Most cases are done at the surgery center next door to the clinic, but can also be done at St. Mary’s, which is a brand-new hospital opened in July 2023. Essentia also has ownership of an additional ambulatory surgery center that will be utilized as the practice continues to grow. They use block scheduling for the OR. If you are trained in and interested in robotics, there is a daVinci Xi robot available to use. “Essentia has great OR facilities, equipment and support.”- Dr. Rhodes
Call: Weekday call is 1:3 taken 1 week at a time. Call is very easy during the week and the physicians are not called often. Weekend call is shared with 2 other ENTs in the community and is 1:5. There is no facial trauma call, OMS and plastic surgeons manage facial trauma. On weekend call, physicians go into the hospital 1-2 times at most.
There is not much competition in Duluth. Essentia has the market share of ENT in the area. Their main competitor, St. Luke’s has 2 ENTs in their group, Dr. Andrew Davis and Dr. Todd Freeman There are a few solo practice ENTs but they do not do any high acuity cases and often refer their patients to Essentia.