Sanford Health and North Memorial Health have signed a definitive agreement to merge into a single nonprofit health system, pledging approximately $600 million to expand and stabilize key services in Minnesota. The combined organization will prioritize major investments in the Twin Cities, including modernizing and sustaining Level 1 trauma and emergency services at North Memorial’s Robbinsdale Hospital, a safety-net facility facing financial pressures.
The merger plan includes doubling the size of North Memorial’s Maple Grove Hospital to increase capacity at Minnesota’s largest birth center while adding emergency, inpatient, and surgical services. Sanford Health, based in Sioux Falls, currently operates or is affiliated with 20 medical centers and 74 clinics across western Minnesota, caring for nearly 300,000 patients annually and employing close to 10,000 workers. North Memorial Health, based in Robbinsdale, operates two medical centers and more than 22 clinics with about 450 providers and 6,800 employees.
Executives say the merger will expand access to care, strengthen the EMS and trauma network, grow virtual and behavioral health services, and support clinical research and workforce training. North Memorial will serve as the anchor of a new Twin Cities region for Sanford, led by current North Memorial CEO Trevor Sawallish and overseen by a local board. Two North Memorial board members will join the Sanford Health Board of Trustees. Sanford President and CEO Bill Gassen will lead the combined system, which will remain a nonprofit charitable organization. The deal is expected to close later this year, pending regulatory approval and other customary conditions.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.keyc.com/2026/05/08/sanford-north-memorial-plan-600m-deal-expand-minnesota-health-care/