Aspirus to close St. Luke’s home health services in Duluth area

Patients in Carlton, Lake and St. Louis counties who relied on Aspirus St. Luke’s Home Health Services will no longer be able to start care with the Duluth agency, after Aspirus said it would sunset the program and stop accepting new patients. Current patients will continue receiving care for now, but the closure raises immediate questions for families trying to keep recovery, nursing and therapy support close to home.

The shutdown affects 29 employees tied to the service. Aspirus said it is working directly with each of them to explore role options and growth opportunities elsewhere in the health system. The company also said hospice services are not affected, preserving one part of the end-of-life care continuum even as the home health branch is wound down.

The Duluth agency’s service footprint was broad. According to the Minnesota Home Care Association listing for Aspirus St Luke’s at Home, it served Carlton, Lake and St. Louis counties and offered skilled nursing, home health aide visits, IV therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, social work, wound care, palliative care and hospice. That mix matters because home health is often the bridge between a hospital discharge and a full return to independence, especially for older adults and people managing chronic conditions.

Aspirus said in its May 19 notice that it made the “thoughtful decision” to sunset the service as it seeks long-term sustainability and focuses resources on other community health needs. The company framed the move as part of a larger shift in health care delivery, saying systems must be careful stewards of limited resources. Even so, the practical effect is plain across the Northland: fewer in-home options, more pressure on remaining providers and a harder transition for patients who expected care from a Duluth-based team.

For residents trying to find the next available agency, the Minnesota Department of Health says its Health Care Facility and Provider Database can be used to search licensed home care providers, and it is updated daily. St. Louis County Public Health and Human Services says it helps people age 65 and older, or people with disabilities, find services that support independence at home, including MnCHOICES assessments for those who need help determining what care they qualify for.

The closure also lands against a broader backdrop of scrutiny around the Aspirus and St. Luke’s merger. On March 1, 2024, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced a five-year oversight agreement tied to the deal, which included commitments to invest at least $300 million in St. Luke’s Duluth within eight years and maintain St. Luke’s as a full-service general acute care hospital and regional tertiary referral center. The home health shutdown does not touch the hospital itself, but it does show how quickly care can narrow at the edges, even as the Northland’s older adult population keeps growing and demand for home-based services rises with it.