Sanford Health increases global presence with expansion in seven countries

          Sanford Health is expanding its presence in international health care by extending services to seven countries. This year, Sanford Health will enter New Zealand, Ireland, Vietnam, Costa Rica and South Africa and increase its presence in China and Ghana. This expansion follows last year's acquisition of a minority stake in ISAR Klinikum, a hospital leader in stem cell therapies, located in Munich, Germany.

          Sanford Health's international health care arm, Sanford World Clinic, will now be in nine countries with more than 30 locations. Supported by philanthropy and launched in 2007, the initiative is designed to foster partnership with health care leaders in the development of sustainable services around the world.

          "With these partnerships, we are creating unique opportunities for shared learning," said Kelby Krabbenhoft, president and CEO of Sanford Health. "This is not something we are pursuing for financial gain, but we believe this type of collaboration will help further our mission of health and healing."

          Each partnership is unique in terms of scope of service and type of agreement. The focus of the collaborations range from primary and pediatric care to research and health system operations.

          "We want to go where we can be impactful and create partnerships that will stand the test of time," said Dan Blue, M.D., executive vice president of Sanford World Clinic. "We have outstanding partners in each of these countries who share a common goal – to advance health care around the world."

          - New Zealand: Sanford World Clinic and Omni Health Limited will open a general practice clinic in February, within Auckland's Central Business District.
          - Ireland: Sanford World Clinic and Hermitage Medical Clinic will establish a clinical research office to extend precision oncology services through a clinical research protocol supported by Sanford Research in the United States.
          - Costa Rica: Sanford World Clinic is providing strategic and operational support to the Hospital Metropolitano health system as it experiences dynamic growth across the country.
          - Vietnam: Sanford World Clinic is collaborating with Victoria Healthcare to support enhanced clinical and health care management education programs for Victoria physicians, nurses and administrative staff.
          - South Africa: Sanford World Clinic is supporting the ongoing development of clinical research and educational programs in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders at Stellenbosch University and in partnership with a series of collaborators.
          - Ghana: Sanford World Clinics - Ghana is continuing its partnership with the Ghanaian government to expand upon its current 23 clinics.
          - China: Today, Sanford World Clinic will provide oncology support for the Ciming Health Checkup Group. This collaboration will be a remote physician-to-physician partnership.

          "We are excited about the oncology collaboration with Sanford Health and believe it could provide Chinese cancer patients with the most advanced treatment to improve the survival rate and the quality of life of patients," said Hu Bo, M.D., chairman of the board for Ciming Health Check Group and chairman of the healthcare management branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association.

          Sanford World Clinic is working to identify three to five new partnerships each year.