I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.
June 25, 1996
By Devlyn Brooks
Staff Writer
Just days after Fosston was named one of the 10 All-American communities for 1996 by the National Civic League and the Allstate Foundation, the city has continued to pursue projects to enhance its future.
The city broke ground June 18 for expansion and renovation of the Firstcare Medical Services' hospital and nursing home.
The work is projected to cost about $2 million and will involve 2,000 square feet of expansion and about 40,000 square feet of renovation. This will be the first major remodeling since the facility was constructed in 1963, hospital Administrator David Hubbard said.
The facility was constructed in two phases, one in 1963 and the other in 1974, and half of the space is used for a 43-bed hospital, while the other half is devoted to a 50-bed nursing home, Hubbard said.
The expansion will provide better access to rehabilitation services and more room for physical and occupational therapy, he said. It also will mean improved air quality within the hospital and better control of heating and cooling of the building. On the nursing home side, Hubbard said the renovation will "insure more of the patients privacy in their rooms."
The hospital and nursing home renovation and expansion is just the latest in the changes the Fosston facility has experienced, Hubbard said. A couple of years ago, a new branch of the Dakota Clinics system was built near the hospital to fill the vacancy of the former, private clinic that closed.
The hospital's home health care also has been expanding by about 15 percent to 20 percent each of the last few years, and about a year and a half ago the facility was able to upgrade its ambulance service from a basic life support level. Finally, the hospital also has been expanding its cardiovascular and respiratory rehabilitation therapy.
At a time when many rural hospitals and health care facilities seem to be struggling, Hubbard said a small hospital's biggest concern is the ability to "attract and obtain quality professionals for the medical staff and the regular staff."
According to Shannon Beaudin-Klein, director of communications for Minnesota Hospital and Health Care Partnership, only 12 other hospital facilities in Minnesota have between 35 to 45 beds and also have an attached nursing home. And there are only about 25 other hospitals the same size as Fosston that do not have a nursing home in addition.
However, Hubbard said the Fosston facility has never had problems like other rural hospitals. the hospital and nursing home have continued to grow for the 12 years he has been there, he said. In the mid-1980s, when Hubbard joined the staff, there were about 110 employees. Today, the facility employs about 180, he said.
Fosston Mayor Arvid Clementson, who has served on the hospital board in the past, said there was a while when it was difficult to attract doctors to rural areas, but he said he thinks the trend is reversing.
"I think that they (doctors) are beginning to like the quality of life in rural areas," Clementson said. "Now, we have some excellent doctors, and they enjoy being here."
Fosston has not had the population drain that other rural areas have, Hubbard said. The rural population in the Fosston area has been slowly declining, but not as much as other rural communities. This is one reason he said the Fosston facility has been able to maintain such a high level of professional care.
Clementson said he is really pleased about the expansion of his city's hospital. "Health care is one of the best qualities we (the residents of Fosston) have," he said. "This is just another big plus for our health care."
He said he has been happy with the service provided by the hospital and the nursing home. "I'm really pleased with what's happened out there for the community and the surrounding region," he said. "It's good for everybody. I have a mother in the nursing home, myself."
One of the major keys to Fosston's success, Clementson said, is the fact that they have good health care and a good education system.
"The two keys to move ahead are health care and education," he said. "And we have both."
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