Former VA secretary joins board of trustees

Internal medicine physician brings passion for veteran care to Sanford leadership

Former VA secretary joins board of trustees

When The Honorable David Shulkin, M.D., was first introduced to Sanford Heath, it was clear to him that the organization was interested in doing something, as he stated, “big, meaningful and bold” to help veterans.

That was when Dr. Shulkin was serving as the ninth United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs under then-President Donald Trump.

“If there ever was a health system that was committed to doing something meaningful, it would be Sanford,” Dr. Shulkin told Sanford Health News.

Dr. Shulkin wanted to improve the lives of veterans and together, he and health system leaders came up with a way to help veterans get information about their personal genetics while they’re undergoing care for cancer.

“Sanford Health was willing to take a risk in doing this, creating new territory for these public-private partnerships, and I knew this was a very special organization from the beginning,” Dr. Shulkin explained.

Passion for care

When he left the federal government in 2018, Dr. Shulkin took an opportunity to join Sanford’s corporate leadership team in a senior advisory role within clinical innovation and veterans affairs.

He believes genomics and personalized medicine will be the key to the future of care, while improving access is a long-term commitment.

“I think the evolving infrastructure of 5G and bandwidth to be able to bring new technology to rural areas is an important part of that and we can see that wasn’t something that happens quickly.

“When you have a health system like Sanford that is committed and has the capital resources to bring those technology solutions to rural areas, and you have that developing bandwidth, you can fundamentally change the way the care can be delivered,” he said.

He points to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic where many of those changes happened faster.

“We also saw many more people who moved into rural areas stopping that trend of moving towards the metropolitan areas. People were able to move back, and yet they still wanted access to the type of health care that they got in metropolitan areas, and I think that that has helped evolve the model and it will continue to improve.”

Joining the board

Dr. Shulkin was invited to join the Sanford Health Board of Trustees beginning in January 2024 and brings extensive health care experience to the board as both an executive leader and clinician, specializing in internal medicine.

A big part of accepting that invitation was his belief in Sanford’s President and CEO Bill Gassen.

“(Bill) was committed to making Sanford Health the very best that it could be,” Dr. Shulkin said. “The fellow board members were there for the right reasons and they were putting in the effort and time to make Sanford a better organization … focusing on its primary mission of serving patients and that mission and that commitment is really what attracted me to want to be part of the board of trustees.”

The Sanford Health Board of Trustees members are each elected by the full board and currently serve up to three three-year terms. The Board of Trustees Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for identifying, evaluating, and recommending potential new members based on their qualifications and experience. Trustees represent a broad range of backgrounds, with extensive experience in business and finance, health care, technology, and the nonprofit sector.

It’s an exciting time to join the board, he said.

“Health systems are always in the business of providing health care, but we’re now faced at a time that the world of health care is changing – as we begin to start dramatically integrating new technologies, as we learn about what artificial intelligence will mean to the future of health care, as Sanford continues to grow,” Dr. Shulkin added.

“These next couple years are going to be foundational in the way that health systems are formed and set up for decades to come. Having the opportunity to be part of that is something that I really look forward to.”

Driven by mission and meaning, Dr. Shulkin is a passionate man.

“I’m still very involved in helping veterans and I probably will be for the rest of my life because I believe that it’s important to serve people who have, who are serving others or who have served others.”

His approach to anything is typically through principle-based decision making.

“In health systems like Sanford, budgets change, people change, the politics of both the board and the region and the country may change, but principles don’t,” he said. “Staying with that commitment towards not-for-profit health care that helps people improve their lives and makes communities better, that’s really what guides me as my North Star and hopefully that will continue to be that way as long as I get to contribute back.”

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Posted In Internal Medicine, Leadership in Health Care, Physicians and APPs, Veterans