Philanthropy is the piece that makes progress possible. With your support, we’re powering new insights, driving breakthroughs and providing patients and families with world-class, comprehensive care close to home. Thanks to you, we put philanthropy to work for patients and families across the Bemidji region in 2024 in areas like these:

• We’re confronting the growing issue of breast cancer in rural, underserved areas across northern Minnesota through the region’s first ever Mobile Mammography Unit, bringing the most advanced early detection technology to surrounding communities including Walker, Bagley, Blackduck, Cass Lake and Park Rapids. Additional locations will be added over time.
• We’re saving more lives thanks to the addition of the new PET/CT digital imaging system at the Sanford Joe Lueken Cancer Center. This state-of-the-art equipment allows us to detect and track cancer before symptoms manifest, at the earliest and most treatable stages

• Our pharmacists and technicians are spending more time educating and supporting patients thanks to the addition of Phyllis, our new pharmacy robot in Bemidji. As the region’s first pharmacy robot, Phyllis fills prescriptions faster and with 100% accuracy, reducing wait times and improving the patient experience.

• We’re enhancing care for hospice patients and their families through the addition of new hospice suites at the Sanford Bemidji Medical Center. These dedicated spaces offer hospice patients compassionate end-of-life care, expert pain management, emotional and spiritual
  support and peaceful time with loved ones.

With your support, we’re fueling leading-edge technology, enhancing care and accelerating new breakthroughs — helping patients live longer, healthier lives. Thanks to you, we put philanthropy to work for patients and families across the Bismarck region in 2024 in areas like these:

• We’re enhancing care for our tiniest newborns through the addition of state-of-the-art equipment like the Artic Sun Stat Temperature Management system, which continuously monitors temperatures, alerts NICU caregivers of changes and can automatically begin therapy.
• We’re advancing breast health thanks to the addition of early-detection equipment like the Barco Reading Monitor, which helps radiologists detect abnormalities earlier and with greater confidence.

• We’re fueling behavioral health support for teens through a new collaboration between BeHEARD and Sanford Fit that brings clinical experts and education professionals together to deliver mental health resources directly to kids and their caregivers across our region.
• We’re providing specialized care for more patients in Dickinson, Minot, Jamestown, Watford City and other rural areas across central and western North Dakota thanks to virtual care – making it easier for patients in rural areas to get the care they need, when they need it, close to home.

• We’re surrounding local children with care and comfort through programs like Child Life and Direct Assistance, which provides support for families to help with meals, mileage, lodging and more.
• We’re helping kids with childhood onset conditions grow stronger and live more fully by providing support for specialized therapies, adaptive bikes, wheelchairs, orthotics and more.

Because of your generosity, we’re advancing new treatments, fueling discovery and providing compassionate care to help patients and families navigate some of life’s most challenging journeys. Thanks to you, we put philanthropy to work for patients and families across the Fargo region in 2024 in areas like these:

• We’re offering comfort and enhancing care in a PAW-sitively new way thanks to Fox, the region’s first facility dog, possible through the NutriSource Facility Dog Program at Sanford Children’s Hospital.

• We’re improving outcomes for our tiniest pediatric patients through the addition of state-of theart equipment like the Giraffe Omnibed Isolette, our new neonatal mobile incubator that safely transports critically ill or premature newborns while maintaining a stable environment.

• We’re providing greater access to world-class care for patients in surrounding communities thanks to enhancements at our clinic in Hillsboro and at our cardiac rehab center in Mayville.
• We’re working to provide a home-like retreat for cancer patients and families through the region’s first-ever center for patient lodging. When it opens, the Peltier Lodge will provide a home away from home for cancer patients and their families, many of whom travel more than 60 miles for care and treatment.

“Philanthropy does so much to advance and enhance health care — from new facilities to special services like Nurse Navigation. I’m so grateful for the facilities we have here in Fargo. It makes me proud. And it offers me a sense of peace knowing the caliber of medical expertise we have here”

      —Julie Burgum, Fargo philanthropist

With your support, we’re forgoing the status quo and blazing a new trail — pioneering life-saving medical research and enhancing care for patients at every age and every stage of life. Thanks to you, we put philanthropy to work for patients and families across the Sioux Falls region in 2024 in areas like these:

• We’re creating a Pediatric Emergency Department specially designed and equipped to care for children. The David H. and Christine Billion Pediatric Emergency Department will be the only accredited pediatric trauma center in South Dakota and will be led by fellowship-trained pediatric emergency medicine specialists.
• We’re reaching important milestones in our work toward a cure for type 1 diabetes (T1D). In 2024, we enrolled our 10,000th pediatric patient in the Sanford PLEDGE Study, an initiative that helps identify children at risk of developing T1D and celiac disease.
• We’re helping kids experience the healing power of play and the therapeutic benefits of the outdoors through the Billion Pavilion, a new accessible outdoor play area for pediatric patients and their families at Sanford Children’s Hospital.

• We’re making a difference for families who are navigating a child’s hospital stay through our Direct Assistance program, which provides support to help with meals, mileage, lodging and more.
• We’re surrounding patients and their families with the support and guidance they need through programs like Nurse Navigation and Pregnancy Navigation.

• We’re building awareness for breast health and improving outcomes for those facing breast cancer through new MRI and ultrasound technology, upgraded precision surgical and oncology equipment, and the addition of 3D mammography in Brookings, Watertown and Luverne.