I talked with Sanford Health CEO Bill Gassen twice in the past week, and it would have been three times if not for a scheduling conflict.

That alone tells you something about the newsmaking occurring at his organization.

Our headlines in the past week back that up too.

We began the week Monday with an inside look at how Sanford sent 20 carefully selected organization “ambassadors” on a memorable trip to Nashville, where country music stars Lady A had written a song in honor of health care heroes.

And we ended the week with a $300 million donation and a pledge of more to come from hospital namesake Denny Sanford. It will set Sanford on a path to creating a hospital for virtual care and allow the system to more than double the residencies and fellowships it offers for physicians.

In between were other headlines – breaking ground on a clinic in Harrisburg and partnering with Avera Health to contribute a combined $25 million toward need-based college scholarships for students.

But there’s an important story I didn’t get to write yet and want to share with you now.

“I heard something recently about Sanford, and I want to confirm with you if it’s true,” I said to Gassen.

Turns out, I’d heard right.

In what Gassen calls “a firm decision by the board” of trustees, Sanford has committed to keeping its headquarters and CEO based in Sioux Falls.

So – at least as it stands today – if there are other merger opportunities, they will be entertained only if those criteria are met for Sioux Falls.

“We also believe we owe it to the communities that have invested in us and have believed in us and have given us their philanthropic dollars. They’ve partnered with us in business and given us their people, and their children have come to work for us, and we owe it to these communities to make a recommitment back to them,” Gassen said.

“To know one of the greatest health care providers in the world is going to remain here.”

Put simply, that’s a big deal.

Let’s be candid. In recent years, Sanford’s proposed mergers would have meant Sioux Falls had to give up something — a corporate headquarters, a CEO based here, seats on the board of directors.

There’s nothing novel about this; that’s how it works when the party on the other side is as big or bigger.

And I’ve always tried to get my head around the idea that a bigger pie is better for all involved. It’s true in many cases, and it could have been true in the case of Sanford too.

But the realist and community-minded side in me knows that the location of headquarters matters. The place the CEO calls home matters. In every organization, there’s generally one room where the big decisions are made. When the decision-makers look out the window in that room, I want them looking at Sioux Falls.

“Over the last 100 days, we’ve used this time both from a management team and from a board perspective to really look internally at our organization, look back and reflect on and celebrate who we have been for the last 100 years and think about who we need to be for the next 100 years,” Gassen told me.

“And we found ourselves recommitting to that which has made us great, and that’s extremely talented caregivers who are focused on making sure they provide the best health care for this part of the country.”

Growth can occur “where and when it makes sense, not as an end but as a means to end,” he continued. “We’re going to use growth as a tool if we think it’s going to allow us to provide better health care, if we believe it’s going to allow us to increase service lines and access for the people and communities we’ve been blessed to serve.”

It’s a different tone. It’s a “new day,” as they have become inclined to describe it.

And, culturally, this attitude is probably a better fit for Sioux Falls, if I’m being honest. But it’s only going to make sense if the community, collectively, makes the most of this opportunity.

A $300 million investment – which will become considerably more than that, I think – isn’t just a massive opportunity and responsibility for Sanford but for this community.

When you combine Sanford’s concept for a “hospital of the future” with the industry-leading e-care operation already established by Avera, Sioux Falls has the opportunity to become an unparalleled leader in virtual health care – the way that so much of this field is heading.

When you combine this investment in technology with the skills being honed at Dakota State University and other potential partnerships, Sioux Falls has the opportunity to become a world-class center of cybersecurity and related industries.

And when you look at the incredible infusion of dollars being put into fellowships and residencies, you see how this area stands to benefit from the sort of talent that suddenly becomes a lot more accessible to recruit.

I sometimes think someone should make a movie or television series — or maybe more appropriately a musical, given they have the first song courtesy of Lady A — about this organization. It certainly has enough compelling storylines to warrant one.

But the direction it all appears to be heading is a good one if you wear a community hat first, as I do.  And I think it’s a good one if you work for this organization. Being part of the headquarters of a growing enterprise provides a lot of opportunities, and I feel like Gassen’s stated focus on “our people, patients and communities” has resonated and trickled down already.

So it is a new day at Sanford, with the backing to take this organization and this community even further. And for Sioux Falls, it’s one more big step toward a future that’s becoming increasingly exciting to a lot of people, me included.

We are unbelievably fortunate in this community. As Gassen said in accepting this latest donation, it creates “an incredible opportunity but also an incredible responsibility.” He meant it in reference to his own organization, but it applies to this community too.

We aren’t owed any organization’s headquarters. We have to continually prove this is the place to invest. But for now, as they did in Nashville, it seems like the time to celebrate a little — and say thank you.

Sanford Health sends employees on surprise trip of a lifetime