Sanford Health leaders join Reuters Total Health
Contact:
Jon Berg
Sanford Health Media Relations
605-366-2432 / Jon.Berg@sanfordhealth.org
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Sanford Health leaders are joining fellow healthcare experts, policymakers and innovators at Reuters Total Health Oct. 22-23 in Nashville to share how the organization is reimagining care delivery and how work gets done, with technology enabling improvements in access, quality and patient experience.
The program features conversations led by Reuters U.S. Health and Pharma Editor Caroline Humer with entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban, founder of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, and CVS Health Chief Medical Officer Amy Compton-Phillips.
Tommy Ibrahim, M.D., MBA, MHA, executive vice president and chief transformation officer at Sanford Health, will join an opening keynote panel discussion entitled “Build guardrails before you accelerate: AI governance that enables innovation.” The session will explore how health systems can keep pace with advances in AI while ensuring governance processes support innovation, protect patients and build trust among care teams. Ibrahim will discuss how Sanford aligns governance with its enterprise strategy, engages clinicians in developing solutions and equips employees with AI tools and education.
The panel will be moderated by Nicholas Kennedy, co-founder and principal at Vero HX. Ibrahim will be joined by Craig Kurtzweil, chief data and analytics officer at UnitedHealthcare and Jeremy Vanwagnen, chief clinical applications officer at AdventHealth.
“The people closest to the work often see the greatest opportunities for change,” Ibrahim said. “As we expand access to AI, we’re hearing ideas from across Sanford about how these tools could help. Strong governance gives teams a clear path to explore those solutions responsibly while protecting patient safety and strengthening trust.”
Brad Reimer, chief technology and digital officer at Sanford Health, will take part in a fireside chat focused on “Building the Data Foundation for AI at Scale.” Reimer will discuss how Sanford is building a trusted data foundation to support its enterprise transformation strategy. He’ll share how the organization is making information securely accessible, building employees’ data and AI literacy, and helping teams develop solutions that improve patient access and care delivery while reducing administrative burden.
“AI gives us an opportunity to think differently about what our teams can accomplish,” Reimer said. “An abundance mindset means asking how we could reach more patients proactively if some of our traditional capacity constraints changed. With trusted data and the right tools, we can expand that outreach and give our people more time for the conversations and care that need their expertise.”
The fireside chat will be moderated by Laura Cooley, PhD, editor-in-chief, Journal of Patient Experience for Reuters Total Health.
For more information about Sanford Health, visit Sanfordhealth.org.
About Sanford Health
Sanford Health, the largest rural health system in the United States, is dedicated to transforming the healthcare experience and providing access to world-class healthcare in America’s heartland. Headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the organization has 60,000 employees and serves more than 2.5 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 60 hospitals, 315 clinic locations, 145 senior care communities, 4,900 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. Nearly 450 residents and fellows are trained each year through over 40 graduate medical education programs, with Sanford Health serving as the primary funding source for 75% of the programs. Sanford Health also includes 92 retail pharmacies, including Sanford and Lewis Drug pharmacies with locations in 6 states, and more than 300 pharmacists. Learn more about Sanford Health’s commitment to shaping the future of rural healthcare across the lifespan at sanfordhealth.org or Sanford Health News.
