MARSHFIELD, Wis. – Two already sprawling heathcare systems announced a merger – Marshfield Clinic and much larger Sanford Health. Terms were not announced. The companies said they had entered a nonbinding memorandum of understanding to proceed. The goal, they said, would be to advance world-class care in the rural Midwest through economies of scale. Sanford already is the largest rural health system in the nation. It is headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The system has 45 hospitals in Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota and South Dakota. Marshfield has 11 hospitals in rural Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The merger would be the largest in the rapidly consolidating Upper Midwest health industry. Other mergers have involved Bellin of Green Bay, Essentia of Duluth, Gundersen of LaCrosse, Innovis of Fargo, and Mayo of Rochester. The regional healthcare landscape was additionally complicated this vear when Illinois-based HSHS suddenly shut down its western Wisconsin hospitals and clinics.
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Merger profile
The merged companies will carry he name of the parent Sanford Health. Headquarters will remain in Sioux Falls. Marshfield will be a region within Sanford Health and maintain its flagship campus in Marshfield. Sanford’s chief executive, Bill Gassen, will be president of the combined system. Marshfield’s interim chief executive, Brian Hoerneman, will be president of the Marshfield unit.