Sanford Health

AI is transforming health care, and Sanford Health is embracing its potential to solve workforce challenges and improve efficiency. As Nick Olson, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Sanford Health, recently shared with Becker's Healthcare, "We're still in the relatively early phases of AI adoption, but we're excited about the potential impact, especially in rural America where workforce challenges are more acute." A great example? Last year, Sanford automated 80% of radiology coding, redeploying 30 team members to areas of higher need. Learn more about how health system CEOs and CFOs are thinking about AI: https://san.fo/426Cc40

"Regardless of where your environment is, rural, urban, the challenges that we are facing and potential solutions are pretty ubiquitous. And that's where the collaboration and working across I think the field is going to be really essential to drive that change and to drive improvement that ultimately benefit, as Bill Gassen said eloquently, around the patient at the center of that change." Christopher O'Connor, CEO of Yale New Haven Health System, recently sat down with Sanford Health News and the Reimagining Rural Health podcast to discuss how virtual care can support patient-provider relationships between visits. Listen to the full conversation here: https://san.fo/4jqNG8f

How can technology, telehealth and AI improve patient outcomes? Forbes recently featured insights from Dr. Dave Newman, chief medical officer of virtual care at Sanford Health, who shared how we are thoughtfully leveraging telehealth to expand access and improve health outcomes. Telehealth is more than a convenience – it's a lifeline for rural communities. Read more about the three critical shifts shaping the future of health care: https://san.fo/3E0a3Cq

Faced with a 2021 US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation to begin colorectal cancer screenings at 45, Sanford Health's clinical team faced a dilemma: How to manage screenings for 100,000 newly eligible patients with a limited supply of gastroenterologists in the rural Dakotas. The solution: A new tool that could be embedded in the EHR aided by AI and designed to help physicians develop preventive-care plans for patients who many be at risk of developing colon cancer. In a recent interview with the American Medical Association, Dr. Jeremy Cauwels, an internist and chief medical officer at Sanford Health, discussed the origins of the AI pilot at Sanford, how the health system plans to roll this out to physicians and his vision for using AI to detect a variety of diseases earlier to improve outcomes. Read the full conversation here: https://san.fo/4ioUqmd

Each day, thousands of nonclinical employees at Sanford Health help patients indirectly, in hospitals, clinics and beyond. Every once in a while though, those working behind the scenes take on a central role in patient care. Recently, guest services manager Michelle Harwood and communications technician Nick Dilley helped save a patient's life with some quick thinking and teamwork. Read more: https://san.fo/4cmqYLX

The counselors and therapists at Sanford Behavioral Health in Bemidji, Minnesota, are used to caring for the mental health needs of their patients. But who takes care of the caregivers? That question led to a new position filled by Nikki Bowman, a licensed marriage and family therapist, and the employee wellness counselor at Sanford Bemidji. "It's a domino effect. It all matters. It's all the way down," said Anna Chock, clinical manager of outpatient services for Sanford Bemidji behavioral health. "This benefits everybody. It's not just the employee, it's also leadership, and therefore patients." Learn more: https://san.fo/3YHaasF

Sanford Health has been an early adopter of telehealth, recognizing the potential to revolutionize health care delivery, especially in rural areas. Over the last decade, Sanford has provided more than 900,000 virtual appointments, amounting to over 45 million miles saved by patients who then didn't need to travel long distances on country roads or through dangerous winter weather to access high-quality care. In this edition of Reimagining Rural Health, we recap a recent conversation between Dr. Dave Newman, chief medical officer of virtual care at Sanford Health, and Dr. Leana Wen M.D. M.Sc., The Washington Post Columnist, as part of HLTH Inc.'s "The Beat: Executive Speaker Series," where the two discuss why and how virtual care is ensuring patients in rural areas get the care they need, no matter where they live. Follow the link to read and subscribe. #RuralHealthcare #VirtualCare

As the demand for rural physicians continues to grow, Sanford Health is focused on "growing our own" by nearly doubling our residency and fellowship programs to strengthen recruitment and retention in underserved areas. As Dr. Joshua Crabtree, chief physician at Sanford Health, discussed with the American Medical Association between 40% and 50% of Sanford Health's residents and fellows stay within 100 miles of their training location, making this a critical strategy to build a stronger pipeline of rural providers. Dr. Crabtree also shared his deep personal commitment to serving rural communities, stemming from his rural roots and time practicing as a family medicine physician in the small community of Luverne, Minnesota, for nearly 18 years. "Rural health care is very important to me. It's a passion of mine. I want people to be able to have access to high-quality care without having to drive hundreds of miles," Dr. Crabtree said. Through expanded residency and fellowship programs, scholarships, and partnerships with universities and technical colleges, we're building the next generation of rural health care providers. Read more: https://san.fo/42IZBrl

"She is very focused on what she believes. That is, a commitment to rural communities. She has a passion for the people that she cares for as well as a great desire to make that difference and keep things moving." Destinie Stapleton, a nurse practitioner at Sanford Jackson Medical Center in Jackson, Minnesota, has made a career out of putting the patient first while also looking for ways to do it better. As the 2025 Becky Nelson Fellowship honoree, she will now get the opportunity to do that on a larger scale. Read her story: https://san.fo/42mX5qn

Medicaid is a lifeline for the rural patients and residents we serve. In more than a dozen of our Good Samaritan skilled nursing facilities, 70% of our residents rely on Medicaid. Nate Schema, president & CEO of Good Samaritan, recently spoke with Bloomberg about the importance of protecting Medicaid as Congress considers potential federal funding cuts. As he said: "For most seniors in rural America, Medicaid isn't just an option, it's the only way they get the care they need." Read more: https://san.fo/4jqTwGK