Surgeon, hospital entrepreneur: Rapid City fertile ground for Sanford expansion

Dominant player Monument Health failed to respond to market needs

The state’s third largest health system created an environment and a host of blunders in Rapid City that led to Sanford Health expanding into the marketplace, the founder of Black Hills Surgical Hospital said.

Sanford this month announced that it was purchasing Black Hills Surgical Hospital, which is partly owned by a Canadian company that Dr. Larry Teuber also co-founded. Medical Facilities Corp. owns 54 percent of the hospital, while physicians own the remaining 46 percent.

That places the state’s largest health system in the backyard of Monument Health, which is based in Rapid City.

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