Sanford Health announced today another landmark gift from the world’s greatest health care philanthropist that will transform health care in western South Dakota and the Black Hills region for generations to come.
Denny Sanford has made a $300 million philanthropic gift to Sanford Health to help establish the Sanford Black Hills Medical Center campus in Rapid City, South Dakota.
The new state-of-the-art medical center campus will expand access to specialty care and services including an emergency department, ICU, oncology center, comprehensive women’s health including a labor and delivery unit, and children’s services.
Since 2004, Mr. Sanford has given nearly $2 billion to Sanford Health. What began with his first gift to establish the Sanford Children’s Hospital in 2004 has grown into a legacy of transformative philanthropy.
In 2021, he made a historic $650 million investment, launching a groundbreaking virtual care initiative that is redefining how patients access care by connecting world-class clinicians and technology to communities across the upper Midwest and expanding graduate medical education programs to strengthen the rural physician pipeline.
Rendering by Sanford Health
Through every gift, Mr. Sanford has focused his philanthropy where the need is greatest and where it can make the most enduring impact.
“Mr. Sanford’s extraordinary generosity and vision inspire what we do every day at Sanford Health. His philanthropic gifts have transformed health care across the region, touched the lives of millions and will continue to benefit the communities we serve for generations to come,” said Bill Gassen, president and CEO of Sanford Health. “We are honored to carry forward his remarkable legacy in the Black Hills.”
“This is a momentous day for patients and residents in the Black Hills,” said Lew Papendick, M.D., board chair of the Sanford Black Hills Surgical Hospital. “The new Sanford Black Hills Medical Center campus will attract even more exceptional physicians in a wide variety of specialties to the region and bring advanced care closer to home for our community.”
Plans for Rapid City campus
The campus will be located in southwest Rapid City, adjacent to the Black Hills Orthopedic and Spine Center. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027 with completion expected by 2030.
The proposed 480,000-square-feet Sanford Black Hills Medical Center campus will include:
- 168 inpatient beds
- Future campus expansion for additional 168 beds
- Emergency department bays
- Surgical suites and procedure rooms
- Cath labs
- Full inpatient and outpatient imaging suites
- Dialysis center
- Oncology infusion center
- Children’s outpatient and inpatient services
Investing in medical education
Starting in 2026, Sanford Health intends to invest $10 million over the next decade to partner with K-12 schools, technical colleges and universities across the Black Hills including:
- $2.5 million: Expand the Aspire program to foster students’ interest in health care and provide hands-on learning opportunities for more than 13,000 K-12 students
- $3 million: Invest in Build Dakota to support in-demand technical education
- $4.5 million: Expand sponsorships at regional post-secondary educational institutions
“Building a robust and sustainable health care workforce begins with education,” said Kyle Wiese, president and CEO of the Sanford Black Hills region. “These investments empower local students to pursue careers in health care, ensuring the next generation of caregivers is rooted in the communities we serve.”
Caring for the Black Hills region
Today’s announcement further cements Sanford Health’s commitment to the Black Hills region. In November 2024, Sanford Health partnered with Black Hills Orthopedic and Spine Center (BHOSC), Black Hills Surgical Hospital (BHSH), Black Hills Urgent Care and Black Hills Surgery Center of Wyoming with a goal of helping patients easily connect to Sanford Health’s full range of integrated health care, including specialty and subspecialty care, clinical trials, veterans precision medicine and more.
Black Hills Surgical Hospital has added cardiovascular services and invested in technology – including the DaVinci robot and the first-in-the-region photon counting CT scanner.
Recently, Black Hills Plastic Surgery became the latest independent physician group in western South Dakota to join Sanford Health following the completion of its combination with Creekside Medical Clinic in August.
Learn more
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- Sanford, Prairie Lakes Healthcare announce combination
- Lewis Drug and Sanford Health: What happens next?
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Posted In Company News, Foundation, News, Scholarships and Sponsorships
