Community Memorial Hospital

Community Memorial Hospital (CMH) is a 25-bed critical access hospital (CAH) located in Cloquet, Minnesota. They are dedicated to their mission, which is to improve and enhance the health and well being of individuals and their community through education, prevention, treatment and intervention.

In 2017, the hospital began participating in Rural Health Innovation’s Integrative Behavioral Health Program funded by the Minnesota Department of Health, Office of Rural Health and Primary Care.

Strategic Objectives

• Healthy community activities 
• Community sharing and assets 
• Provider sharing 
• Educate staff and community on mental health and stigma
• Improve outcomes, such as increase the number of assessments being done in the ED for mental health and decrease length of stay in the ED 

Positive Outcomes Within 12 Months 

• Increased scheduling patients from ED into family clinic 
• Increased utilization of external programs for mental health assessments 
• Increased utilization of mental health services 
• Decreased ED length of stay 
  • Pre-project - 222 minutes 
  • Quarter 1 - 181 minutes 
  • Quarter 2 - 273 minutes 
  • Quarter 3 - 244 minutes 
  • Quarter 4 - 171 minutes 

Top Accomplishments 

• Increased collaboration with community members
• Promoted Carlton County Resource Guide (including info about housing, food, suicide hotline, etc.) for local resources
• Created “resource wall” for patients and families in the ED
• Implemented PHQ9 in ED and family clinic
• Successfully initiated facility events to eliminate stigma