FAQs

You can see the eight-minute video, which features 15 Essentia Health employees and five patients from across our health system, by clicking on the link below:

Now you can access the Daily Dose anytime on your mobile device or tablet. Enter http://dailydose.essentiahealth.org into your phone's web browser to check out the latest news.

You can also bookmark the site to add it to your phone's home screen. Go to the Daily Dose homepage and follow the instructions below for your iPhone, BlackBerry or Droid.

Please note that the directions for adding the site to your homepage may vary depending on phone model and software version. If you experience issues, please reference your owner's manual or contact your service provider for additional support.

iPhone

Droid

1. Go to the Daily Dose homepage.
2. Touch the bookmark icon at the top of the screen.
3. Touch "Add" at the top of the bookmarks screen.
4. Choose a name for the bookmark and touch "OK."
5. Press and hold the bookmark, click "Add shortcut to Home."

BlackBerry Bold

1. Go to the Daily Dose homepage.
2. Press the menu key.
3. Click "Add Bookmark."
4. In the auto synchronize field, set how often the browser should check for updates to the web page.
5. Press the menu key and click "Add."

Essentia Health’s payroll functions will be streamlined beginning April 1. Employees should notice only minor changes on their checks.

All payroll functions in the Central and West Regions – with the exception of Ada, Detroit Lakes, Fosston and Graceville – will be consolidated in the East Region.

The first checks handled through the Duluth payroll office will be April 15. Questions can be directed to the new payroll hotline, 1-855-729-2435 (855-PAY-CHEK).

Our mission: We are called to make a healthy difference in people's lives.

Our vision: By 2018, Essentia Health will be a national leader in providing high quality, cost effective, integrated health care services.

• DO wear your badge at all times -- it is a requirement for national accreditation by The Joint Commission.      
• DO wear your badge above your waist (don't hang on belt or bottom of jacket).  
• DO keep the front of your badge (photo side) visible. This assures patients and visitors they are talking to the right person.  
• DON'T punch holes in your badge. This damages the wires inside that "talk" to card readers and other devices.  
• DON'T place stickers, tape, pins or other items on your badge. They can interfere with the wires in your badge. 
• DON'T hang keys, photos or other items on your lanyard or clip. (Again, it's about interfering with the wires.)
• DON'T loan your badge to anyone for any reason. The average badge can open more than 100 doors, and every swipe is tracked back to you.

ID badges will be issued in our Central Region between Oct. 28 and Nov. 8. In the East Region, distribution began Oct. 25 and will continue to be phased in on a department-by-department basis over the next 4-6 months. We are aquiring new equipment for the West Region. Once that is in place, we will notify staff of the schedule for obtaining new badges.

For now, you should only use your facility's new Essentia name when answering the phone or sending e-mails. Please do not use the Essentia Health name outside of these situations.

Click here for a handy, two-page sheet that lists our current and former facility names. You can print it for easy reference. You can also click on the interactive map on the righthand side of the Daily Dose.

Click here to read an online version of the brochure that was mailed to physician and employee homes in late August.

We realize that changes like these take away from people’s ability to individualize their workspaces, but we are using opportunities like corporate wallpaper to reinforce our new brand and demonstrate that we are now truly one health system.

The wallpaper is a small but visible reminder that we are embarking on a new journey. We believe that implementing small and simple standards like these will go a long way toward ensuring the successful launch of our new brand.

Whenever you are communicating with patients, visitors or the public, always use your facility's full name. For example:

Essentia Health/St. Joseph’s – Brainerd Clinic, this is Wendy. How may I help you?

If you know you are answering an internal call, you can use Essentia Health and your department name:

Essentia Health Orthopaedics, this is Wendy. How may I help you?
Essentia Health Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit, this is Wendy. How may I help you?
Essentia Health Finance, this is Wendy. How may I help you?

There are three basic types of signatures, depending on your job and where you work. All signatures should be created in Ariel type font, black only. Here are examples of the three

Region names are not meant to be part of any job titles, service names, e-mail signatures, etc. Region names can be referenced when talking or writing about a specific region, i.e. in Essentia Health's East Region.

Information Services is currently working to switch our current e-mail addresses over to Essentia Health. This will be done in phases between now and April 2011. You’ll be notified in advance of the change.

Once your address changes, you will continue to receive e-mails from your old address for one year. (Think of it as an electronic version of mail being forwarded following an address change.)

New stationery templates are being finalized and an online ordering system is in the works. It should be up and running by the end of October.

We are still in the process of changing our name with the Secretary of State. Once we do that, we must notify a number of government agencies, insurers, banks and other institutions of our name change.

We expect to have many of these changes in place by Jan. 1, 2011. That is when we plan to begin using the Essentia Health name on our bills, in our medical records and on other official communication.

Yes. Contact one of the following three people to inquire on whether you should use the logo or not:

In the East Region:                                
Naomi Byers  | 218-786-4381 | nbyers@smdc.org

In the Central Region:                           
Claribel Severson | 218-829-2861 (ext, 6419) | claribel.severson@brainerdlakeshealth.org

In the West Region:                              
Randy Glandt | 701-364-8023 | mglandt@innovishealth.com

An introductory website for Essentia Health is now live at www.essentiahealth.org. It contains basic information about our organization and directs patients and visitors to the 22 existing websites (Innovis Health, Duluth Clinic, etc.) representing facilities within Essentia Health.

We will be working to incorporate all of our websites into the main Essentia Health website. This project will take 18 to 24 months.