Hoeven Highlights Expanded Services, Enhanced Patient Care at Altru Devils Lake Following Acquisition

DEVILS LAKE, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today marked the completed transition of Devils Lake Hospital to Altru Health System. As part of a ribbon cutting ceremony, Hoeven congratulated the community on this achievement, thanking Devils Lake Mayor Jim Moe for working with him on this priority over the years and recognizing Altru Devils Lake CEO Tanner White for his efforts to lead the staff through the transition process. The acquisition comes as a result of a multi-year effort to identify and advance a community-led solution to address local concerns about health care access. Hoeven arranged three community meetings across 2023 and 2024 to gather feedback on the community’s needs, while working with Mayor Moe, Altru CEO Todd Forkel and CommonSpirit Health leaders, including CEO Wright Lassiter III and Central Region President Tim Bricker, to advance this priority. As part of this process, CommonSpirit undertook a $10 million renovation of the hospital’s emergency department and entered into an agreement for Altru to acquire the hospital. Since the agreement was approved by Pope Leo XIV, the first American Pope , Altru has: Expanded services, including procedural services for hand and podiatry, with more specialties expected to come online through the rest of the year. Implemented its Electronic Medical Records system, which provides seamless care and communication between Altru’s clinic in Devils Lake and the hospital. Engaged with North Dakota’s grant process for the Rural Health Transformation Program: Earlier this year, Hoeven, along with Governor Kelly Armstrong, set a goal of securing $1 billion in federal funding for rural health transformation in the state. Altru is participating in this initiative in order to: Support continued growth at the Devils Lake Hospital. Make additional improvements to the facility. Bring in new technology to enhance patient care. “Hospitals are anchors in the community, supporting families, attracting workforce and driving economic growth and stability. That’s why we worked to bring community and health leaders together, including Mayor Moe, Todd Forkel and others, to identify a long-term, lasting solution for improving health and emergency care in the community,” said Hoeven. “The transition of Devils Lake Hospital to Altru Health System is already paying dividends, with expanded services and a cohesive medical records system to improve patient care, on top of the $10 million renovation to the ER Department we secured under CommonSpirit. Now, with Altru participating in our Rural Health Transformation Program, we have the opportunity to bring health care in the Lake Region to the next level.” Transforming Rural Health Care Hoeven stressed that North Dakota has a head start in this competitive federal program due to its: Statewide fiber optic infrastructure, which Hoeven has worked to advance both as governor and now as U.S. Senator, including through initiatives like the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) ReConnect Program. Network of new, state-of-the-art Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Hoeven worked through his role as Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee chairman to advance USDA loans and grants, which along with CAH reimbursement, helped make the new facilities a reality. Hoeven believes a similar model could be used to bring additional improvements to the health care facility in Devils Lake. Ability to leverage both telehealth and the CAHs to recruit and retain health care professionals and provide access to a comprehensive continuum of care. That means patients have access to a full range of health care services through hospitals, nursing homes and home care that best meet their needs and individual situation. -###-