PBS North highlights St. Scholastica’s healthcare legacy

The College of St. Scholastica was recently featured on PBS North’s In Business with Almanac North as part of a broader conversation on financial security and healthcare access in Minnesota. Hosted by Ken Buehler, the episode connected today’s policy debates to Duluth’s 19th-century response to similar challenges. Central to the segment was the story of Sister Amata Mackett, known affectionately as “Sister Lumberjack,” whose work helped lay the foundation for healthcare access in the region.

In the late 1800s, as Duluth’s lumber and iron ore industries expanded, workplace injuries were common, and medical care was often unaffordable. Guided by the Benedictine principle of prioritizing care for the sick, the Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery sought a solution. As a result, Sister Amata traveled throughout northern Minnesota selling low-cost “lumberjack tickets,” which guaranteed workers a year of healthcare at a Benedictine hospital if needed. The program, which is considered an early form of health insurance, was later expanded to miners on the Iron Range.

St. Scholastica librarian and archivist Heidi Johnson ’08 contributed historical context during the program, emphasizing how Sister Amata’s work reflects the enduring Benedictine values: “This is an example of how innovative the Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery have always been to see a need and rise to face its challenge. It is also inspirational to consider how courageous Sister Amata was to fulfill this calling and how we are all called to be led by the Benedictine values, including those of stewardship and care of the sick.”

The full conversation and historical discussion can be viewed on PBS North’s YouTube channel.