Essentia Health

What it reported doing in 2024

Deer river healthcare center, inc., dba essentia health deer river, is created and organized exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, and scientific purposes. More specifically, essentia health deer river shall own, maintain, operate and conduct health care and related activities and facilities for the promotion of health within its community, including charitable care to persons unable to pay.essentia health deer river has a critical access hospital with 20 licensed beds and multi-specialty clinic serving itasca and cass counties. The hospital is a level iv trauma center and offers emergency care 24 hours a day. Essentia health deer river offers inpatient and outpatient services including imaging/radiology, lab, surgery, and rehabilitation.essentia health deer river has a skilled nursing facility connected to the hospital that provides 24 hour skilled nursing and personal care. Residents have access to physical, occupational, and speech therapies. In addition, essentia health deer river's senior living apartments provide a full spectrum of senior living opportunities.essentia health deer river employs approximately 140 full time equivalents. The hospital provided nearly 1,500 hospital patient days and 25,000 outpatient visits during the fiscal year ended june 30, 2025. The clinic had over 15,000 encounters and the skilled nursing facility provided nearly 8,000 resident days during the same time period.during the fiscal year ended june 30, 2025, essentia health deer river provided the following community benefits: $425,000 in charity care, $1,000 costs in excess of medicaid payments, $63,000 in community services, and $63,000 in health profession education.essentia health is the parent organization of an integrated health system that includes this organization and all entities that are owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by essentia health (collectively, the "system or "essentia health").

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 74.2%; rating input score 74
• Program expense ratio: 80.7%; rating input score 81
• Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 10th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 17th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 7.6%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.31; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 4.9%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings