Community Impact Report

Many communities that Sanford Health serves have older populations and higher rates of chronic illness than national averages.

Sanford is committed to providing comprehensive care for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries who rely on our healthcare services.

Delivering care across wide geographic areas requires investments in emergency services, specialty care and rural facility staffing.

Sanford helps absorb these costs, which helps maintain quality, timely access to care throughout all our communities.

The Community Health Needs Assessment helps us understand significant unmet health needs and prioritize local partnerships and initiatives to address them.

While individual choices are important, health also depends on several community factors like food security, public safety, education and air quality.

Rural communities face transportation barriers and higher rates of chronic disease. We’re extending healthcare beyond clinical settings by investing in prevention and early intervention.

For example, Sanford has invested in virtual care to bring specialists to rural, underserved areas and virtual behavioral health appointments to increase access to mental health care.

Sanford Research is helping close the gap to early-phase clinical trials.

In many communities, access to early-phase clinical trials is limited and requires patients to travel long distances to major academic centers. At Sanford, most participants are treated close to home.

Sanford Health is invested in bringing innovative care closer to home, ensuring patients have access to new possibilities, even when options are limited.

For example, Sanford Research scientists are investigating new cancer treatment options through a robust clinical trial program – bringing a dynamic approach to cancer care.