Sanford Health

Jon Oh of Avera speaks to a guest after a panel at the 2023 South Dakota Biotech Summit in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Biotech panel: Patient needs must come first in adoption of artificial intelligence, advanced tech

BY: - October 12, 2023

SIOUX FALLS – Virtual visits have saved Sanford Health patients more than 25 million miles of travel by allowing them to skip the trip to a clinic, the company’s chief digital officer said on Thursday. But electronic medical records have made for less-efficient health care operations – at Sanford and across the health care industry, […]

COMMENTARY
Former Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton testifies at a Senate Health and Human Services Committee hearing on March 7, 2023. Fairview CEO James Hereford (left) and Sanford CEO Bill Gassen (second from left), also testified. (Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer)

Death of Fairview-Sanford merger was right outcome for patients and communities

BY: - August 31, 2023

Editor’s note: The author is not the same person as Minnesota Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington.  Late last month, the Minnesota-based hospital system Fairview Health Services announced that it was pulling the plug on a proposed merger with South Dakota-based Sanford Health. This marked the second time these two health care systems had failed to consummate […]

University of Minnesota Medical Center. (Courtesy photo)

Bill that could doom Fairview-Sanford merger heads to Walz’s desk; Fairview, Sanford undeterred

BY: - May 22, 2023

The Minnesota Legislature on Sunday passed a bill that bans anti-competitive health care mergers, which could kill the proposed marriage of Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services and Sioux Falls-based Sanford Health. The bill also prohibits out-of-state entities from owning in whole or part University of Minnesota health care entities, as would be the case were Sanford […]

University of Minnesota Medical Center. (Courtesy photo)

Legislation could doom Sanford-Fairview deal with ban on anti-competitive health care mergers

BY: - April 5, 2023

Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota are weighing a ban on anti-competitive health care mergers that could spell the end for the proposed merger between Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services and Sioux Falls-based Sanford Health. The deal has sparked fierce resistance from Democratic lawmakers, rural residents and health care unions, who say it would create a health care […]

Former Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton testifies at a Senate Health and Human Services Committee hearing on March 7, 2023. Fairview CEO James Hereford (left) and Sanford CEO Bill Gassen (second from left), also testified. (Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer)

Former Minnesota governors: Sanford should not control U of M hospital

BY: - March 8, 2023

Two former Minnesota governors on Tuesday expressed concerns to lawmakers about a potential merger between two already large health care systems — Fairview Health Services and Sanford Health. Former Govs. Tim Pawlenty, the last Minnesota Republican to win statewide office, and his DFL successor Mark Dayton, came together to urge lawmakers to prioritize Minnesotans’ interests […]

Medical students and community members gather outside of a University of Minnesota building to protest a potential merger between Sanford and Fairview. (Grace Deng/Minnesota Reformer)

Medical students, community protest potential merger between Sanford and Fairview

BY: - February 7, 2023

MINNEAPOLIS — Medical students, health care workers and community members gathered outside a University of Minnesota building on Friday, braving a wind chill of minus 14 degrees to rally against a planned merger between Sanford Health and Fairview Health Services. “The values of Fairview and Sanford are very different from the University of Minnesota,” said […]

Fairview Health CEO James Hereford, left, and Sanford Health CEO Bill Gassen testified about the proposed Sanford-Fairview merger at the State Office Building in St. Paul on Jan. 30, 2023. (Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer)

Minnesota lawmaker seeks authority over mergers in response to Sanford-Fairview plan

BY: - January 31, 2023

Minnesota House Democrats on Monday warned a merger between Fairview Health Services and Sanford Health could increase health care costs or lead to hospital and clinic closures. In November, Fairview and Sanford announced their intention to merge into one health care system run by Sanford’s current CEO Bill Gassen. The target date to complete the […]

(Illustration by Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Gender Identity Summit closed to media, public

BY: - January 11, 2023

The third annual Gender Identity Summit in Sioux Falls will be closed to the media and the public, organizers said Wednesday. The summit is set to begin Friday morning. The agenda includes sessions on understanding gender identity, implicit bias, gender affirming care and creating a gender inclusive practice. Paul Heinert of Sanford Health said Wednesday […]