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John Enger

Sanford Health plans to merge with Utah-based healthcare system

A patient room sits empty with a large air pump through the window.
A patient room Sanford Medical Center in Bemidji has been converted into a negative air pressure room to potentially treat patients with COVID-19. Sanford Health and the Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare system on Monday announced plans to merge. 
Courtesy of Sanford Health

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Sanford Health and the Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare system on Monday announced plans to merge. 

Sanford Health has headquarters in Sioux Falls, S.D. and hundreds of clinics and other facilities throughout the Dakotas and Minnesota.

Each organization is large on it’s own. Together, they’ll be massive — operating 70 hospitals, almost 450 clinics, 350 nursing homes, and employing nearly 100,000 people across seven states. 

The merger is designed to make healthcare more affordable for patients, according to Intermountain CEO Dr. Marc Harrison.

He also said that the merger of the two giants would not be an end to the growth of the combined operation. 

“I believe other healthcare institutions will want to be part of this team,” he said. 

Not much will immediately change for patients in either system. There are no plans to change the name of either organization or shift medical staff to different institutions.

Intermountain Healthcare has a new digital health service which Sanford will likely adopt. And Sanford has a long history providing healthcare to rural areas, which Intermountain hopes to utilize. 

Both healthcare systems have deep, but different, religious roots. Sanford was started by Lutherans, Intermountain by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church. There is some worry those traditions will clash. Sanford Health CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft says their religious roots share a common goal of healing.

“I’m proud of the heritage of the Church of Latter-Day Saints,” he said. “I’m proud of it, and I’m a Lutheran. And I lead an organization that has its roots in Lutheranism, out on the prairie. We’re all trying to help people.”

The organization will have headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, and corporate offices in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.