Psychotherapist

Essentia Health invests $14.5 million in Superior hospital. Essentia Health is investing $14.5 million into its Superior hospital as the city prepares for the closure of one of two bridges that connect it with Duluth, Minnesota. To access this content, you must purchase a Premium membership, or log in if you are a member.

Essentia Health-Duluth welcomes licensed marriage and family therapist Erin Durkee. Erin Durkee, a licensed marriage and family therapist, is thrilled to join Essentia Health-Duluth. She has worked for Essentia in a limited capacity over the years and is excited to become a full-time provider. "Caring for patients is a privilege," said Durkee. "I look forward to working with each person, as an individual, to meet their needs and help them achieve their mental health goals." She completed her counseling psychology degree at the California Institute for Integral Studies in San Francisco. "I specialize in somatic therapy and working with diverse populations and individuals with trauma," said Durkee. "I look forward to making connections with my patients and making a lasting impact on their health journey." To see Durkee's full profile, please visit EssentiaHealth.org and click on "find a doctor."

Essentia expands services in Superior. Investments will increase access to specialty and surgical care and add ambulances during and after the Blatnik Bridge closure. Today at 4:57 PM News Reporting SUPERIOR - For more than 100,000 patients in northwest Wisconsin served by Essentia Health, healthcare won't have to take a backseat to traffic when the Blatnik Bridge closes next year. Essentia Health announced Tuesday, Sept. 15, it is expanding services in an effort to make it easier for patients across northwest Wisconsin to receive more of their care closer to home. The $14.5 million investment in Essentia Health St. Mary's Hospital-Superior comes as the community prepares for the Blatnik Bridge closure. The initiative includes expanded clinician coverage, increased specialty outreach and surgical capacity, and the addition of a Superior-based ambulance service. "Over the last year, we've been looking at how we can better serve our patients in northwest Wisconsin, said Kim Pearson, northwest Wisconsin administrator for Essentia Health. "And we've been working toward a clear goal. We want to make it easier for people to get the care they need, when they need it and as close to home as possible." With an estimated 33,000 vehicles crossing the Blatnik Bridge each day shifting to the Bong Bridge, getting across the bridge may take significantly longer once construction begins, Pearson said. "For our patients, traffic delays are more than an inconvenience," Pearson said. "It can create a real barrier to getting timely care. We don't want patients to have to delay care or travel farther than necessary because of transportation challenges. So, we're taking action now to expand the services available here in Superior." Over the past several months, audiology, neurology, oncology, orthopedics and family medicine have expanded by adding more providers, Pearson said. And plans include expanding pediatrics, cardiology, ophthalmology and gastroenterology services in the coming months, she said. Essentia's two new ambulances in Superior will augment the service provided by Mayo if response times are delayed, according to Joe Newton, Essentia's senior director for emergency services. "We know that when emergencies happen, every minute matters," Newton said. "Our goal is to add capacity and shore up the resources that are available on this side of the bridge." Essentia Health St. Mary's Hospital-Superior will also increase surgical capacity by welcoming two new general surgeons to the team in October. The hospital is also adding advanced surgical technology, including robotic-assisted capabilities. more by shelley nelson Tuesday's announcement comes after months, even years, of work to prepare for the Blatnik Bridge closure, Mayor Jim Paine said. "Everybody knows and is starting to prepare for very real impacts to both traffic and our economy... during the bridge closure," Paine said. "Moving 30,000 cars a day even 1 mile to the west will have impacts on this community. However, we simply cannot tolerate impacts to health and safety." Paine noted that firefighters also soon will be trained as advanced emergency medical technicians to provide a higher level of care. "Our goal, as ambitious as it is, is to have no decrease in our response times," Paine said. "When you call 911, regardless of when the bridge closes, we want an emergency response reaching you in the same amount of time they are reaching you now." The mayor said the city's new traffic preemption system, which allows emergency responders to control traffic signals during an emergency, is nearing completion. "It's going to be a long five years," Paine said. "There's no getting around that, but we want to make sure that the health and safety of our community remains the absolute No. 1 priority and that's what all of these investments are about." Essentia's initiative reinforces those efforts by making it easier to get care locally, Pearson said. "We want to reduce the need for patients to travel farther than necessary and position Superior as a convenient destination for care both during the closure and long after the new bridge is complete," she said. News Reporting Shelley Nelson is a reporter with the Duluth Media Group since 1997, and has covered Superior and Douglas County communities and government for the Duluth News Tribune from 1999 to 2006, and the Superior Telegram since 2006. Contact her at 715-395-5022 or [email protected].