Sanford Health plans to join with Minnesota health system

Sanford Health has expanded significantly in recent years, and now the health system is looking to move into a new area.

On Friday, Sanford Health and North Memorial Health in Minnesota announced plans to come together and form a new health system. North Memorial operates two hospitals in the Twin Cities area.

With the move, North Memorial will anchor a new care delivery region for Sanford Health in the Twin Cities. Sanford officials say it is not an acquisition, as the two non-profit systems are coming together but a purchase isn’t taking place.

However, Sanford Health is making a major financial commitment in the Twin Cities. Sanford has pledged to invest $600 million in North Memorial’s facilities. Based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Sanford Health operates 58 hospitals across the upper Midwest.

Regulators must still sign off on the transaction, but officials say they hope to finalize the partnership by the end of the year.

Sanford Health serves some communities in Minnesota, serving nearly 300,000 patients and employing nearly 10,000 people in the state. But the partnership brings the health system into the Twin Cities area.

Bill Gassen, president and CEO of Sanford Health, said he is looking forward to expanding the system’s presence in Minnesota.

“By coming together as one nonprofit health care organization, with shared Midwest values and a deep commitment to the communities we serve, we will deliver more coordinated, regionally connected care – ensuring patients can access the right services, in the right place, at the right time,” Gassen said in a statement accompanying the announcement.

Trevor Sawallish, chief executive officer of North Memorial Health, also pointed to the cultural alignment of the organizations. Noting financial pressures, Sawallish says joining with Sanford offers a path to a sustainable future.

“We’ve been open about the financial and regulatory pressures and the rising costs that make it harder to protect access to care on our own,” Sawallish said in a statement.

“Through a deliberate national search, Sanford stood out as a partner who understands our true value and shares our belief that better – not just bigger – is what matters,” Sawallish said. “This partnership is about staying strong for the long term – so our patients can keep getting the care they need close to home and our teams have the support they deserve.”

With the deal, Sanford Health is committing to making improvements to North Memorial’s Robbinsdale Hospital, a safety-net hospital. Sanford says it will modernize the hospital and maintain Level 1 trauma and emergency services at the hospital.

Sanford Health also pledges to double the size of North Memorial’s Maple Grove Hospital, adding inpatient and surgical capacity. The plans also call for expanding primary and specialty care options at the campus.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he would examine the planned partnership. The attorney general’s office has invited public comment on the deal. While Ellison can’t approve or reject hospital mergers or partnerships, the attorney general said in release that the office can sue to block transactions that aren’t in the public interest.

“As we have done and are currently doing with other healthcare transactions, we are conducting a thorough review of this potential acquisition to ensure it complies with the law and is in the public interest,” Ellison said in a statement. “Proposed health care consolidation requires careful examination. As long as I am Attorney General, I will use the full range of regulatory tools to protect Minnesotans’ access to quality, affordable healthcare.”

If the transaction is completed, Sawallish would continue to lead North Memorial Health, which would become the Twin Cities region of Sanford Health. A local board of directors would also govern the organization.

Gassen said Sanford will partner with local leaders to get an understanding of community needs in the Twin Cities.

Sanford has grown considerably in recent years. The health system completed the acquisition of the Marshfield Clinic Health System in January 2025. Last fall, Sanford completed the acquisition of Prairie Lakes Healthcare System, a hospital based in Watertown, South Dakota.

Sanford operates hospitals and clinics in South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan.