Kelby Krabbenhoft out as Sanford Health CEO

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Sanford Health announces its Board of Trustees and CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft have agreed to part ways.

Krabbenhoft has lead the company since 1996.

The health system says he “built the organization from a community hospital into the largest rural non-profit health system in the country, now spanning 26 states and 10 countries.”

“Kelby’s impact on the organization and the communities it serves will be felt for generations to come,” Board Chair Brent Teiken said.

Chief Administrative Officer Bill Gassen has been appointed president and CEO. He’s been with Sanford Health since 2012.

The decision comes a week after Krabbenhoft wrote an email to Sanford employees after getting Covid-19 that he believes he’s now immune to the disease for “at least seven months and perhaps years to come” and he isn’t a threat to transmit it to anyone, so wearing a mask would be merely for show.

Krabbenhoft is not a doctor.

Sanford Health said in a statement, “Kelby Krabbenhoft’s email was based on his own experience with COVID-19 and his personal opinions about the virus. They do not reflect the views of our health system as a whole. Sanford Health’s position is the same as it has always been – consistently wearing masks, avoiding crowds and staying home if you’re sick are critical to preventing the spread of the virus. It is important to follow CDC guidelines. We continue to be incredibly grateful to our frontline workers who are stepping up every day to take care of our patients.”