Sanford Health gets $300M gift for new hospital

With yet another nine-figure gift from its biggest benefactor, Sanford Health has announced plans for a new hospital in Rapid City, South Dakota.

The health system said Monday that Denny Sanford has provided a $300 million gift for the new medical campus. The system said the campus would offer a host of specialty care options for patients.

The owner and chairman of United National Corp., Sanford has contributed nearly $2 billion to the system since 2004.

Bill Gassen, president and CEO of Sanford Health, hailed Sanford’s “extraordinary generosity and vision.”

“His philanthropic gifts have transformed health care across the region, touched the lives of millions and will continue to benefit the communities we serve for generations to come,” Gassen said in a statement. “We are honored to carry forward his remarkable legacy in the Black Hills.”

The health system said the planned Sanford Black Hills Medical Center would sprawl over 480,000 square feet, and it’ll be adjacent to its Black Hills Orthopedic and Spine Center.

Construction of the medical center is scheduled to begin in 2027, and the system hopes the work will be finished by 2030.

The new medical center will include a hospital with 168 inpatient beds, with the ability to add another 168 beds. It’ll include an emergency department, surgical suites, ICU, cancer services, and children’s inpatient and outpatient services.

Sanford Health said the new campus would also have “comprehensive women’s health,” including a labor and delivery unit.

Lew Papendick, MD, board chair of the Sanford Black Hills Surgical Hospital, said the new campus will boost recruiting of top clinicians.

“The new Sanford Black Hills Medical Center campus will attract even more exceptional physicians in a wide variety of specialties to the region and bring advanced care closer to home for our community,” Papendick said in a statement.

Starting next year, Sanford Health said it would invest $10 million over the next 10 years in partnerships with schools and colleges to help expand the healthcare workforce in the Black Hills region.

After Denny Sanford gave a 2007 donation of $400 million to the system then known as Sioux Valley Hospitals & Health System, the organization’s leaders renamed the system Sanford Health.

He also provided $650 million to help Sanford Health expand virtual care and graduate medical education programs.

It’s been an eventful year for Sanford Health, which operates 56 hospitals across the Midwest.

Based in Sioux Falls, the system completed the acquisition of the Marshfield Clinic Health System, based in Wisconsin. With that deal, Sanford now commands $11 billion in revenue.

Sanford also completed the acquisition of Prairie Lakes Healthcare System, based in Watertown, South Dakota. Prairie Lakes operates a hospital with 81 beds and clinics and outpatient facilities in South Dakota and western Minnesota.

In addition, Sanford Health has also moved to acquire Lewis Drug, a family-owned chain of 60 pharmacies in South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota. Sanford said it hopes to complete that transaction in the fall.