Clinician Experience

Luis Garcia, MD, FACS, MBA, FASMBS, serves as the President of Sanford Health’s Clinic division. He oversees governance, recruitment and retention, well-being and development, and overall clinic integration for APPs and physicians.

Dr. Garcia has been with Sanford Health since 2002 and is a board-certified surgeon who specializes in advanced laparoscopic and bariatric surgeries. He was born and raised in Mexico City where he also attended medical school at La Salle University. Dr. Garcia completed his general surgery residency at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences and did a mini fellowship in bariatric surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He also holds a Health Care Master of Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.

Dr. Garcia brings extensive clinical and research experience to his leadership position at Sanford, giving him a deep understanding of and connection to the clinicians he oversees. He is particularly interested in clinician well-being, workforce challenges and related topics. He has spearheaded a number of initiatives to strengthen Sanford’s clinician culture and support.

Dr. Garcia has established the Office of Clinician Experience, which is responsible for clinician engagement, resiliency, well-being and leadership development; developed comprehensive strategies to address onboarding, compliance, compensation and governance; and influenced enterprise-wide strategies on diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I), practice standardization and strategic vision. Dr. Garcia is also a strong advocate for Sanford Health in shaping health care policy and serves on several prominent industry boards and committees, including the International Esperanza Project, the American Medical Group Association and the Morrison Family College of Health.

Garcia and his wife, Greta, have four children.

Jeremy Cauwels, MD, FACP, FHM, serves as Sanford Health’s chief physician. In this role, he represents physician interests to the executive leadership team and Board of Trustees. He also chairs the quality cabinet, champions the system’s effort to become a highly reliable organization and oversees enterprise aspects of the medical staff.

Before he was appointed chief physician in 2021, Dr. Cauwels led safety, quality and patient experience as senior vice president of quality. He also served as vice president and chief medical officer for Sanford Health Plan. Cauwels started with Sanford Health as a hospitalist in Sioux Falls in 2006, was promoted to director of the group and eventually became Sanford USD Medical Center’s chief of staff.

His extensive leadership background in quality and safety makes Dr. Cauwels a strong champion for the Sanford Accountability for Excellence (SAFE) program, a collective commitment to safety and reliability. The program guides Sanford employees toward doing the right thing every time in every interaction and encourages both employees and patients to speak up for safety. Dr. Cauwels ensures that the SAFE program has the operational, financial and leadership support necessary for this work.

Dr. Cauwels is also interested in health care disparities and improving access to quality care, particularly in rural geographies and mental health specialties. He believes that every person deserves access to the right care at the right time in the place they need it, and this view was a powerful influence in developing Sanford Health’s drive to become the premier rural health system in the U.S.

Born in South Dakota and raised in northwest Iowa, Dr. Cauwels has bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and biology from the University of Northern Iowa and a medical degree from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. He completed his residency and a chief resident year at the University of Kansas in Kansas City, Kansas. Cauwels is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the Society of Hospital Medicine.

Cauwels and his wife, Teresa, live in Sioux Falls with their three children.

Mubashir Badar, MD, is the vice president of clinics for Sanford Health’s Bismarck region. He oversees the administrative and operational supervision of APPs and physicians.

He also cares for hospitalized patients at the Sanford Medical Center – Bismarck.

Dr. Badar holds and has held many physician leadership positions. His peers elected him as chair of the region’s Physician Executive Council after he previously served as vice chair and interim chief of staff. He has also led the hospitalist group and medicine service line.

Colleen Swank, MD, is a pediatrician. She cares for children from birth through age 18 and diagnoses and treats common childhood illnesses and injuries. For unexpected health care needs, Dr. Swank offers same day and acute care.

She also serves the Sanford Bemidji medical community as the clinic vice president for Sanford Health of Northern Minnesota.

Doug Griffin, MD, is the clinic vice president for Sanford Health in Fargo.

Joshua Crabtree, MD, is the clinic vice president for Sanford Health in Sioux Falls.

Heather Spies, MD, MBA, FACOG, is the physician director of clinician experience and well-being at Sanford Health. She practices obstetrics and gynecology and specializes in women’s health, prenatal care and pregnancy care. Dr. Spies also serves as a clinical assistant professor at the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine.

As Sanford Health’s enterprise director of clinician experience, Aaste Campbell is responsible for creating clinician orientation and onboarding content and overseeing the team that carries out these programs. She is the co-administrator of RISES, Sanford Health’s clinician leadership program. Additionally, Campbell is responsible for developing and overseeing retention and recognition strategies for clinician teams across the region.

Campbell joined Sanford Health in 1999 as a service area assistant. She has held several roles focused on supporting Sanford Health’s team of clinicians throughout her career, most recently serving as the director of clinician experience in Fargo before moving into her current role in 2017. She has developed and expanded well-being strategies and programs for clinicians across the enterprise. Many of the programs Campbell helped to develop supported clinicians throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Clinician Well-being Council.

Campbell holds a bachelor’s degree from North Dakota State University and a master’s degree in management from the University of Mary.

She resides in Fargo with her husband, John, and has two children and one grandson.