SAINT PAUL, MN – (May 8, 2026) – The Minnesota Nurses Association is deeply concerned by today’s announcement that South Dakota-based Sanford Health intends to acquire North Memorial Health. This could have far-reaching consequences for patients, healthcare workers, and the communities they serve.
North Memorial Health leaders say the acquisition is necessary to address long-term financial and operational pressures. This announcement puts renewed scrutiny on the system’s priorities, long-term planning, and what this means for patients, workers, and public accountability moving forward.
North Memorial Health has used Maple Grove Hospital to strengthen and sustain the broader health system financially. Despite Maple Grove’s continued strong performance and ongoing multi-million-dollar expansion investments, North leaders now say the system needs to be acquired to remain financially sustainable.
Those developments increase pressure on North Memorial leaders to explain how staffing, resources, and workforce protections will be protected across the system, including at North Memorial Robbinsdale Hospital. This comes as nearly 600 Maple Grove nurses prepare to vote on whether to authorize a strike amid unresolved issues at the bargaining table over a first contract.
MNA is calling on North Memorial Health to reach a fair contract with Maple Grove and provide clear, enforceable commitments that protect existing union contracts, bargaining rights, and successor protections for nurses across both organizations before moving forward with the acquisition.
Nurses are closely watching how this may impact contracts and benefits, healthcare costs, local-decision making, and the continued corporatization of healthcare services into increasingly large systems.
The announcement also comes as Sanford Health nurses in Bemidji are holding an informational picket today in their own fight for a fair contract, underscoring the importance of strong labor protections and enforceable worker standards during periods of major healthcare consolidation and system changes.
Sanford Health and North Memorial Health must engage in a transparent public review process that includes meaningful input from nurses and other healthcare workers as the Minnesota Attorney General examines how the proposed acquisition could impact patients and communities across the state.
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