The merger deal announced in October by Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare and Sanford Health, based in Sioux Falls, S.D., has been suspended indefinitely.
Sanford Health CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft abruptly resigned his position and left the organization recently over a controversy around his refusal to wear a protective mask, during a time in which the COVID-19 pandemic is surging across South Dakota and nationwide.
Krabbenhoft had been president and CEO of Sanford Health for 25 years. The Sanford Health board of trustees last week appointed Bill Gassen as the organization’s new president and CEO. Given the leadership change, Sanford Health has decided to pause current merger and acquisition activity while they address other organizational needs, the health system said.
In a statement, Gassen said, “With this leadership change, it’s an important time to refocus our efforts internally as we assess the future direction of our organization. We continue to prioritize taking care of our patients, our people, and the communities we serve as we look to shape our path forward. We have great respect for Intermountain Healthcare, Dr. Marc Harrison, and their leadership team and look forward to continuing to learn from each other.”
“We are disappointed but understand the recent leadership change at Sanford Health has influenced their priorities,” Marc Harrison, M.D., president and CEO of Intermountain, said in a statement. “There’s much to admire about the work that Sanford Health is doing. We continue to share a strong vision for the future of healthcare.”
The combined organization would have employed more than 89,000 people, and operate 70 hospitals, many in rural communities. It would have operated 435 clinics across seven states, provided senior care and services in 366 locations in 24 states, and insured 1.1 million people.
