Sanford Health is establishing a presence in five countries in 2018. It's also expanding preexisting services in China and Ghana.
On Tuesday, Sanford announced it's expansion to New Zealand, Ireland, Vietnam, Costa Rica and South Africa. It's also expanding on the 23 current Sanford Clinics in Ghana, and adding remote physician partnerships for oncology support in China.
Dan Blue is the Executive Vice President of Sanford World Clinic. He said these partnerships help hospital staff learn from other physicians around the world.
"That can affect us as an organization very positively," he said, "But also it has a dramatic effect on individuals that are involved, that we get involved. It may be physicians, it may be our staff, students, residents that are participating in these global experiences."
There's also a research component to some partnerships. For example, Sanford's COMPASS initiative is partnering with a clinic in Dublin, Ireland, to establish a clinical research office for precision oncology.
In addition to learning from the international exchange and expanding research, Blue says these partnerships also help spread the reputation of Sanford Health.
"We really feel that we have something to offer, that we can make a difference in this world and our voice needs to be heard," he said. "And let's face it: many people don't know where Sioux Falls, South Dakota is, or Fargo, North Dakota, or who Sanford Health is. So it's important that we be intentional in getting our word out there."
Sanford World Clinic works to establish three to five new partnerships each year.