Sanford Innovation and Commercialization

Solving Problems and Helping Patients

Innovation at Sanford Health is about making health care better by engaging people throughout the industry to bring forward new solutions for our patients and providers.

From building one of the first fixed-wing air ambulances that helped save premature babies to inventing lifesaving medical devices for vascular patients, innovating is part of Sanford Health’s DNA.

How We Do It

Every innovation starts with an idea. We know the best place to start is by listening to our people – nurses, physicians, researchers and other team members – on the front lines of health care. Those closest to the work have a powerful perspective on the services we provide, the environment we work in and our hope for the future.

We make ideas a reality by collaborating with people and organizations to solve problems and transform health care.

The Sanford Health Innovation and Commercialization team:

• Helps our inventors develop technology, license their intellectual property or begin a startup company.
• Evaluates external partnerships and collaborations to help integrate and scale proven solutions into the health system.
• Analyzes existing and new business developments.
• Offers direction on regulatory guidelines, including how to navigate the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval process and reimbursement strategies.
• Runs idea-generation challenges using crowdsourcing.
• Partners with a dedicated inpatient unit that creates, tests and shares new approaches to patient care.
• Empowers staff to identify barriers in their workflow and support product or process development through feasibility, pilot and full-scale operational phases.

Work With Us

We believe collaboration is critical to advancing health care. If you have a unique idea or want to bring one of our advanced solutions to a broader audience, connect with us at innovations@sanfordhealth.org.