MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS UPDATE | Sanford and North Memorial Complete Merger, Creating One Integrated Health System

The transaction officially closed days after Minnesota's attorney general secured a 10-year oversight agreement and $600 million in investment commitments.

ROBBINSDALE, MN (September 2, 2026) Sanford Health and North Memorial Health have officially completed their merger, turning an agreement approved last week into an operating healthcare system extending from the Twin Cities across much of the Upper Midwest.

The organizations announced Tuesday that they are now operating as one nonprofit integrated system under the Sanford Health name.

The completion follows a 10-year oversight agreement negotiated with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.

Under that agreement, Sanford committed $600 million to North Memorial facilities, including $500 million toward expansion of Maple Grove Hospital and $100 million for Robbinsdale Hospital.

The agreement also requires preservation of the Level I Trauma Center at Robbinsdale Hospital and other core services for at least 10 years.

Existing collective-bargaining agreements must be honored, and the combined system made commitments involving charity care, Medicare and Medicaid participation, emergency transportation, behavioral health and other services.

The merger gives South Dakota-based Sanford a major operational presence in the Twin Cities for the first time.

The combined organization employs approximately 61,000 people and serves about 2.5 million patients across the Upper Midwest.

North Memorial CEO Trevor Sawallish will continue leading the Twin Cities delivery region.

Because MinneapoliMedia reported the Attorney General's approval and oversight agreement last week, Tuesday's closing represents the completion of that previously reported transaction rather than a separate merger proposal.

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