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Sanford Health

Company type	Non-Profit, Private Corporation
Industry	Health care
Founded	Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 1894; 131 years ago (1894)
Headquarters	Sioux Falls  , United States
Number of locations	556[1]
Area served	Montana Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, California, Mexico, Ghana, Costa Rica, China, Canada and Germany[2]
Key people	Bill Gassen (Pres. & CEO)[3] Matt Hocks (COO)[3] JoAnn Kunkel (CFO)[3] Jennifer Grennan (CLO)[3]
Number of employees	47,000+ (2021)[1]
Website	www.sanfordhealth.org
Footnotes / references Key People[4]

Sanford Health is a nonprofit, integrated health care delivery system headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with additional offices in Fargo and Bismarck, North Dakota, and Bemidji, Minnesota. Sanford manages multiple ground ambulance services across North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota with both fixed wing and rotorcraft air ambulances in Bemidji, Bismarck, Dickinson, Fargo or Sioux Falls^[5]

Sanford Health has its roots in the Dakotas at the beginning of the 20th century, with its original location the Sioux Falls Hospital opening in Sioux Falls in 1894 and future merger partner St. Luke's Hospital opening in Fargo in 1908. Over the next 80 years, both hospitals grew in size and influence, becoming integrated hospital-clinic systems known as Sioux Valley Health System and MeritCare Health System. The Sioux Valley Health System was renamed Sanford Health in 2007 after T. Denny Sanford's $400 million gift to the organization.^[6][7] On November 2, 2009, Sanford took over MeritCare.^[8][9][10] Additional mergers with North Country Regional Health in Bemidji, Minnesota,^[11] and Medcenter One Health Systems in Bismarck, North Dakota followed in 2011 and 2012.^[12]

Originally founded in 1905 as the Lutheran Hospital Association, in February 1908 the association opened the St Lukes Hospital along with the St. Luke's School of Nursing, led by Sister Osa Oppedahl of the Deaconesses from the Norwegian Lutheran Church of Chicago.^[13]

In 1909, the hospital had its first expansion planned, which was completed in 1918 doubling the size of St. Lukes Hospital.

In April 1919, the hospitals board approved the opening of a small specialty clinic where doctors worked in a team setting in a similar fashion to the Mayo Clinic. In 1921, the Fargo Clinic opened. In 1922, St Lukes Hospital achieved accreddidation from The American College of Surgeons and in 1925 the hospital established its emergency room.

In 1949, the Lutheran Hospital Association was renamed the St. Lukes Hospital Association.

In 1985, St. Lukes hospital, its subsidiaries, and the clinic all add MeritCare to their names. and would fully merge their entities together in 1993 becoming the Meritcare Health System that would merge with Sanford^[14]

Medcenter One Health Systems was a nonprofit American health care provider headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota with clinic locations in Jamestown, Bismarck,Dickinson and Minot.Medcenter One was founded as the Quain & Ramstad or Q&R Clinic by Eric P. Quain and Dr. Niles O. Ramstad The Q&R Clinic changed names to the Bismarck Evangelical Hospital in 1907 and then to Bismarck Hospital in 1955, finally becoming Medcenter One in 1984.^[15] Medcenter One offered nine clinics, three long-term care facilities, and multiple hospital affiliations, with its primary campus designated as a Level II trauma center. It was bought and merged into Sanford Health in 2012.^[12][16][17]

In 2013, Sanford Health founded Profile by Sanford, focused on a science-based approach to weight loss and management with an emphasis on health coaching; a line of meal-replacement shakes, bars and foods. In the following decade, it grew to 150 locations nationwide with 70 franchisee owners. In January 2022, Sanford reported the sale of Profile to Ten Oaks a North Carolina–based family office investment firm.^[18]

In 2017, talks began to form an affiliation agreement between Sanford and the Good Samaritan Society. After discussions and the formation of synergy teams that strategized how the organizations could combine, final votes were taken by both parties to the agreement. On April 26, 2018, the Society Board of Directors voted that the Society Membership approve the affiliation agreement. On June 21, the Sanford Board of Trustees voted to approve the affiliation agreement. On June 26, the Society Membership voted to approve the affiliation agreement. A press conference was held later that day, during which Sanford Health President and CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft and Society President and CEO David Horazdovsky signed the affiliation agreement. It was announced that the affiliation would go into regulatory review with an expected approval date of January 1, 2019. If approved, The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society would change its name to The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society of Sanford Health. Sanford Health would retain its name. The affiliation agreement met the regulatory review requirements earlier than expected, with an announcement on August 17, 2018. The merger was completed on January 1, 2019.^[19]

