Sanford breaks ground on long-anticipated orthopedic hospital
June 7, 2022
An orthopedic hospital years in the making officially has started construction on the campus of Sanford USD Medical Center.
Sanford broke ground today on the new 205,000-square-foot Sanford Orthopedic Hospital. At nine stories, it will be the tallest building on the main Sioux Falls campus and will be built to the west of the surgical tower and to the south of Sanford Children’s Hospital.
“It’s huge. It’s huge for us,” said Paul Hanson, president of Sanford Health in Sioux Falls.
“We’ve had a lot of internal discussion about it over the years, and this one is special because it’s one where not only do we take a look at orthopedics, which is a big part of the investment, but we look at the rest of the general surgery services, and we’re combining a couple projects to make it better for physicians, for staff and most importantly for patients.”
The new 205,000-square-foot hospital will include 161,000 square feet of new space adjacent to the Sanford Surgical Tower and 44,000 square feet of remodeled space currently used by the surgical tower. It will include 19 inpatient rooms, 12 operating rooms and 56 medical suite rooms that can be used by patients’ family members as hotel rooms.
The design reflects the changing direction of health care toward same-day surgeries, Hanson said. Think of a medical suite sort of like a hotel room, he said.
“If people want to come in the night before or stay after the procedure, we can make accommodations to make that happen.”
The hospital was one of several projects announced by Sanford in March 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic began in Sioux Falls.
Another project, a two-story addition, resulted in a 33,000-square-foot expansion to the Van Demark building on the north side of Sanford’s main campus. It’s wrapping up construction and adding 23 exam rooms with space for eight additional surgeons and 12 advanced practice providers.
Originally, the orthopedic hospital was going to be adjacent to it.
The adjusted design puts it across the street and backs up to the surgical tower and southeast of Sanford Children’s Hospital.
“In the event there would be an emergency situation or need for a specialist, we have that right here on the main campus,” Hanson said. “That was a really important piece and component for us as we looked at our campus development.”
The new hospital will figure into Sanford’s recruitment efforts. Several orthopedic surgeon have departed in recent months, and the system is attempting to recruit 10 to 15 more in the next two to four years.
“This type of investment is going to assist us in our recruitment effort going forward – there’s no question in our minds,” Hanson said, adding physicians have been active in helping develop the new space.
“I think there’s a lot of optimism for us moving forward. We see this type of investment … being executed upon, and it gives you a lot of confidence going forward. To say we’re excited is an understatement.”
Here’s how significant Hanson sees the project to the future of Sanford in Sioux Falls: Monday, he called former CEO Lyle Schroeder, who spent more 35 years at then-Sioux Valley Hospital, to tell him the project was moving forward.
“I said … ‘We’re building a 100-year building here,'” Hanson said, adding the two recalled how in its early days the hospital had an annual budget of $3.5 million. It’s now $2 billion.
“It’s just crazy how the community has grown and our organization has grown,” he said. “This project has been in the works a lot of years, and I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am. I’ve got a permanent smile on my face.”
The architects for the projects are Architecture Incorporated in Sioux Falls and HKS in Chicago. The general contractor is Henry Carlson Construction.
The Sanford Orthopedic Hospital is scheduled to open in the fall of 2025. It’s the second major project to begin construction on the main campus.
A five-story building focused on gastroenterology will be the new Medical Building I, or MB1, and replace a building with the same name that was torn down a few years ago to create a 200-space parking lot. It’s scheduled to open in early 2024.
Sanford Orthopedic Hospital is estimated at $161 million; the new MB1 is $64 million.
“We expect a lot of activity in the next 30 to 45 days on these projects,” Hanson said.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect the correct height of the building.
