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Description

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Caring for the people of the Mille Lacs area for more than 50 years
Mille Lacs Health System is a communityowned nonprofit organization whose operations are overseen by a ninemember Board of Directors comprised of members from the Mille Lacs community

Our Mission
To assist those residing in and visiting the Mille Lacs area in achieving and maintaining optimal health

Our Organizational Values
We hold a reverence for life

We strive to insure access for all

We strive to serve all with compassion and hospitality

We believe in open honest and direct communication at all levels

We believe collegiality teamwork and participation are necessary for
excellence

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History

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In the early 1950s the lack of available healthcare in the region had become a growing concern for the people of the Mille Lacs area As a result residents were growing increasingly interested in building a hospital in Onamia The Crosier Fathers and Brothers a religious order of the Catholic church were instrumental in deepening this conviction and encouraging action With the financial support of area residents work on a new twentyeightbed hospital began in 1954

Management and administration of the hospital was entrusted to the Franciscan sisters of Little Falls Minnesota The hospital was completed in 1956 and was staffed by Franciscans and Mille Lacs area employees The first patients were admitted on April 1 1956

Old ambulance garage Onamia

As the region has grown so has the hospital In 1982 a largescale renovation and expansion of was completed In 2003 another major expansion and renovation of the hospitals surgery radiology labor and delivery and administrative areas was completed