Sanford Health, North Memorial Health Finalize Partnership To Preserve Robbinsdale Hospital

Robbinsdale-based North Memorial Health and Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health announced Tuesday that the two nonprofit health systems have finalized their merger and are now operating as one nonprofit under the Sanford Health name.

The announcement follows an oversight agreement approved last week by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, the last regulatory hurdle to the deal.

The combined entity will preserve North Memorial Health – Robbinsdale Hospital as a Level I trauma center, one of only a few in the state, for at least 10 years. The agreement also provides $100 million to modernize Robbinsdale Hospital and offers another $500 million to expand Maple Grove Hospital, which has become Minnesota’s largest birth center. The Maple Grove expansion is set to begin in 2027.

North Memorial Health had sought a merger to ensure its viability and address financial pressures it attributed to uncompensated care. Merger talks with Sanford Health intensified after attempts to secure funding at the last state legislative session were unsuccessful.

 “Today marks the beginning of our next chapter,” said North Memorial Health CEO Trevor Sawallish in a press statement. “Our focus is on turning commitments into action — protecting the care our communities rely on, supporting the people who deliver it every day and making meaningful investments that will allow us to serve Minnesotans for generations to come.”

According to the press statement, the partnership creates a “first-of-its-kind, fully integrated health system in Minnesota” that brings together two nonprofits with a “shared commitment to locally driven care and a significant presence across rural and urban communities.”

Sanford Health, the largest rural health system in the U.S, had sought a partner, noting financial pressures to serve its rural patient base.

“Health care is changing rapidly and meeting the needs of Minnesota’s communities will require us to think differently about how we deliver care and work together,” said Bill Gassen, president and chief executive officer of Sanford Health, in a written statement.
  
Added Gassen, “By bringing our clinicians together and sharing expertise, we’ll advance new models of care that neither organization could achieve alone.” 

Sanford Health CEO Bill Gassen (left) and North Memorial Health CEO Trevor Sawallish/photo furnished by Sanford Health

Sanford Health said the merger allows it to create a more resilient emergency response network, mentioning North Memorial Health’s nationally recognized expertise in trauma and emergency ground and air medical transportation.

In addition to preserving core services at Robbinsdale Hospital, the approved deal also maintains existing collective-bargaining agreements and retains North Memorial Health employees in good standing and who meet Sanford’s standard hiring criteria. The combined organization has 61,000 employees, with more than 6,500 from North Memorial Health.

Sawallish is expected to remain CEO of Sanford Health’s operations in the Twin Cities, while Gassen will serve as president and CEO of the combined organization.

Also See: What a Sanford Health-North Memorial Merger Could Mean for Patients, Robbinsdale Community

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