For more than a century, MeritCare has led the region in health care firsts: the first air ambulance (1984), the first specialists in reproductive medicine (1994) and the first emergency room (1925). The list doesn't end there. It ends with what matters most: a child's health, a new family, and an active life. While we pride ourselves on our premier technology, services and specialties, we take more pride in the lives it changes, creates and saves. Your best life is our first priority.
Hours passed and still Jamie and Eric Toutenhoofd hadn't seen their new son.
Born a full-term baby on Feb. 25 in Grand Forks, he had unexpected, life-threatening problems.
"It was very scary, and it came as a total surprise," says Eric. "We kept asking, 'What's going on? Why? What's next?' We were really glad to find out they were in contact with the people in Fargo because we'd heard they had a Children's Hospital there, but we didn't know much about it."
MeritCare LifeFlight quickly transported Luke to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at MeritCare Children's Hospital. While in the helicopter, he had exactly what he needed: a specially trained Neonatal Transport Team to provide high-level care en route and a ventilator to help him breathe. The transport ventilator is lifesaving technology for children of all ages who are in serious respiratory trouble, as Luke was. Read More.
When baby Jack screamed upon delivery at MeritCare Birth Center, his mom Tammy took his cries as a sign that he was healthy. She in turn wept. But these tears of joy also marked the end of a journey for Tammy and her husband Jon which began with at MeritCare Reproductive Medicine.
The first step of that journey began online. Tammy was seeking a mate and began reading profiles on an internet site for singles. Jon noticed that she visited his profile but took even more notice when the site sent out profiles of new members. She and Jon were a 100 % match!
They met in July of 2005, were engaged in March of 2006 and married in September of that same year. Tammy and Jon wanted to have a child but conception proved difficult, as is the case for nearly 15 percent of couples. Read More.
Gil Nelson of Fargo has just one memory from Nov. 15, 2004: "All I can remember is the terrific pain – pain in the lower back and the abdomen," he says. His wife, Carolyn, fills in the rest: "He woke up that morning in terrible pain. He has arthritis of the spine, so I figured it might be related to that. But when I noticed his pajamas were wringing wet with sweat, I knew this was something more."
Carolyn called to make an appointment to see their family doctor, but after hearing they couldn't get in until later that day, she knew help was needed sooner. Gil continued to be in excruciating pain. With the aid of their building manager, Carolyn helped Gil into the car and planned to take him to MeritCare Walk-In Clinic. When she arrived at the Y in the road where she would have taken a left, she heard him say, "I'm going to pass out." She took a right instead and headed to MeritCare Emergency Center, just eight blocks north. Read More.