March 19, 2021

Denny Sanford has donated an additional $300 million to Sanford Health, with plans to gift at least that much again in the next year, the health system announced today.

Sanford’s latest gift brings his total philanthropy at Sanford Health to more than $1 billion and will be used to add graduate medical programs, bring new additions to the Sanford Sports Complex and set the stage for what the health system is calling “the hospital of the future” – a center for virtual care.

“We believe these three initiatives are going to enable Sanford Health to continue to transform rural health care delivery,” CEO Bill Gassen said.

“We believe these are going to be essential elements that allow us to be permanent here in the Midwest as a preeminent health care provider not only today but for generations to come.”

Building a physician pipeline

A significant portion of the initial $300 million donation will be directed toward eight new fully funded graduate medical education programs that will be developed and implemented in the next six to seven years. That will more than double the current offering of residencies and fellowships.

“We are going to be ensuring Sanford Health and Sanford Health’s patients that the physicians we have today and the specialists and subspecialists will continue into the future,” Gassen said. “This allows us to control our own destiny and ensure that pipeline of talented physicians.”

About one-third of those who complete a residency or fellowship at Sanford stay with the organization, he added.

And every year, there are up to 8 percent of applicants nationwide who aren’t able to secure a slot somewhere in the U.S. because there aren’t enough positions.

These are elongated programs, bringing people to town for up to six years, “and over that time, people set roots in communities; they start families,” Gassen continued. “They have spouses who gain employment, and when they’re done, they often stay where they train, so we want to make sure they set their roots here with Sanford.”

At full build-out, the programs could bring an additional 100 physicians annually across Sanford’s system.

The specialties that will be offered are still being discussed, along with time frames, he said. Within health care, few places are positioned to be able to make such an investment, he added.

“Very few organizations will have this many programs by the time it’s all said and done and stood up.”

Sports Complex plans

Work will begin at the Sanford Sports Complex this year on five baseball fields, five softball fields and eight outdoor soccer fields.

“What this will allow us is to become is a 365-day facility,” Gassen said. “So in addition to the amazing things we’re able to do with the Pentagon and Fieldhouse, this allows us to host tournaments for soccer, baseball and softball and really make it a year-round facility.”

The fields, which are planned to be turfed, will be made available as a community benefit to all sports clubs, he added. The fields will be developed west and north of Great Shots.

The vision for additional retail and another potential enclosed or championship-level facility still remains but depends on market conditions, Gassen said.

“We feel this is going to bring in that retail and additional commercial development out there,” he said. “There’s been that need for year-round activity, and we believe that’s what this will do. We believe it will bring an additional million people out there over the next five years.”

The plan is for the fields to be ready for play next spring, he said.

“The message we hope to send with this is that Sanford Health remains committed to investing into our communities. We want people to see and appreciate that and know we’ve invested historically and will continue to do that moving forward.”

‘The hospital of the future’

The other future development at the Sports Complex has little to do with athletics.

It’s the centerpiece of Denny Sanford’s latest donation, which will be funded mostly by his planned second gift later this year or early next.

The two-story, 60,000-square-foot virtual hospital “will be complete with full-scale digital infrastructure,” Gassen said.

It will be built at the Sports Complex and house the technical capability “to care for patients from Sioux Falls to Dickinson, N.D., to Luverne, Minn., and to Chamberlain and Ghana and anywhere the Good Samaritan Society is,” he continued.

“The patients who are being cared for won’t be in that building, but the specialists and subspecialists will provide care remotely from that hub.”

One of the impacts of COVID-19 has been an acceleration in virtual care, Gassen added.

“This will provide us with the ability to accelerate what would otherwise be a 10- to 15-year march to build out this infrastructure. (Instead) over the next few years, we can stand up this care site and be able to provide care across the country.”

Sanford dynamic

Denny Sanford’s latest donation builds on a history of philanthropy at Sanford Health that dates back decades and illustrates a relationship that appears to have been solidified following a tumultuous year.

His previous major gifts have included $400 million in 2007, which is the largest donation to a U.S. health care organization, leading to renaming Sioux Valley as Sanford Health and supporting expansion into research and world clinics. He subsequently donated $100 million in 2009 to create the Edith Sanford breast cancer program and foundation in memory of his mother and $125 million in 2014 to create the Imagenetics program.

Last August, after anonymously sourced media reports led by national investigative website ProPublica were published that Denny Sanford was the subject of an investigation for possible possession of child pornography, Sanford Health issued a statement attributed to then-CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft. It read in part, “Like you, I’m deeply concerned about these reports … these reports are unsettling and we take this matter extremely seriously.”

No public or sourced information about an investigation has ever been released, and no charges have been filed.

Marty Jackley, who represents Sanford in the matter, said there have been no new developments since he issued the following statement last August:

“Although we know very little about any state or federal inquiry relating to Mr. Sanford, we do know those authorities responsible for investigating allegations obviously did not find information or evidence that supported or resulted in any charges.”

For Gassen, who received a call from Denny Sanford days after he replaced Krabbenhoft as CEO, there was enough confidence in the relationship to accept the donation.

“I’ve been energized and motivated in talking to him and understanding what it is about our organization and what we do that motivates him to invest philanthropically,” Gassen said.

“As Mr. Sanford has stated, he believes investing philanthropically is similar to investing as a business leader. And that is wanting to invest his resources where he thinks it will create the greatest return … and that’s something we take very seriously not only with Mr. Sanford but with any individual who chooses to donate to this organization. That creates an incredible opportunity but also an incredible responsibility.”