The longtime president and CEO of Good Samaritan parent company Sanford Health has “parted ways” with the healthy system after some dubious remarks he made about mask-wearing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sioux Falls, SD-based Sanford issued a statement last week that CEO and President Kelby Krabbenhoft and the system’s board of trustees had “mutually agreed to part ways.” The announcement came days after Krabbenhoft sent an email to the organization’s almost 50,000 employees detailing his rationale for not wearing a face covering. In his message, Krabbenhoft said he’d recovered from COVID-19 and he would not wear a mask because doing so would only be a “symbolic gesture.” He considered himself immune from the virus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that those who have had COVID-19 should take steps to reduce the risk of spreading the virus, including wearing a mask in public places and staying at least six feet away from other people.
Bill Gassen, who has been with Sanford since 2012, was promoted from Sanford Health’s chief administrative officer to president and CEO of the system, effective immediately. The organization includes 46 hospitals, 1,400 physicians and more than 200 Good Samaritan Society senior living and care locations across 26 states and 10 countries.
In response to Krabbenhoft’s email, Sanford’s leadership team sent a follow-up email to all employees, according to Becker’s Hospital Review.
“We know that words matter, and words have power, and we regret that the message left many frustrated and disappointed,” the leaders said in the email. “We want you to know unequivocally that our health system’s position has not changed. We will continue to let science guide the work that we do every day to keep our communities healthy and safe. The science is clear: masks work.”
