RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – People in Rapid City will soon have another option for healthcare services.
Monday, South Dakota leaders came together at the Hyatt Place in Rapid City to celebrate Sanford Health’s plans in bringing the Sanford Black Hills Medical Center campus to town.
The new campus comes thanks to a $300 million investment made by philanthropist Denny Sanford.
President and CEO of Sanford Health Bill Gassen said the new opportunity would allow them to accomplish something unprecedented.
“We’re gonna be looking for opportunities to be able to incorporate some of the advancements from a technological perspective in ways that we’ve never done before in any of our hospitals,” said Gassen.
The state-of-the-art 480,000 square feet medical campus would include 168 inpatient beds, an ER, oncology center, ICU, children’s services and a labor and delivery unit.
With Rapid City and the Black Hills region continuing to grow, Gassen saw it as a great opportunity.
“To expand new services haven’t been provided here and then provide additional services, that quite frankly, from a access perspective, there’s a need,” said Gassen.
With the B-21 Mission set to come to Ellsworth, Gassen said Sanford Health would’ve still come to western South Dakota, regardless of the mission coming or not.
“That’s a motivator for us and that pushes us to move faster,” said Gassen. “It definitely serves as a catalyzing event.”
The Sioux Falls-based health care organization is the largest rural health system in the U.S, dedicated to providing health care access in rural areas.
South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden was at the reception and talked about how’s been working with the current administration on rural health transformation.
“We’re strengthening care with rural communities and we’re focusing on technology and data to make sure South Dakotans get the best care, no matter what community they live in,” said Rhoden.
The Sanford Health campus will be built in southwest Rapid City across from the Black Hills Orthopedic & Spine Center.
Construction is set for 2027 and is expected to be completed by 2030.
