Cook Hospital & Care Center

Providing care for northern Minnesota

1953

Serving the community

24/7

Emergency Department

28

Beds in the Care Center

100%

Non-profit

Who We Are

Cook Hospital has been the medical home for northeastern Minnesota’s small communities for more than seventy years. As a designated Critical Access hospital, we deliver emergency, inpatient, and outpatient care — close to home.

Right next door — and connected by an interior hallway — sits our Cook Care Center, a 28-bed skilled nursing community. Because the two share a campus, residents have rapid, seamless access to hospital services without ever leaving the building they call home.

One Campus. Two Homes for Care.

A Hospital and an attached Care Center under one roof.

COOK HOSPITAL

A Critical Access hospital, dedicated to the community.

Emergency care, inpatient and outpatient services, imaging, laboratory, rehabilitation, and visiting specialists—without the drive south. Same building, same team, same neighbors. 

Explore our services >
A photo of the Cook Care Center entrance in Cook, Minnesota
COOK CARE CENTER

28 private rooms. A hospital next door.

Our skilled nursing facility offers a warm, home-like environment with quick access to hospital care when residents need it.

Explore our services >

Our Vision

The be the health provider of first choice by providing a diversity of quality, patient-centered care for all people in the region.

I

Integrity

We are honest, ethical, and do the right thing.

C

Compassion

We provide the highest quality primary care, treating patients, residents, and family members with sensitivity and compassion.

A

Accountability

We value accountability and expect each employee to conduct themselves with a sense of integrity, responsibility, and ownership.

R

Respect

We treat all of our patients, residents, visitors, and fellow caregivers with dignity and respect.

E

Excellence

We deliver the best outcomes and highest quality service through the dedicated effort of every team member.

Part of a broader network of rural healthcare

We learn from — and contribute to — the organizations advocating for rural health care and skilled nursing care. 

Minnesota Hospital Association

LeadingAge Minnesota

American Hospital Association

National Rural Health Association

National Rural Health Resource Center

Cook Care Center Mission Statement:

“Providing a safe and home-like living environment”
through values of…

  • Dignity
  • Compassion to our residents
  • Promoting independence
  • Fostering support of families and relationships
  • Nurturing the human spirit
  • Quality care

About Amy Kemp, OTR/L, Occupation Therapy Supervisor

Amy graduated from St. Scholastica in 2017 with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology.  She then went on to graduate again from St. Scholastica in 2020 with her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy degree.  After graduation, she began working at the Cook Hospital and has been here for 4 years.

She enjoys having the opportunity that rural health provides to work with individuals across the lifespan.  Since starting at the Cook Hospital, Amy has become a Certified Lymphedema Therapist (CLT) and has been certified in LSVT-BIG for Parkinson’s Disease and other populations.  

In her free time, Amy enjoys the outdoors, being at the lake, reading, and spending time with her family. She is looking forward to continuing her career here at the Cook Hospital and welcomes all new patients.

 

About Carrie Rahikainen, PTA/L

Carrie is a 1992 graduate of the College of St. Scholastica where she earned her Bachelor’s  degree in Natural Science and minor in Psychology.  She continued her education at Lake Superior College where she earned her A.A.S. degree as a Physical Therapist Assistant in 1996. 

For the first four years after obtaining her degrees, Carrie and her husband lived and worked in Wausau, WI.  While in Wausau, she worked in various units specializing in long-term care, out-patient Orthopedics, in-patient and out-patient Psychology, specialized Dementia and Alzheimer’s units, and an Early Intervention/Pediatric Program. 

They then returned to the Iron Range, where both she and her husband were born and raised.  When returning to the area, Carrie was employed by St. Louis County Schools/Northland Special Education Cooperative.  For six years, she provided physical therapy services in various independent school districts, working with children from birth through the age of 21.

In February, 2006 she began her employment at the Cook Hospital and Rehabilitation and is a full-time employee.  Since starting her position at the Cook Hospital, she has been expanding her Physical Therapy skills by attending a variety of courses focusing on such things as Strain-Counter-strain Technique for pain management, Vestibular Rehabilitation, Therapeutic Exercise for the Geriatric Spine,  Manual treatment of the Lumbar Spine, and Kinesio-taping.

Carrie lives in Britt with her husband and three children, ages nine, ten, and twelve.  In her free time, she enjoys cross country skiing, reading, and supporting her children with their extra-curricular activities such as volleyball, basketball, baseball and Scouting.  As a family, they enjoy spending time on their pontoon boat, camping, hunting, and various types of fishing.

 

About Brian McCarthy, PT

Brian began working in Physical Therapy in 1984 as an enlisted member of the U.S. Air Force. After an honorable discharge in 1988 returned to Duluth, MN where he attended ST. Scholastica and eventually PT school at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse where he graduated in 1993 with honors.

He then began work as a PT at St. Mary’s “Center Therapy” in Duluth in Occupational Medicine, Chronic Pain Management, Orthopedic-Spine, and the Adult Neuro-Rehab departments. In 1996, Brian began working as a contract therapist traveling within the Northern Midwest. During this time he worked in home care, private practice, and out-patient orthopedic settings. His last assignment in 1998 lead him to Cook where he continues to work as the Director of Rehabilitation and physical therapist.

Brian’s career goals are to be well-rounded in all areas of physical therapy, but is especially interested in manual therapy techniques related to orthopedics conditions and wound care interventions. Brian is an active member of the American Physical Therapy Association, National Ski Patrol, and hospitals wound care team. Brian has attended, and continues to attend, yearly continuing education in the field of Physical Therapy and wound care to bring the most current and up-to-date treatment methodologies to the patients he treats.

About Stephanie Elling, PT, DPT, CIMT

Stephanie graduated from The College of St. Scholastica in 2013 with a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Physiology and again in 2016 with a Doctorate degree in Physical Therapy.

After graduation she worked at a private practice in Cloquet, MN in outpatient orthopedics for over two years. Here she gained experience in post-surgical care, manual therapy, return to sport training, and aquatic rehab. Then she transitioned into travel therapy and completed contracts across Minnesota, Wisconsin and Florida in skilled nursing, memory care, pediatrics, acute care at critical access hospitals, and multiple outpatient clinics treating a wide range of orthopedic and neurological conditions.

Stephanie has additional training in TMJ, headaches, sports rehab, dementia care, pediatrics, kinesiotape and manual therapy techniques. Stephanie has a passion for rural healthcare and enjoys working with patients of all ages and diagnoses.

She is excited to join the rehabilitation team at Cook Hospital and looks forward to getting to serve to Cook community and surrounding areas.