DEVILS LAKE, N.D. – CommonSpirit Health and Altru Health System announced on Wednesday, Dec. 17 the transition of ownership of CHI St. Alexius Health Devils Lake, formerly known as Mercy Hospital, to Altru Health System after the acquisition was approved by the Vatican. The transition, which will occur next year on March 1, promises to provide strong, local access to health care for the Devils Lake community.
“This transition reflects our shared commitment to ensuring rural communities have access to high-quality, sustainable health care close to home,” said Todd Forkel, CEO of Altru. “We are honored to welcome Devils Lake Hospital into the Altru family and to further our commitment to expanding health care for the residents of the Lake Region.”
“This is an important moment for the Devils Lake community,” said Tim Bricker, President of CommonSpirit Health’s Central Region. “This transition reflects a thoughtful, community-focused approach to ensuring long-term access to care while supporting the teams who serve patients every day. The Devils Lake community has been incredibly patient throughout this process, and we are pleased to reach this final stage.”
The announcement follows several years of effort by Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), who repeatedly met and spoke with local leaders and officials from CommonSpirit and Altru on this issue to ensure the best possible health care for Devils Lake residents.
“We appreciate Altru and CommonSpirit for joining with us in this effort and for reaching agreement on the future of health care at the Devils Lake Hospital. Altru does a tremendous job and will provide quality healthcare for the entire Lake Region,” Hoeven said in a prepared statement. “This is the result of tremendous collaboration. We thank Devils Lake Mayor Moe, Altru CEO Todd Forkel, Altru President Josh Deere, MD, CommonSpirit Health Central Region President Tim Bricker, and everyone in the community who worked with us to identify solutions to the region’s healthcare needs and make this agreement a reality.”
According to a press release from Altru, the transition of the hospital in Devils Lake was a collaborative effort supported by many federal, state and local leaders aimed to strengthen healthcare in the community by bringing clinic and hospital services together.
Altru’s 130-year legacy in the region and its multidisciplinary clinic already serving Devils Lake make the organization well positioned to deliver coordinated inpatient and outpatient care. The completed transition ensures long-term stability for the community and reinforces both organizations’ commitment to sustaining rural healthcare.
Before its name change to Catholic Health Initiatives’ St. Alexius Health Devils Lake in 1996, it was originally named Mercy Hospital when it was built in 1902. The history of the name was based on the work of Catherine McAuley (1778-1841) of Dublin, Ireland. According to the biographical information listed on the website of the nonprofit organization Mercy International Association, McAuley used a million-dollar inheritance to fund the first House of Mercy in 1824, where she and other lay women would shelter homeless women, reach out to the sick and dying and educate poor girls. McAuley later cofounded a community of Roman Catholic nuns in 1831 called the Sisters of Mercy.
