Father Peter Winimi Akudugu arrived on the Iron Range back in July. He’s from Ghana, and is really enjoying the people of the Northland, serving at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Virginia.

In July, Essentia Health moved into their new St. Mary’s Medical Center.

Father Peter noticed that, and wondered if he could get some supplies or equipment from the old hospital.

He’s from Ghana, and his village has a new clinic. The government and the church work together to make sure people living in rural areas can still get quality health care.

Through a contact at St. Scholastica, he was able to email the CEO of Essentia, Dr. David Herman, asking about the legacy hospital. And he got the green light!

“I was really happy he responded, and he did right away. He said well a lot of stuff is already gone, but you can still come and see what we have left,” Father Peter said.

So he and other church members came down to the old hospital and walked through to see what was available.

They have a trailer full of supplies, including blankets, PPE, test tubes, syringes, and more.

Father Peter hopes to get it over to Ghana by the end of June. He’s still working on the logistics.

Essentia leaders are proud to help in his way.

“As we prepare to demolish the legacy St. Mary’s, we want to be good stewards of our resources,” explained Luke Eastep, Vision Northland Advisor at Essentia. “We’ve been able to donate supplies and medical equipment.”