Riverwood Healthcare Center is proud to celebrate its exceptional team, recognized with four awards at the Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA) Spring Innovation Forum Award Ceremony. These awards highlight Riverwood’s unwavering commitment to innovation, community engagement, and high-quality patient care. Angela Harmon, RN, ED Supervisor, was honored with the Nursing Excellence Award for her outstanding leadership, […]

Riverwood Healthcare Center is pleased to introduce Provider Recruitment Specialist Alaina Hagestuen. In her new role in Provider Recruitment, Hagestuen will oversee and coordinate the entire process of attracting, screening, interviewing, hiring and onboarding new medical staff members to Riverwood, focusing on finding the best providers who have a passion for providing care and making […]

Riverwood Healthcare Center is pleased to announce the appointment of Deb Gruber as its new director of Human Resources. In this key leadership role, Gruber will plan, lead, and coordinate the activities of Riverwood’s Human Resources department—ensuring legal compliance, fostering a positive work culture, and aligning HR strategy with the organization’s overall mission and goals. […]

[Aitkin, Minn., May 20, 2025] – Riverwood Healthcare Center announced that it has been recognized as a 2025 Outstanding Patient Experience Award™ recipient by Healthgrades, the top website Americans use when searching for a doctor or a hospital. This achievement reflects Riverwood’s commitment to compassionate, patient-centered care and puts the organization in the top 5 […]

Love the Sun – Protect Your Skin May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month and a vital opportunity to highlight the most common and one of the most preventable cancers in the United States. More than 5 million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year, and in 2025, an estimated 104,960 new cases of invasive […]

Recently, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services announced a list of 374 hospitals across the country that have earned a five-star rating for cleanliness, including Riverwood Healthcare Center in Aitkin, Minn. This report is based on patient satisfaction surveys issued and compiled by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS), a […]

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a dedicated time for people, organizations, and communities to join their voices to broadcast the message that mental health matters. This year’s theme, “Turn Awareness into Action”, celebrates the progress we’ve made in recognizing the importance of mental health – and challenges us to turn understanding into meaningful steps […]

May is National Stroke Awareness Month, a crucial time to learn about the warning signs of stroke and the importance of acting quickly. Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death and a leading cause of serious disability in the United States. Yet, with greater awareness and prompt medical attention, many strokes can be effectively […]

Riverwood Healthcare Center and the Developmental Achievement Center (DAC) of Aitkin County closed on the sale of the log building property at 601 Bunker Hill Drive in Aitkin on April 18. In 2008, Riverwood began renting the log building from Aitkin County Growth (now Growth Innovations) to house a sleep center and several outpatient services. […]

Riverwood Healthcare Center is pleased to announce that Pharmacist Jake Heggem is the new manager of its retail pharmacy in McGregor. Heggem has worked in pharmacy roles since 2011 when he began working as a pharmacy technician while attending college. He then worked as a pharmacy intern while pursuing his pharmacy degree and most recently […]

Nancy B. is deeply thankful to Riverwood Healthcare Center for providing the expert medical care that helped restore her mobility and independence. Several years after retiring from a fulfilling career teaching optometric technology at St. Cloud Technical College and serving as a paraoptometric education coordinator for the American Optometric Association, Nancy began experiencing severe hip […]

Riverwood Healthcare Center is making its voice heard at both the state and national levels as leaders advocate for the future of rural health care. U.S. Senator Tina Smith recently visited Riverwood to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing rural hospitals. During her visit, she met with leadership and clinical staff […]

We want to take a moment to recognize the critical role that our laboratory plays in patient care every single day. At Riverwood, our lab is more than a behind-the-scenes operation. It’s a vital part of how we deliver timely, accurate diagnoses and guide treatment decisions for our patients. Recently, our laboratory took a major […]

Erin Carey, PA-C, is already making a difference in the lives of our patients. Here’s what Mary Vinje, patient had to say after a recent visit: “I found Erin Carey to be thorough, efficient and very personable. Even with something as simple as a sinus infection, she took the time to educate me about the […]

  Riverwood Healthcare Center is proud to announce that Ryan Henry, LPN, a nurse in the Aitkin Primary Care Clinic, has been selected as the latest recipient of the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. Henry has been with Riverwood for nearly 16 years, dedicating his entire nursing career to serving patients in the Aitkin community. […]