MeritCare, a health system operating in North Dakota and Minnesota, plans to merge with Sanford Health, a South Dakota health system, according to a report by the Sioux City Journal.
Roger Gilbertson, MeritCare's CEO, said his system is coming off its first year of losses in a century and the merger would give it access to about $700 million in combined cash reserves.
MeritCare, based in Fargo, N.D., has 27 regional clinics and two hospitals, including the largest in North Dakota, with 583 beds at two locations.
Sanford Health, based in Sioux Falls, S.D., has 128 clinics and 23 hospitals, including a 500-bed hospital in Sioux Falls.
Read the Sioux City Journal's report on the North and South Dakota health systems merger.