SIOUX FALLS, S.D. and MARSHFIELD, WIS. — Sanford Health, the largest rural health system in the U.S., headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Marshfield Clinic Health System, a physician-led health system headquartered in Marshfield, Wisconsin, serving rural Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, have signed an affiliation agreement to combine their complementary assets and capabilities and create an integrated health system dedicated to advancing world-class care in the rural Midwest.
Both organizations, which share a rich history of delivering exceptional rural health care to the patients and communities they collectively serve, announced in July they had signed a letter of intent to combine.
“This significant milestone means we are one step closer to bringing together our nonprofit, community-focused health care organizations,” said Bill Gassen, president and CEO of Sanford Health. “We are excited to strengthen access to cutting-edge care and invest in new initiatives to serve the needs of patients throughout the rural Midwest, now and in the years ahead.”
“In Sanford Health we found a partner that closely aligns with our culture, mission, and values, and we look forward to continuing on this journey as the premier rural health system in the United States,” said Brian Hoerneman, M.D., interim CEO of Marshfield Clinic Health System. “Our shared commitment to excellence, quality and safety, and delivering an exceptional patient experience for the rural communities we serve makes this partnership a win for our patients and our dedicated teams that carry out our mission daily.”
The combined nonprofit system will improve patient outcomes through new innovative care delivery models, use each organization’s respective health plan to serve more than 425,000 members, harness the full promise of technology including virtual care, expand the breadth and depth of research capabilities and strengthen the ability to train, educate and support future clinicians to advance the health of communities for generations to come.
The combination is expected to close by the end of the year, subject to regulatory processes and closing conditions. Sanford Health and Marshfield Clinic Health System remain two separate, independent organizations until the closing.