In October 2020, Intermountain Healthcare and Sanford Health signed an intent to merge.^[20] The merger would make Sanford Health a subsidiary of Intermountain Healthcare with the resulting system consisting of 70 hospitals with 89,000 employees.^[21] In early December, the merger was postponed indefinitely after Bill Gassen abruptly replaced Sanford Health CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft after he made anti-mask statements.^[22][23]

In November 2020, Krabbenhoft said he would not wear a face mask despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as he claimed he already had the disease.^[24] His statement drew criticism and was seen by many as a slap in the face to frontline healthcare workers. Krabbenhoft also said the pandemic was not a crisis during which South Dakota's hospitalizations related to the disease were at all-time highs. On November 24, 2020, the board announced that Krabbenhoft would leave the organization to be replaced by Bill Gassen.^[25]

In November 2022, Fairview Health and Sanford Health announced their merger intentions.^[26] On July 27, 2023, the two healthcare systems announced they were abandoning merger discussions, citing lack of stakeholder support.^[27] This was the second failed merger attempt between Fairview and Sanford in 10 years.^[28]

In July 2024, Sanford Health announced that it had signed a nonbinding Memorandum of Understanding to combine its complementary assets and capabilities and create an integrated health system with nearly 56,000 employees, 56 hospitals, 4,300 providers, two fully integrated health plans, specialty pharmacies, and nationally recognized research institutions. The merger would have Marshfield become a Sanford Health subsidiary and change the facilities' names over time. In late October 2024, the two companies officially announced they were proceeding with the merger plans. ^[29][30][31]

In November 2024, Sanford Health announced that it was acquiring the Black Hills Orthopedic and Spine Center and Black Hills Surgical Hospital. Sanford Health would become the parent company of the Black Hills Orthopedic and Spine Center, the Black Hills Surgical Hospital, and the system's associated facilities in Rapid City, South Dakota, and Black Hills Surgery Center in Gillette, Wyoming, including urgent care locations, clinics, and an Ambulatory Surgery center.^[32][33]

The Sanford World Clinic initiative, which focuses primarily on international pediatric healthcare, began in 2007. Sanford Children's Clinic Duncan in Oklahoma became the first World Clinic that year.^[34]

As of 2017, Sanford operated clinics in China, Ghana, Germany, and Canada.^[35]

In January 2018, it was announced that Sanford would establish World Clinics in Costa Rica, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and Vietnam and expand its presence in China and Ghana.^[36]

Sanford Health has many emergency trauma centers across the Midwest along with the only two Level 1 Trauma Centers in the Dakotas.

In 2009, Sanford committed to building a new hospital in Fargo A groundbreaking followed in 2012. During Construction, it was the second-largest healthcare project in the nation as it was being built.^[37]

During the construction Sanford notably outsourced construction of patient restrooms to Ohio where they were then shipped to Fargo^[37] The Medical Center used roughly 6.5 football fields worth of pre-cast concrete with Gage Brothers Concrete in Sioux Falls being given the contract^[38][37]

In April 2018, Sanford Health's Fargo medical center was designated as a Level I Adult Trauma Center and a Level II Pediatric Trauma Center,^[39] the only Level I facility between Minneapolis, Seattle, Omaha, and Denver, and the only one in the Dakotas at the time.

Sanford Health planned for a secondary cardiac specialty facility to be built adjacent to the Sanford Medical Center Fargo; however, construction was halted due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.^[40]

In September 2023, Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls was designated as the only Level I Trauma Center, along with a Level II Pediatric Trauma Center in South Dakota.

Children's Hospitals

Sanford Children's Hospital is a freestanding acute care children's hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It is affiliated with the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine. The hospital features all private rooms that consist of 118 pediatric beds. It provides comprehensive pediatric specialties and subspecialties to infants, children, teens, and young adults aged 0–21 throughout the region.The hospital has a rooftop helipad and is an ACS verified level II pediatric trauma center, the only one in the state. It features a regional pediatric intensive-care unit and an American Academy of Pediatrics verified level IV neonatal intensive care unit.^[41]

Sanford Medical Center Fargo includes a level II pediatric trauma center as well as a level IV neonatal intensive care unit^[42]

The Sanford Fieldhouse in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, houses 85,000 square feet of indoor sports fields. There are also batting cages, indoor tracks, and other workout equipment.^[43] The Sanford Pentagon, also in Sioux Falls, houses nine basketball courts.^[44] Both these buildings were designed with sustainability and building efficiency in mind. Sanford Health worked with JLG Architects on them.

