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Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Sanford Health will be merging with another health system in the state, Prairie Lakes Healthcare System, the entities have announced.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Prairie Lakes is an independent provider serving Watertown and a 10-county region in northeast South Dakota and western Minnesota. It employs about 800 people, including 60 providers, and serves about 90,000 people.
The partnership includes financial investments in the Watertown community, the systems said.
WHAT'S THE IMPACT
Over time, Prairie Lakes Healthcare System will transition to the Sanford Health name and brand. The organizations said there would be no disruptions to patient care during the transition.
John Allen, Prairie Lakes Healthcare System president and CEO, will continue to lead the organization.
"By joining Sanford Health, the Prairie Lakes Healthcare System builds on its foundation of quality medical providers and staff who care daily for their neighbors close to home," said Chris Carter, chairperson of the Prairie Lakes Healthcare System Board of Directors. "We gain resources and capabilities to do even more to support the communities we serve going forward."
Prairie Lakes Healthcare System is licensed to operate 81 acute care hospital beds, including labor and delivery, telemetry, critical care and general hospital.
Hospital services also include a 24-hour emergency department, surgery capabilities, interventional cardiology, and services providing diagnostics and imaging services.
THE LARGER TREND
Sanford Health merged with Fairview Health Services in Minnesota in 2022.
It was the second attempt by the health systems to merge, according to the Star Tribune. A similar deal was scuttled by state political concerns in 2013, the report said.