Two health care entities with a presence in the area combined forces last week to merge together. Sanford Health officially announced its new affiliation and combination with the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society on January 2.
According to a press release put out by Sanford last week, Sanford will now employ nearly 50,000 people as it brings the Good Samaritan in its ranks while offering health services, such as clinics, hospitals, health insurance, and senior care services in 26 states. Sanford is one of the largest health systems in the United States and is headquartered in Sioux Falls. The organization includes 44 hospitals, 1,400 physicians, and now more than 200 Good Samaritan Society senior care locations in 26 states and nine countries.
Kelby Krabbenhoft, the Sanford Health President and CEO stated, “We know that bringing these two organizations under one umbrella has many benefits for those we serve. Being on the forefront of the changing health care landscape made this historic opportunity a reality.”
As for what this merger means for Lennox, Todd Anderson, Administrator of the Lennox Good Samaritan, had a positive outlook for patients and the community.
He stated, “There will be potential opportunity to work together to provide more services to the Lennox community. We have a great working relationship with the Sanford clinic here in Lennox and this will help us to offer more services in an integrated manner. Since we will be one organization we will be able to share information more freely, which will only benefit the people that we care for.”
The possibility of an affiliation was explored back in late 2017. In June 2018, Good Samaritan members were stated by Sanford to have overwhelmingly voted in favor of the affiliation, which was explained as having cleared regulatory review prior to closing.
(Photo courtesy of Google Maps)
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