Interim CEO Brian Hoerneman announced in an email that Marshfield Clinic will merge with South Dakota-based Sanford Health.
The two organizations have signed a nonbinding Memorandum of Understanding to form “the premier rural health system in the U.S.”
Sanford Health will become the parent company, with three board members from Marshfield Clinic Health System joining the new board.
Hoerneman highlighted the cultural and value similarities between the organizations and Sanford Health’s commitment to supporting Marshfield Clinic’s debt, liabilities, and capital requirements.
The combined system plans to invest at least $500 million in Marshfield Clinic over the next five years and an additional $500 million to transition to Sanford Health’s electronic system. The MOU is the initial step, with the goal of finalizing the agreement by the end of the year.
This announcement follows the organizations’ previous failed mergers with Minnesota health systems. Nearly a year ago, Sanford Health and Fairview Health Services withdrew plans for a megamerger.