Mercy and Essentia hospitals strike a deal

Leaders from Mercy Hospital in Moose Lake and Essentia Health announced that plans for a formal partnership between the two organizations are expected to become effective in early August.

As approved by Mercy’s board of directors — which issued a request for proposal last fall after realizing the rural hospital couldn’t go it alone — Essentia will assume operations of a next-to-new facility, as the Moose Lake hospital completed a $38 million expansion and renovation in 2015. Residents will no longer pay $500,000 in property taxes to support the hospital.