PARK NICOLLET
Bob Reiss, From the Re-Echo, Summer 2002

The biggest "success" story in St. Louis Park is Park Nicollet Health Services. Today it is an integrated care system that includes Methodist Hospital, Park Nicollet Clinic, Park Nicollet Foundation, and Park Nicollet Institute.  It has 6800 employees, including 485 physicians.

Park Nicollet started in 1951 as the St. Louis Park Medical Center. Eleven young doctors wanted to start an innovative group practice in St. Louis Park. At that time, most doctors had individual practices and most were located in downtown Minneapolis.  With the expanding number of new families in St. Louis Park, these doctors though it presented an excellent opportunity for them.  They wanted to reinvent the group practice concept so that it would make it financially feasible for them to take time away from their practice to pursue research, teaching, and other educational activities.

 To start this new practice, funds were needed to build a new building.  Their first support came from Morten Arneson, who owned a nursery on Excelsior Boulevard, just east of what is now Miracle Mile.   He agreed to a very one-sided financial arrangement to let them build on his property.  Then, by pooling all of the partners' unused GI housing loan guarantees, they were able to finance the building. 

On July 2, 1951, the St. Louis Park Medical Center opened for business without fanfare.  They treated five patients the first day.  As the partners expected, doctors were in great demand in St. Louis Park.  As the population exploded, so did the Medical Center.  By 1957, there were 17 doctors and they were continually adding more.  New physicians brought new energy and the clinic quickly seized the opportunities presented by this energy. This increased the group's ability to attract even more high quality talent.  Cardiology, Family Counseling, Social Services, Industrial Medicine, Family Practice, Kidney Dialysis and Diabetic Education were a few of the added specialties.  Computerization and an in-house pharmacy were also part of the growth. 

With 17 doctors, the building had to be expanded and ever since, building expansion has been almost a continuing process.  They ran out of room on the south side of Excelsior Blvd. and property was purchased on the north side.  The seven story Northland Building was built in 1969 and later expanded to the present campus.  They started to add satellite clinics and urgent care centers in 1972.

In the 1970s and '80s, the cost of health care became a national problem.  The St. Louis Park Medical Center, accustomed to charting its own course, was willing to experiment.  They started their first prepaid medical plan in 1972.  This was the start of their HMO (Health Maintenance Organization).  The timing could not have been better.  The business community was looking for an alternative to traditional health insurance.  The plan brought them a whole new source of patients and revenue. 

In 1981, with its combination of a private practice group, clinical teaching and research, St. Louis Park Medical Center was recognized nationally as a premier multispecialty group. 

In 1983, the St. Louis Park Medical Center merged with the Nicollet Clinic to form Park Nicollet.  Methodist Hospital was another addition.

Today this organization is a complex assortment of medical practices, nonprofit foundations, hospitals and insurance groups.

In 1983, Morten Arneson, in his history of St. Louis Park, wrote:

The Mayo Clinic made the name Rochester known all over the world - and beyond - and so will the Medical Center made the name of St. Louis Park known all over the United States and beyond."

And it has!



The Park Nicollet Family includes:

25 Park Nicollet Clinics

Methodist Hospital

5 Urgent Care Centers
12 Pharmacies
9 Optical Stores
2 Hearing Aid Centers
3 Home Care Stores
Refractive Surgery Center
Family Birthing Center

 

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This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.