SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Sanford Health has reached a virtual care milestone, expanding access and improving affordability for rural patients, while equipping the health care workforce for a technology-driven future. Accelerated by a transformative $350 million virtual care investment in 2021, the program has saved patients hundreds of millions of dollars in travel costs, reduced more than 60.5 million miles of travel to date and expanded virtual graduate medical education rotations across specialties – advancing a scalable model for rural care delivery.
Virtual care is one of Sanford Health’s most established care delivery capabilities, expanding access, strengthening workforce sustainability and improving health outcomes. Sanford Health’s virtual services span nearly 80 specialties – from behavioral health to oncology and pediatric pulmonology – and support patients across clinics, hospitals, long-term care settings and home environments. By delivering advanced clinical services through technology-enabled models, Sanford Health allows patients to receive timely care where they live, reducing travel burden and care delays that are more acute in rural communities.
“For many of our patients, it’s virtual care or no care at all,” said Dave Newman, M.D., chief medical officer of virtual care at Sanford Health. “That reality has pushed us to innovate out of necessity. By bringing care closer to patients and staying more connected between visits, we’re building new models that work better for both patients and providers – and helping lead the way in reimagining how care is delivered.”
Newman will discuss how virtual care is poised to make even further breakthroughs for patients at ViVE, Feb. 23 in Los Angeles. The four-day health care innovation event brings together leaders to accelerate strategy, evaluate technology and collaborate on solutions.
Each virtual care visit saves patients an average 176-mile round trip and $273 in travel-related costs. In 2025, patients saved an estimated $41 million by reducing the need to take time off work and pay for fuel, meals and other out-of-pocket expenses.
In September 2021, Denny Sanford gifted Sanford Health $350 million to advance a landmark Virtual Care Initiative designed to fundamentally change the way care is delivered. The opening of Sanford’s Virtual Care Center in late 2024 significantly expanded that effort, creating a centralized hub for telemedicine, hospital-at-home programs, remote monitoring, decentralized clinical trials and specialty consultation. From this hub, Sanford supports care teams across its footprint, enabling consistent clinical standards, streamlined workflows and efficient use of specialty expertise.
Sanford Health’s virtual care model integrates education and workforce development to prepare clinicians for the future of technology-enabled care. Through the Sanford Health Education Institute, the organization supports virtual graduate medical education rotations, immersive VR-based simulation training and interdisciplinary learning designed to equip care teams for high-acuity scenarios and just-in-time procedural support in rural settings.
Psychology interns have completed year-long virtual care rotations serving patients across North Dakota and Minnesota, expanding access to behavioral health while gaining hands-on telehealth experience. Neurology residents participate in virtual reality-based case simulations that strengthen clinical decision-making and readiness for complex, real-world scenarios. A virtual operating room further advances training, enabling surgical and procedural teams to practice with advanced technologies, collaborate across distances and develop the skills needed to lead the next generation of rural care delivery.
Sanford Health’s Innovation Center operates innovation labs within the Virtual Care Center focused on patient-centered solutions, particularly for rural care. Through its Accelerator Space, Sanford is exploring potential technology partners and startups to co-develop solutions aligned with clinical needs, care models and scalability. Makerspace and 3D printing capabilities enable clinicians and frontline staff to design and test medical devices – several of which have received FDA approval – while the Patient and Family Experience Lab ensures digital tools are tested and refined with real users before systemwide deployment. Together, these capabilities allow Sanford to refine innovations prior to scale, while reimagining how physical space, technology and workflows can improve patient experience, safety and efficiency.
About Sanford Health
Sanford Health, the largest rural health system in the United States, is dedicated to transforming the health care experience and providing access to world-class health care in America’s heartland. Headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the organization has 55,000 employees and serves more than 2 million patients and nearly 415,000 health plan members across the upper Midwest including South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Iowa, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The integrated nonprofit health system includes a network of 58 hospitals, 289 clinic locations, 145 senior care communities, 4,500 physicians and advanced practice providers and 1,100 active clinical trials and studies. The organization’s transformational virtual care initiative brings patients closer to care with access to nearly 80 specialties. More than 400 residents and fellows are trained each year through graduate medical education with Sanford Health fully funding and supporting 29 of the 40 available programs. Sanford Health also includes Lewis Drug, a pharmacy and retail chain with 60 locations in three states and nearly 190 pharmacists. Learn more about Sanford Health’s commitment to shaping the future of rural health care across the lifespan at sanfordhealth.org or Sanford Health News.
