Approximately $500 million investment in North Memorial Health – Maple Grove Hospital will expand access to care and help more patients receive care close to home in one of Minnesota’s fastest-growing communities
MAPLE GROVE, Minn. — Sanford Health and North Memorial Health today unveiled plans for a major expansion of North Memorial Health – Maple Grove Hospital, made possible through their recently finalized partnership. The $500 million transformational investment delivers on Sanford Health’s commitment to expand access to care in the northwest metro, meeting the rapidly growing demand for healthcare so patients and families can receive more of the care they need close to home.
MGH Expansion: View of the hospital’s main entrance from the east side of campus looking west
The expansion represents the first major investment following the Sept. 1 completion of Sanford Health’s partnership with North Memorial Health. The investment builds on years of planning by North Memorial Health, combining its deep understanding of community needs with the financial resources and capabilities of a larger, integrated health system. The expansion will increase capacity for emergency, inpatient, surgical and specialty care while creating a more connected and flexible hospital campus designed to serve the region for decades to come.
“Expanding Maple Grove Hospital has been a critical part of our strategic plan for years because we have seen firsthand how quickly this community is growing and how demand for care is changing,” said Trevor Sawallish, CEO, North Memorial Health and president, Sanford Health Twin Cities region. “Our services need to keep pace with that rapid growth, and our partnership with Sanford Health provides the resources to move this vision forward with confidence. This is an investment in our ability to meet the healthcare needs of this community for generations.”
“The true measure of a health system partnership is the difference it makes for the people we serve,” said Bill Gassen, president and CEO of Sanford Health. “For patients and families in the northwest metro, this investment means greater access to the care they need, close to home. For clinicians and care teams, it means greater access to the resources, technology and specialized expertise they need to deliver exceptional care. And for Minnesota, it demonstrates what’s possible when we combine local leadership and clinical excellence with the strength of an integrated health system.”
As the northwest metro and surrounding communities continue to grow, so does demand for care at Maple Grove Hospital. In 2025, care teams delivered 5,369 babies, more than any other hospital in Minnesota, reflecting the important role the hospital plays for growing families across the region. Emergency Department visits have grown from approximately 20,000 annually in 2011 to more than 54,000 in 2025 and are projected to reach approximately 75,000 within the next decade. Demand is also growing across inpatient, specialty and critical care services.
Campus plans to create new space and renovate existing spaces
The expansion will create additional space and capacity across the campus, helping Maple Grove Hospital grow alongside the community and ensure more patients and families can access the care they need close to home.
Plans include:
- Expanding the Emergency Department, including additional capacity for behavioral health care
- Increasing surgical capacity by adding new operating rooms
- Expanding capacity across women’s and children’s services, including the Family Birth Center and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)
- Increasing capacity for cardiology and interventional radiology services
- Nearly doubling imaging and diagnostic capabilities to support growing inpatient, emergency and specialty care need
- Adding more than 315,000 gross square feet of new hospital space and renovating or refreshing more than 140,000 square feet of existing space
- Improving patient and care-team flow across the campus to create a more connected and efficient care experience
- Creating more than 33,000 square feet of flexible shell space that can adapt as technology, care models and community needs evolve
North Memorial Health is partnering with Ryan Companies Opens in new windowfor planning, design and delivery of the expansion and Nimble Opens in new windowfor project management services, which will build toward the hospital’s 300-bed licensed capacity. Construction is expected to begin in early 2027 and continue through 2030. It will include vertical, north and west expansions followed by renovations to existing hospital spaces. The project will be completed in phases, allowing new capacity to become available as early as possible while minimizing disruption to patients and hospital operations.
“Every day, our care teams see how a growing community is changing the needs of our patients,” said Wendy Ulferts, chief nursing officer, North Memorial Health and Sanford Health Twin Cities region. “This expansion allows us to rethink how care is delivered, making it easier for teams to collaborate and respond to patients’ needs. When we design a hospital around the people who use it every day, we create an environment where team members can do their best work and patients and families feel supported throughout their care experience.”
Building for the future of a growing region
As part of commitments formalized with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, Sanford Health committed approximately $500 million toward North Memorial Health’s long-standing plan to expand Maple Grove Hospital. Sanford anticipates accessing the debt market to help finance the project, leveraging the financial strength and resources of its integrated health system.
The investment puts the partnership’s shared vision into action, expanding access to high-quality care and strengthening the facilities, technology and workforce needed to serve Minnesota’s growing communities. The investment is part of Sanford Health’s broader commitment to strengthening care across Minnesota, including planned investments to modernize Robbinsdale Hospital. As Minnesota’s first fully integrated rural-urban health system, Sanford Health and North Memorial Health are bringing together the strengths of both organizations to better connect care and expand access to services across rural, urban and suburban communities.
About North Memorial Health
North Memorial Health delivers unmatched patient experience and empowers its patients to achieve their best health. With specialty and primary care clinics, urgent and emergency care offerings, medical transportation services and two hospitals in Maple Grove and Robbinsdale, North Memorial Health provides access to high-quality, low-cost care in the Twin Cities, across the broader state of Minnesota and surrounding states. The North Memorial Health system includes 1,400+ medical staff and 6,500+ team members who are dedicated to delivering a more connected experience for our patients.
About Sanford Health
Sanford Health, the largest rural health system in the United States, is dedicated to transforming the healthcare experience and providing access to world-class healthcare in America’s heartland. Headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the organization has 60,000 employees and serves more than 2.5 million patients and nearly 415,000 health plan members across the upper Midwest including South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Iowa, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The integrated nonprofit health system includes a network of 60 hospitals, 315 clinic locations, 145 senior care communities, 4,900 physicians and advanced practice providers and 1,100 active clinical trials and studies. The organization’s transformational virtual care initiative brings patients closer to care with access to nearly 80 specialties. Nearly 450 residents and fellows are trained each year through over 40 graduate medical education programs, with Sanford Health serving as the primary funding source for 75% of the programs. Sanford Health also includes 92 retail pharmacies, including Sanford and Lewis Drug pharmacies with locations in 6 states, and more than 300 pharmacists. Learn more about Sanford Health’s commitment to shaping the future of rural healthcare across the lifespan at sanfordhealth.org Opens in new windowor Sanford Health News.
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