North Shore Health, Sawtooth Mountain Clinic outline transition of home health services
Sawtooth Mountain Clinic CEO Kate Surbaugh attended the North Shore Health Board meeting Oct. 22 to discuss the transition of home health care services to Sawtooth Mountain Clinic, a move that has been years in the making, according to North Shore Health CEO Kimber Wraalstad.
“This is something that has been talked about actually for the last three years, and what we’ve done is we are working on a planned transition with Sawtooth Mountain Clinic to ensure the long-term sustainability of home-based nursing services in Cook County, ” Wraalstad told WTIP.
Surbaugh assured the board that the transition would be relatively seamless.
“There should be no gap in care, and in fact, it shouldn’t look any different because we are going to continue contracting with the hospital to perform the service with the same staff,” Surbaugh said during the board meeting.
Discussions began after North Shore Health and Sawtooth Mountain Clinic hired a consultant with experience leading both a critical access hospital, like North Shore Health, and a federally qualified health center, like Sawtooth Mountain Clinic.
The consultant recommended that North Shore Health discontinue its home health program and that Sawtooth Mountain Clinic establish a visiting nurse service.
While the program has been part of North Shore Health for some time, Surbaugh explained that the transition makes sense because most providers who order home health services for patients work at Sawtooth Mountain Clinic. The clinic also has nursing staff who can provide backup support for the program.
The transition required a change in Minnesota law because the arrangement is a new model for providing home-based nursing services.
“There’s no other federally qualified health centers doing this. It’s really particular to our rural area,” Surbaugh told the board.
State Sen. Grant Hauschild helped pass legislation during the 2026 legislative session allowing federally qualified health centers to operate visiting nurse services without obtaining a home care license.
Wraalstad said the transition will take place over the coming months. Patients were notified of the planned change last week.
In a news release, North Shore Health reiterated that patients should not experience any interruption in care.
“While there may be some changes to paperwork or administrative processes, much of the transition will take place behind the scenes and is not expected to affect the care patients receive,” the release stated.
The news release stated that the transition provides “a more sustainable model” for home-based nursing in Cook County. The move comes as hospitals and other rural health care providers face ongoing financial challenges.
North Shore Health has taken several steps to improve its long-term financial stability. The hospital worked with Hauschild to pass legislation intended to help ensure the long-term viability of its care center by changing reimbursement for swing-bed services.
North Shore Health also benefited from a rule change regarding the employee retention tax credit, which retroactively qualified the hospital for approximately $900,000 from the IRS.
Board members praised Surbaugh and Wraalstad for their work on the transition.
“I really appreciate the seamlessness and the consideration that’s been taken in with the clients and the current nursing staff. And I’m not surprised that Cook County has come up with something unique and cutting-edge because we kind of figure out what to do and how to take care of our people,” Board Treasurer Patty Winchell-Dahl said during the meeting.
WTIP spoke with Wraalstad about North Shore Health’s “big rock” goals for the year, a visit from Hauschild to Grand Marais and more. The audio of that conversation is available below.
Josh Hinke October 28, 2026
