History

Superior has the best of both worlds when it comes to health care. St. Mary’s Hospital of Superior/Duluth Clinic-Superior provides the community and surrounding area with world-class health care in a hometown setting.

It started in 1963 when Superior Memorial Hospital opened its doors, entirely supported by private donations. Raising the funds was said to be one of the largest such efforts in the nation.

But times change and so has the hospital.

In 1995, the local hospital merged with St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth and became its subsidiary. The move guaranteed the hospital would stay a vital force in Superior. It also renewed a tradition of Catholic health care in Superior, which prior to the creation of Superior Memorial Hospital had been served by three Catholic hospitals. They were St. Mary's, St. Joseph's and St. Francis hospitals.

In 2001, a $13.2 million building expansion created a shared campus for the hospital and the Duluth Clinic-Superior.

Two years later, St. Mary’s Hospital of Superior was named a Critical Access Hospital. With 25 beds, the hospital can care for those who are acutely ill and can also provide skilled nursing care in transitional care beds designed for those who are too sick to go home but not sick enough to remain hospitalized.

Without a tradition of civic-minded donors, the hospital wouldn’t be here. St. Mary’s Hospital of Superior was born from the generosity of citizens who raised money to construct what was then called Superior Memorial Hospital, fulfilling their dream of building a place to care for the sick.

Today the campus offers a wide range of healthcare services, from emergency room and acute hospital care to outpatient physical therapy and primary care office visits.