Essentia Health's St. Mary’s-Detroit Lakes, St. Joseph’s Medical Center named two of Forbes’ top hospitals

Two Essentia Health hospitals are once again receiving national recognition for the exceptional care they provide.

Essentia Health St. Mary's-Detroit Lakes and Essentia Health-St. Joseph's Medical Center have both received a five-star designation on the Forbes Top Hospitals list.

Forbes evaluated about 2,500 general acute care hospitals nationwide. After careful analysis, 10% of them received an overall rating of five stars, the best possible score. 

"We are incredibly proud to be spotlighted as one of the best hospitals in the country," said Cole Helbling, senior operations director at Essentia Health St. Mary's-Detroit Lakes. "Our dedicated medical professionals work tirelessly every day to ensure this community has access to excellent care close to home. I am so thankful for my colleagues' commitment to the patients we're blessed to serve."

Ratings were based primarily on patient outcomes, such as mortality rates, survival, infection and readmissions. Additionally, they also considered 56 publicly reported hospital quality measures from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The list "is designed to provide consumers with unbiased information to help them choose the best hospitals for their healthcare needs."

"Recognitions like these reinforce what we already know here at St. Joseph's Medical Center — that our care teams are second to none," said Sandy Zutz-Wiczek, vice president of operations for Essentia. "They combine medical expertise, compassion and fierce loyalty to the patients who entrust us with their care and well-being. That is a serious and sacred responsibility."

In August, both St. Mary's-Detroit Lakes and St. Joseph's were recognized with high ratings from CMS. St. Joseph's earned a five-star CMS rating, which placed it in the top 10% of the 4,600-plus hospitals evaluated by the federal health care agency. Just as with the CMS rating, St. Joseph's is the only hospital in the Brainerd Lakes area to receive five stars. St. Mary's-Detroit Lakes earned a four-star rating from CMS, coming in among the top 27% of hospitals evaluated.

Both hospitals were also named a Top 100 Rural and Community Hospital by the Chartis Center for Rural Health.