Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health and Marshfield (Wis.) Clinic Health System have signed an affiliation to combine.
Here are five things to know:
1. The parties signed a nonbinding agreement in early July to merge into a 56-hospital system, bringing together around 56,000 employees, 4,300 providers, specialty pharmacies, research institutions, and two health plans — Sanford Health Plan and Security Health Plan — which will serve more than 425,000 members.
2. Sanford Health and Marshfield Clinic aim to improve patient care outcomes, harness technologies like virtual care, expand research capabilities, and strengthen education, training and support for future clinicians, according to an Oct. 23 news release shared with Becker's.
3. "This significant milestone means we are one step closer to bringing together our nonprofit, community-focused health care organizations," Bill Gassen, president and CEO of Sanford Health, said in the release.
Brian Hoerneman, MD, interim CEO of Marshfield Clinic Health System also shared that the system had found "a partner that closely aligns with our culture, mission, and values" in Sanford.
4. The integration is expected to close by the end of 2024, with the parties remaining separate, independent organizations ahead of closing.
5. In January, Duluth, Minn.-based Essentia Health and Marshfield Clinic ended plans to combine into a 25-hospital regional health system. In July 2023, Sanford Health and Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services also scrapped plans to form a 50-hospital system.