The Sanford Health Activity Center is one of Sanford Health's major sports facilities in the Fargo region. North Dakota State University opened the $50 million Sanford Health Athletic Complex in November 2016. An extension and renovation of the former Bison Sports Arena, construction began in April 2014 and lasted 2 ½ years.The SHAC (pronounced "shack") houses the NDSU athletic department offices,

equipment room, sports medicine, strength and conditioning, and the Bison Ticket Office. There is an academic center, student-athlete lounge, and a fueling station within the weight room that offers nutritious snacks for before and after workouts^[45]

Sanford also has the Sanford Health Athletic Park campus, housing the Fargo Scheels Arena, as well as a Family wellness center, which is from a partnership of Sanford Health and the Local YMCA

Sanford Health manages ground ambulances for the Fargo/West Fargo North Dakota, and Moorehead, Minnesota, regions, along with

1. Inwood, Iowa
2. Bagley, Minnesota
3. Canby, Minnesota
4. Luverne, Minnesota
5. Thief River Falls, Minnesota
6. Wheaton, Minnesota
7. Worthington, Minnesota
8. Canton, South Dakota^[46]

Sanford Ambulance Fargo is the only Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS) accredited ambulance service in the state of North Dakota; they have held this accolade since 2003^[47]

Sanford Ambulance Fargo responds to 32,000 calls for service annually^[48]

Sanford Ambulance Fargo, previously known as F-M Ambulance, began operations in 1959 with a single Cadillac hearse converted into a makeshift ambulance service in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Eventually, it grew to two ambulances on duty during the day, one overnight in Fargo, North Dakota, and one during the day and overnight in Moorhead, Minnesota. F-M ambulance ownership over the years has changed, going from a private owner to being owned partially by Meritcare, Dakota Hospital and Innovis Hospital, which was bought by Essentia Health. Over time, these hospitals were either bought out or sold their shares in the ambulance, leading to full ownership by MeritCare and, eventually, Sanford Health.

In 1982, F-M ambulance began training paramedics; this education program, now known as Sanford Health EMS Education (SHEMSE), has grown to be the largest EMS education department in the region, providing training for rescue squads, ambulance services, fire departments, nurses, and doctors.^[49]

Sanford Health's Air medical wing, Sanford Airmed, has bases in Fargo, Bismarck, and Dickinson, North Dakota, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Bemidji, Minnesota. Sanford Airmeds' fleet comprises the fixed-wing Beechcraft B200 Super King Air and the Airbus H145.

Before the MeritCare merger in 2009, the Sioux Falls teams were known as Sioux Valley Intensive Air, and the Fargo teams were known as MeritCare LifeFlight.^[50][51]

Sanford is a major sponsor of the Summit League, an NCAA Division I athletic conference whose membership now includes all of the four largest universities in the Dakotas plus one in Nebraska. At the company's invitation, the conference moved its headquarters in 2018 to a Sanford-owned office complex in Sioux Falls. Also in that year, regional media reported that Sanford-tied boosters of Augustana University, also located in Sioux Falls, were making a serious attempt to move the school's athletic program from NCAA Division II to the Summit League.^[52][53]

The company is a former name sponsor of the Sanford MMA team (now Kill Cliff FC).^[54] Sanford is still a sponsor of the FC with a clinic adjacent to the Deerfield Beach gym and the team would open up a small gym at Sanford's compound in South Dakota^[55]

In Sioux Falls, Sanford Health and First Premier Bank are named sponsors of the Denny Sanford Premier Arena—the building seats up to 12,000 for concerts. The four-level facility consists of the event level, main concourse level, suite level, and upper concourse level. There are 22 suites and 18 loge boxes.^[56]

In 2015, Sanford Health subsidiary Sanford Frontiers purchased the Sioux Falls–based Maverick Air Center.^[57]

43°32′06″N 96°44′36″W / 43.535000°N 96.743400°W / 43.535000; -96.743400