Essentia Health-St. Mary's Medical Center (Duluth, Building B) - Duluth, Minnesota

Donald Lokken (Don)

I really love doing the volunteering here. I get to see people and feel I belong here and as I feel the same when I have my doctor's appointment.

When i have a day off from work. I like to have lunch at the Great Waters Cafe. They have combined their old cafes they had before into one. I don't remember how many times I had lunch. I am having the Superior Smash burger basket. The food is so delicious! 100 stars for everyone.

Josh Greenberg

So, I have wanted to leave a review a few months ago, being that my wife just had our second child at the new hospital, I felt like this would be a good time to share our experience with the building as patients.

First, the Labor and Delivery team with the OBGYN doctors (shout out to Dr. Lund) were fantastic. They were great during the delivery with being professional and personable at the same time. Everything was ready in the room, and communication was really good. We ended up with a really good vibe during the entire process of my wife’s delivery. Having a team who were outgoing made the experience less awkward, and allowed us to feel comfortable. Having staff share stories about their families with my wife during her stay made a friendly environment. So, with regards to our care for my wife, and my newborn it was awesome. We had a great experience.

Now, the things that need to be said about layout and flow of the hospital. I am very confused on how they got to the conclusion of access of floors with the elevators. First, we had to enter through the ER (arrived at 1150pm) which had a security check point (not a big deal), but then you have to be brought up to the main atrium walk basically around the entire building. Then you need to take the central elevators to reach the labor and delivery floor. The distanced traveled between the ER and the labor and delivery is significant, and when I brought my mother in who is handicap with mobility issues it limits her access to areas of the hospital (not everyone wants to be wheeled around). Purple Ramp is busy due to it being owned by the city which means patients, workers, and other businesses use it. Onto the floor which we stayed on. It’s set up in a confusion mannerism with no direct linier thought of design. Anyone who has worked on a medical wing is use to having a central location for the care staff and the floor is usually in an easy to travel shape. The normal train of thought is that design is easy for caregivers to work, but patients usually can find their way easily too. Instead you have numerous corners, hallways, and areas you can get lost in. Also, the signs that should lead one to a room are located in the dumbest places. There are electronic monitors outside the rooms which I assume are supposed to be used for something, but all them were off. Rooms are gorgeous and huge which makes you wonder about patient capacity. If a rooms square footage was cutdown slightly how many other patient rooms would have fit on the unit itself? Moving into the bathroom. There is a tub with a 2 to 3-foot step to get into the tub. This is in a unit where women just got done giving birth, and mobility might be a factor. Why not get a modern-day handicap accessible tub with a door to make access easier and safer? Design use of space is bad (hospitals don't need to be grand), too much walking (handicap/elderly), and confusing routes are all over the hospital.
Basically, if a patient (layman) who understands basic needs where to look at the general setup of this facility it would make most people wonder who were they were building this for. My parents both are older and my mother doesn't walk long distances well they don’t like using the building. Many people find this place confusing to navigate. So, who did they keep in mind while building it? It’s probably one of the least handicap friendly spaces in my opinion which is weird for a hospital. They have people to wheel people places, but many people who are able to make it on their own don’t want that service. Call me old fashion but when I come to a hospital I want an updated facility not an art installation. I want the foot print to be used to its fullest extent with ease of access, and staffed adequately. I don’t care what it’s supposed to resemble artistically, I only care about the quality of care I receive inside the building. Thankfully, our care has been great. When coming here make sure to understand where you are going prior to coming and bring plenty of patience.

Kearra Young

I went to this hospital recently for a severe burn. While in the hospital for three days, I saw the doctor for a total of three minutes and he determined that I didn’t need surgery. I don’t think he even saw my wound in person, he just looked at pictures. They discharged me after three days and told me that I needed to change my wound bandages twice per day. They sent me home with a very weak pain med. The bandage changes at home were excruciating. I couldn’t handle the pain so I ended up going to a different hospital (Regions). All the doctors and nurses at Regions were shocked that I was sent home and expected to change my own bandages. The doctor at Regions is here for every bandage change that is completed to check in on my wound. He determined that I need two surgeries in my hand. If I would’ve listened to St Mary’s my hand would not have healed and likely would’ve gone septic from infection.

Kris Tucker

Beth Conley is an amazing Neurologist! She has been very kind, helpful & supportive since I’ve started to see her. She’s even let me bring my girlfriend and son in the room with no problem and interacts with him. Best Neurologist I’ve had since Jacob!

Kathleen E. (Kathy)

One of my best friends had 2 stints put into the artery in her groin area yesterday at noon at the new Essentia Care hospital in Duluth Minnesota. It was a major ICU surgery. The surgeon was very professional and compassionate. He took the time to listen to my friend and was very gentle with her. I give him and the other loving nurses a 5+ star rating. It's the first nurse that was assigned to her care where everything went wrong. The first nurse she had was a hateful, spiteful, and very evil "Nurse Ratchet". She would not give my friend pain medication for more than three hours after her surgery. Then, she made her wait even longer for a second dose closer to the late evening hours. When my friend asked, she was told she didn't look like she was in pain. She stated, "I'm busy with two other patients right now." This evil, hateful, and spiteful nurse purposefully gave my friend a stimulant at 10 pm because she forgot earlier in the day. When my friend asked why so late? the nurse replied, "you said you couldn't sleep anyway." This nurse is a lawsuit in the making. She was such a horrible person that all the other nurses were apologizing to my friend for that Nurse's abusive behavior. I was there until about 5:30 pm and asked the nurse 4 or 5 times to please give my friend some pain medication. That horrible Nurse told me, "she refused fentanyl and dilotted in the recovery room. She shouldn't have done that. She will have to wait until im ready." That is abusive. I declined to report anything for fear that my friend would suffer the consequences of my actions. Essentia Health, PLEASE take a look at the inhumane treatment that my elderly friend had to endure. I have always had love and respect for Essentia Care until today. Nurse Ratchet needs to be reevaluated before someone dies. I understand that people can have a bad day. But that doesn't mean she can make other people, especially on the 9th floor room 931s life a living hell. July 11, 2024, surgery at 12 pm on the 6th floor. Please, please investigate this cruel person who should not call herself a Nurse. Every one knows that nurses make the greatest sacrifices and show unconditional positive regard for all.

Jacob Johnson (The Protagonist)

Ive always loved Essentia Health back in my home town GrandRapids but since moving to duluth this place had given me a tarrible experenice. The first vist was alright k just went in to get my adderal refilled their was a paper i had to sign and one of the things on the paper was to keep my medication on me so i did and it got stolen off my person 3 days later so When I asked if they could refill it the doctor refused even after i filed a police report and followed the paper to the letter, and im on my starting dose i have been for almost 2 years i havent needed more and its very clear im not abusing these meds as they are such a low dose theirbnot sold on the streets. The part that made it all worse is it took her one day to decide not to with no reason and when i asked for a reason and was honest about how it made me feel and that i would nees to find something to buy from some drug dealer as i completly fall apart anf cant function without them i get a letter saying im inapproprite and disrespectful and that im casuing harm to their staff. So they left me unmedicated without a reason and told me that me wanting to know why and being honest on what i was gonna do next was terrible and sent me a warning letter. All i can say is i miss my old doctor he was a human and treated me like a human something i havent felt at this new Essantia.

Dave Hawbaker

Cardiology. Dr Ryan Clark, PA Nicole Marr are extremely talented and competent. Their professional talents and their beautiful personalities helped my family survive triple bypass, open heart. They're amazing people

Tom Carlson

Do not let your loved one stay in the hospital alone if they have dementia or Alzheimer's. I believe my father was drugged, which caused him to fight with the staff, then, they tied him to the bed and left him without water for 9 hours. The medication they gave him caused heart issues. I documented on YouTube. Titled Alzheimer's patient drugged and tied to bed because he wanted to go pee.