AHA Board names Bill Gassen, Sanford Health President and CEO, as Chair-Elect Designate

The American Hospital Association (AHA) Board of Trustees has elected Bill Gassen, president and CEO of Sanford Health, based in Sioux Falls, S.D., as its Chair-elect Designate. Gassen will be Chair-elect in 2026 and become the 2027 Chair of the AHA, the top-elected official of the national organization that represents America’s hospitals and health systems and works to advance health in America.

Since 2020, Gassen has helped transform the rural health care experience at Sanford Health, which serves over 2 million patients and more than 425,000 health plan members across the upper Midwest including South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Iowa, Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In 2021, Sanford Health unveiled a $350 million virtual care initiative to improve access to convenient, high-quality care for rural, underserved communities. In that same year, Sanford Health announced plans to fully fund 15 additional residency and fellowship programs for a total of 27 programs, to build the next generation of rural health care providers, in partnership with universities in the rural Midwest. Sanford Health is accelerating clinical innovation and research through nearly 1,500 active clinical trials and studies.

“It’s an incredible honor to be named Chair-elect Designate of the American Hospital Association,” Gassen said. “This is a pivotal moment for health care in our country, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve and help carry forward the AHA’s strong legacy of advocating for hospitals and health systems across rural, urban and suburban America. I’m committed to ensuring our members’ perspectives are heard – and that we stay focused on forward-looking strategies to strengthen care delivery and improve the health of the communities we serve.”

Read the full story on the AHA website.