Gassen brings solutions-focused message to keynote panel
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June 16, 2026
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| Contact: Paul Heinert Sanford Health Media Relations 605-366-2432 / Paul.Heinert@sanfordhealth.org
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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Sanford Health President and CEO Bill Gassen is joining the nation’s top health system executives at one of the industry’s premier conferences this week for a keynote panel discussing the next era of healthcare.
Healthcare of Tomorrow presented by U.S. News and World Report takes place June 17-18 in Washington D.C. The reimagined leadership summit is an exclusive forum for hospital and health system executives, senior decision-makers and other industry leaders to discuss common priorities, best practices and perspectives on the future of health and care delivery.
Opening the keynote session of the conference is Gassen’s mainstage panel, Reimagining Healthcare: The Hospital and Health System of Tomorrow. It will be followed by a fireside chat from Mehmet Oz, M.D., Administrator of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. During the panel, Gassen will share insights into the challenges and opportunities shaping the hospital and health system of tomorrow – from AI and digital transformation to reimagined care delivery models, workforce innovation, strategic partnerships and long-term financial sustainability.
Gassen will be joined by Redonda Miller, M.D., president, Johns Hopkins Hospital and Warner L. Thomas, president and CEO, Sutter Health. Eric J. Gertler, executive chairman and CEO, U.S. News & World Report will moderate the panel.
“When I think about the future of health care, I believe success will be defined by how well organizations can connect care across settings, specialties and communities to better serve patients,” said Gassen. “The organizations that will be best positioned for the future are those that can combine deep local relationships and community trust with the capabilities needed to deliver increasingly complex care, invest in innovation, develop the workforce and keep care accessible and affordable over the long term.”
Since taking on the role of president and CEO in 2020, Gassen has been dedicated to improving quality, sustainability and access to care for patients across the upper Midwest. In 2022, Gassen announced that Sanford Health’s strategic position and aspirational goal is to be the premier rural health system in the United States, with a commitment to ensuring the quality of care a person receives is not limited by their ZIP code.
Gassen has been recognized by Modern Healthcare as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare the last four years. He serves as the chair elect on the board of trustees of the American Hospital Association, the board of directors for Oscar Health, Inc. (NYSE: OSCR), the board of directors for Medical Alley, the board of directors at HealthEquity, Inc. (NASDAQ: HQY) and the board of directors for the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce. Gassen also serves as chair of the Coalition to Strengthen America’s Healthcare. In March, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) named Gassen to its Healthcare Advisory Committee, a new federal advisory body comprised of leaders from across the healthcare system to provide expert advice on improving, strengthening and modernizing U.S. healthcare.
Sanford Health chief medical officer Jeremy Cauwels, M.D. will also share his expertise at the conference during an invitation-only workshop entitled The Future of Quality Measurement and Benchmarking. Cauwels will be joined by fellow hospital and health system executives to engage in dialogue on a range of topics related to the future of the Best Hospitals rankings and other U.S. News health quality measurement efforts. Session participants, representing a diverse group of hospitals and systems, will have the opportunity to share questions and feedback on the Best Hospitals methodologies.
About Sanford Health
Sanford Health, the largest rural health system in the United States, is dedicated to transforming the health care experience and providing access to world-class health care in America’s heartland. Headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the organization has 55,000 employees and serves more than 2 million patients and nearly 415,000 health plan members across the upper Midwest including South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Iowa, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The integrated nonprofit health system includes a network of 58 hospitals, 289 clinic locations, 145 senior care communities, 4,500 physicians and advanced practice providers and 1,100 active clinical trials and studies. The organization’s transformational virtual care initiative brings patients closer to care with access to nearly 80 specialties. More than 400 residents and fellows are trained each year through graduate medical education with Sanford Health fully funding and supporting 29 of the 40 available programs. Sanford Health also includes Lewis Drug, a pharmacy and retail chain with 60 locations in three states and nearly 190 pharmacists. Learn more about Sanford Health’s commitment to shaping the future of rural health care across the lifespan at sanfordhealth.org or Sanford Health News.
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