The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society and Sanford Health have officially combined, the Sioux Falls, SD-based organizations announced Wednesday.
Citing the “enormous value” of the Good Samaritan name in post-acute and senior care, Sanford Health said it plans to continue to use it for the foreseeable future.
Good Samaritan already was one of the country’s largest senior living and care organizations — it was No. 2 overall on the 2018 LeadingAge Ziegler 200 list of largest not-for-profit providers, No. 1 based on skilled nursing beds, No. 2 by assisted living units and No. 3 based on independent living units — and Sanford already was one of the country’s largest healthcare systems. The two organizations already operated a joint venture together called Prospera, first announced in July 2016, with five senior living communities in North Dakota.
The merged organization now operates in 26 states, with more than $5 billion in annual revenue, 48,622 employees, more than 200 senior housing and care facilities, 44 medical centers, 482 clinics, 190,000 Sanford Health Plan members, 1,382 physicians, 973 advanced practice providers and 9,703 registered nurses delivering care in more than 80 specialty areas.
“The shared heritage of Sanford and the Society will guide the transformation of both organizations as a leader in providing care through the life span,” said David Horazdovsky, who remains Good Samaritan CEO and has joined Sanford’s corporate leadership team. “We look forward to expanding our horizons and providing care to more people in more places.”
Randy Bury, formerly Sanford’s chief administration officer, is now president of Good Samaritan.
“We know that bringing these two organizations under one umbrella has many benefits for those we serve,” Sanford Health President and CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft said in a statement. “Being on the forefront of the changing healthcare landscape made this historic opportunity a reality.”
The organizations began exploring an affiliation in late 2017. Good Samaritan’s membership overwhelmingly voted in favor of the affiliation in June. The organizations’ leaders originally anticipated that the affiliation would close in January, but they moved the date up to November when, in August, the affiliation cleared regulatory hurdles without objection.
“With the affiliation complete, leaders can begin the exciting work of exchanging knowledge and developing ideas to better serve our patients and residents,” Krabbenhoft said. “Bringing the expertise together will create a national model on how to deliver exceptional care through the full spectrum of life.”
