Sanford Health

The American Medical Association recently published a feature story about Sanford Health’s text-based remote patient monitoring program, which allows physicians and care teams to intervene sooner to better manage certain chronic health conditions. By meeting patients where they’re at through this low-tech solution, Sanford Health has seen improved patient engagement and a reduction in emergency room visits and in-patient visits for those with chronic conditions. The free service is accessible via phone call or text message and is part of Sanford’s initiative to advance virtual care options. “We developed this program because we recognized an opportunity to promote better preventive health intervention,” said Erica DeBoer, chief nursing officer. Sanford’s chief medical officer, Dr. Jeremy Cauwels, also shared how the program has been successful at providing interventions for patients facing mental health challenges. Read more from the AMA: https://san.fo/4b97PeZ

"People are understanding how that health care innovation means something for the bottom line, their pocket, and also for convenience, ultimately for their own health care outcomes." In the latest episode of the Reimagining Rural Health podcast, Dr. Vin Gupta, Chief Medical Officer of Amazon Pharmacy discusses leading through change and uncertainty to create the next breakthrough. Listen to the full conversation: https://san.fo/3UzTYr9

Nate Schema, Good Samaritan Society president and CEO, spoke with POLITICO about the new federal minimum staffing rule for nursing homes and how it will impact access to care for rural residents. For many facilities, the staffing requirements aren’t achievable and will reduce the number of available nursing homes for patients. “Our residents and our families are going to have to go further to access care,” Schema said. Read more: https://san.fo/44Czd2F

In a keynote panel at the Becker’s Annual Meeting in Chicago, Jared Antczak, chief digital officer, discussed the importance of making sure datasets used to train AI models are representative of the intended population. "In many cases, having the internal capabilities to develop these models or test and validate these models is absolutely essential to ensure it's representing our population, especially in the upper rural Midwest,” he said. Antczak also discussed the ways Sanford is expanding the scope of its governance process to contemplate other types of AI and externally source information. Read more from Becker's Healthcare: https://san.fo/4af01XU

In a recent op-ed for McKnight's Long-Term Care News, Good Samaritan Society CEO Nate Schema makes the case for the unique role of integrated health systems to serve as a catalyst for innovation and reimagining care for patients, residents and employees. "Global companies aren't wake up every day asking how to solve rural America's healthcare challenges. But we are. We know rural. If we don't lead the way transforming the rural healthcare experience, nobody will." Read more: https://san.fo/3UPJci2

Our nurses give their all – because it's their gift, their passion and their calling. We're celebrating Nurses Week at Sanford Health. Thank you to our nurses for the early mornings, late nights, and everything in between.

We're proud to announce that Mental Health America has awarded Sanford Health the Gold Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health for the second year in a row. The Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health is a certification that recognizes employers who strive to create mentally healthy workplaces for their employees. Sanford Health is the first and only Bell Seal recipient in South Dakota for 2024. Read more: https://san.fo/3QuAOlr

Next week, Dave Newman, medical officer of virtual care, will be speaking at the American Telemedicine Association Nexus 2024, a program that will explore a new phase of virtual care in the real world. New this year, the System Spotlights highlight the program and reveal pioneering strategies from leading hospital systems. Newman will be discussing a system spotlight called Sanford Health: Disruption in Rural Healthcare. Learn more about the #ATANexus event: https://san.fo/3QoPxhJ

Co-occuring disorders refers to the presence of both a mental illness and a substance use disorder. Often, self-medicating with alcohol or drugs can make mental illness worse, perpetuating an unhealthy cycle and making the healing process more complex. “Nobody chooses to have a mental health illness, and no one chooses to be an addict,” said Kristi Spitzer, a behavioral health therapist at Sanford Aberdeen Clinic in Aberdeen, SD. “But anyone can develop those issues under certain circumstances. Sometimes it takes a team approach to help get someone back on the right road.” Learn more: https://san.fo/3UpxtoO

Later this week, Lora Black, executive director of clinical research at Sanford Research, will be speaking on a panel titled Innovators in Action: Novel Programs Addressing Workforce and Enrollment Issues during ACRP - Association of Clinical Research Professionals 2024. The Signature Series panel will focus on novel approaches to facing workforce challenges and diversity, equity and inclusion issues in clinical trials and overall trial enrollment. Learn more about here ACRP 2024 panel: https://san.fo/3xTzAJQ