Regarding Contribution from Denny Sanford to Sioux Valley Health System
February 2007
Q. Why did Mr. Sanford make this donation to Sioux Valley Health System?
A. Mr. Sanford has made other significant gifts in the past to Sioux Valley and has been pleased at the way the contribution has been managed and with the results that have been achieved. As a result, he has a great deal of trust that the System and its Executives and Board of Trustees will be able to achieve the intended results with this donation.
Q. Why is he making the donation in South Dakota?
A. Mr. Sanford’s bank and credit card business are based in South Dakota. He is very much aware that the work ethic and strong character of South Dakotans has benefited his business operations and helped him achieve his success. His decision to invest in making Sioux Falls, South Dakota a world-class center for medical research and treatment is based on his desire to give back to the people of this state.
Q. What does this gift mean for the state of South Dakota? The region? What is the economic impact of this gift?
A. By continuing to recruit the best physicians, renowned research personnel and medical support staff, hundreds of jobs will be created in a variety of health career paths. Beyond that, site development projects will create other jobs within the communities served. An analysis of the ten-year economic impact shows that this investment will generate more than 9,200 jobs and $1 billion in economic development.
Q. Whose idea was it to change the name of Sioux Valley Health System to Sanford Health?
A. The Board of Trustees of Sioux Valley Hospitals and Health System unanimously decided to make this name change as a way of demonstrating the transformative nature of this gift to Sioux Valley and to recognize the expansion and enhancement of its mission. Sanford Health will become synonymous with excellence in pediatrics, research, integrated healthcare delivery and progress in solving some of the world’s most serious health issues.
Q. Won’t the projects and initiatives you’ve described cost a lot more than $400 million?
A. We expect that the $400 million will accomplish a great deal itself, but we also intend to use it as “seed money” to attract and match other funds available for health care and medical research from such sources as the National Institutes of Health.
Q. How was the amount of $400 million arrived at?
A. In discussing this gift with Mr. Sanford, the System started by identifying the bold results it believed itself capable of achieving in regional health care and national medical research. Once we determined the results we are going to achieve, we developed the budget to achieve them and the sources of funds we could expect to secure. The amount Mr. Sanford has donated is the amount needed to ensure our success and provide an unending legacy.
Q. Will the $400 million be donated all at once?
A. The $400 million will be given to Sanford Health over an 8-year period, in equal installments of $50 million annually.
Q. Can you actually build a whole medical campus and do all the other projects with $400 million?
A. We are confident that with the momentum that will build from this gift – including research dollars and other gifts we can attract with this bold vision –we can accomplish all of the projects and initiatives we have laid out.
Q. Why is the emphasis on children and pediatric care?
A. Mr. Sanford is a visionary philanthropist who recognizes the importance of children’s health to South Dakota, this nation and the world. He has long supported children’s charities and has a very strong interest in using his money to improve children’s lives.
Q. What ultimate outcome can be expected from this investment?
A. We are confident this gift will make major differences in pediatric health care in the communities served by Sanford Health and across the country with the children’s clinics that are part of this project and we are confident that the research initiatives make possible by this gift will make significant advances in medical care.
Q. What will the medical research project focus on?
A. Sanford Health will be commissioning a panel of leading experts in the world to identify one healthcare condition that the panel believes can be impacted in a significant way by Sanford Health pursuing medical research to solve that particular problem. We expect the process of identifying that healthcare challenge to take about a year.
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