Access Hospitals like Devils Lake Hospital is a central part of these efforts and one of the reasons our state has a head start, and I believe that we can bring state-of-the-art health care to this region, just as we’ve done for communities like Rugby, Grafton, Hazen and Cando,”said Senator Hoeven.
The efforts to improve health care in the Lake Region align with Hoeven’s broader work to advance North Dakota’s Rural Health Transformation Program. Earlier this month, Hoeven, along with Governor Armstrong,set a goal to secure $1 billionof federal funding for this initiative. North Dakota has a head start in this competitive program due to its:
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