Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories. North Memorial Health plans to merge with Sanford Health to create a single nonprofit health system. This merger marks Sanford Health's expansion from its Sioux Falls base into the Twin Cities market, following a previous deal with Fairview Health Services that fell apart three years ago. The two health systems announced their merger in a joint statement Friday, pledging to invest $600 million to uphold trauma care and emergency services at North Memorial’s Robbinsdale hospital, while also doubling the size of its hospital in Maple Grove. The deal is expected to be finalized later this year, pending regulatory approval from state and federal agencies. The proposed move could help stabilize North Memorial’s Robbinsdale hospital, a level one trauma center that is struggling financially.

The hospital anticipated receiving about $24 million annually from a legislative proposal aimed at securing funding for HCMC in Minneapolis, but an amendment removed North Memorial from that bill entirely. MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. “We’ve been open about the financial and regulatory pressures and the rising costs that make it harder to protect access to care on our own. Through a deliberate national search, Sanford stood out as a partner who understands our true value and shares our belief that better — not just bigger — is what matters,” said North Memorial Health CEO Trevor Sawallish in the joint statement. In addition to its two hospitals in Robbinsdale and Maple Grove, North Memorial has clinics, urgent and emergency care, as we…