GRAND FORKS – Hundreds filled the main floor of the new Altru Hospital on Thursday, Jan. 7, to listen and watch as leaders marked a historic moment in the life of the Grand Forks-based health care system.
The program for the community celebration featured speakers Todd Forkel, CEO, and Dr. Josh Deere, president, both of Altru Health System; Mayor Brandon Bochenski; and Michael McLean, principal architect with JLG Architects and chairman-elect of The Chamber of Grand Forks-East Grand Forks.
The celebration, which included a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, came near the end of a nearly all-day open house that included tours and refreshments.
The open house and ribbon-cutting were the latest event in the yearslong process to build the new hospital. It began with the an announcement in November 2017 that Altru planned to build a new facility, followed by a ceremonial groundbreaking in June 2019. The project was halted during the COVID-19 pandemic, but construction resumed in 2021.
The seven-story, $500 million project includes the new hospital as well as a new behavioral health care center.
The hospital is not yet open, however. The emergency department is set to open at 6 a.m. Jan. 19, the same day patients will be transferred from the current hospital to the new one.
During his remarks Thursday, Forkel referred to the occasion as a “historic event,” one that drew “thousands of people from our community and the region we serve.”
“Today, with this ribbon-cutting, a new chapter of the book of Altru will be written,” Forkel said. “Every 50 to 75 years, a community gets the opportunity to build a new hospital. We feel so fortunate to be here with you today at this time and place to be celebrating that event.”
Forkel expressed thanks to JLG architects, PCL Community Contractors and all other contractors, noting that the “bold vision for this project was shared by many.”
He also thanked the Altru Health System “board members and physician-leaders past and present,” highlighting those who “had a hand – and should have immense pride – in this initiative,” he said.
Forkel cited the courage it took to take the first step – “the hardest step” – to decide to build a new hospital here, he said. “We owe them all a debt of gratitude.”
He praised “all of our 3,400 employees, who bring their time and talents to make sure that our mission happens,” he said. “As we cut this ribbon, (the hospital) will give light and hope to those who need it and give a healing environment that matches our staff’s excellence. And it will live out Altru’s new mission statement of making a difference for those we serve.”
Eric Hylden/Obituary
Bochenski, in his remarks, noted that “this is a day that has been a long time coming.”
To the words he has heard describing this moment — words like “historic, monumental and generational” — he said, “I want to add just one more word: That word would be symbolic.”
“The brand-new Altru Hospital is not only a gift to future patients and staff but it’s also a gift to the community of Grand Forks and a sign of the bright future ahead.”
Bochenski said “it symbolizes not only where we were going but also is a reminder of where we have been and how resilient Grand Forks truly is. Resiliency has led us to opportunity. We stay in the fight so that brighter days can shine even brighter.”
“Not only is this one of the most cutting-edge and technologically advanced hospitals in the nation,” he said, “but it’s also the hospital that we deserve.”
In terms of relevance and anticipation, Bochenski likened the opening of the new Altru Hospital to the 2001 opening of the Ralph Engelstad Arena, the home of the UND hockey team.
He drew attention to the important role the hospital plays in the community, noting that it “is only as good as what takes place within its walls. The doctors and the staff of our community hospital are some of the best of the nation and now they have the facility and the technology to match their work ethic, their talent and dedication.”
“At the end of the day, a community is only as good as the health of its citizens and the education of its children,” he said. “Today, we take a huge step forward in the health and well-being of Grand Forks and our region. In closing, let me say this: May God bless these four walls and the work being done within them and may God continue to bless the city of Grand Forks.”
Eric Hylden/Obituary
Deere also stressed the hospital’s part in furthering the positive trajectory of this area.
“The momentum in Grand Forks is palpable,” he said.
Deere, who was born in the existing Altru Hospital, noted that “the most impactful moments” in life often occur in a hospital setting. He recalled, at age 14, being comforted by staff as his grandmother, 54, died, foretelling his decision to pursue a career in medicine.
As a resident and later as a physician, he learned “about the importance of communication, empathy and kindness.”
“Caregivers have the unique responsibility and gift to be involved with life-changing decisions, procedures and care for our patients at times when they are most vulnerable,” he said. “The current hands and hearts caring for our community will have a brand new setting.”
The excitement for the new hospital “comes from a healing environment filled with light, state-of-the-art emergency and patient care rooms, increased privacy and technological investments, ensuring our facility matches the care we deliver daily.”
McLean, speaking for JLG Architects and The Chamber of Grand Forks-East Grand Forks, said that nearly 2,000 people were involved in the hospital project and 1.5 million work hours were dedicated to construction alone.
“That’s 175 years straight of hours to get it completed … ” McLean said.
“This consistent investment is not just in the facility we have here today, but in the people and the quality of service and the consistency in that service,” he said.
McLean also recalled the “difficult decision” in 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to disrupt society on a global scale, to put the hospital project on hold. It was necessary at that time “to focus on providing immediate and urgent care for a community that so desperately needed it,” he said.
During that time, leaders knew “there were a lot of unknowns,” McLean said. “Putting a project on hold like this might have meant that it wouldn’t happen ever, but they made that hard and right decision.
“The bravery that the Altru leadership showed in that moment was and is very praiseworthy.”
Altru staff planned for at least 1,000 attendees and it appeared that more than that attended, partaking in snacks, taking tours and listening to live music. Valets worked near the entrance and the nearby parking lot was nearly full.
A 24-page special section of the Obituary, dedicated to the new hospital, was distributed in limited quantities during the event, and will be available in the Herald’s Saturday, Jan. 11, print and online editions.