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Kelby Krabbenhoft

Kelby Krabbenhoft’s passion for health care began at an early age. He was born in Ames, Iowa, to Kenneth and Elaine Krabbenhoft, the oldest of three siblings. During childhood, his youngest brother, Paul, fell from a tree and suffered a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down. After the accident, Kelby played a pronounced role in helping the family care for his brother. Later, his aging father suffered retinitis pigmentosa and became blind as a result of this genetic condition. On a personal level, both events touched Kelby very deeply and, with an infectious sense of urgency, sparked a professional interest in improving the human condition through research and innovation. Kelby’s parents were both educators: his mother a schoolteacher and his father a professor of microbiology. Kenneth’s research endeavors and various career opportunities prompted the family to move frequently when Kelby was a child. His father eventually was offered a position at Mankato State University in Minnesota where he taught until retirement. Kelby’s first job in health care involved working part-time as an orderly in a hospital while attending Mankato West Senior High School. After graduating, he contemplated a degree in medicine, but after selfassessing organic chemistry, he settled on pursing a degree in health care administration from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. He later obtained a master’s degree in business administration from Mankato State, where he met his wife Heidi, with whom he has three children: Joe, Sarah and Lou. Kelby started his health care career as president of Guttenburg Hospital in Guttenburg, Iowa. This early

Medical Advancement Sioux Falls, SD

experience shaped Kelby’s perspective as he oversaw all aspects of the business – including working directly with front-line nurses, members of the medical staff and managing relationships with community members and patients from the small farming town. As the lead executive at a small hospital, it was not uncommon for him to start his day tending to the boiler and clearing snow and ice from the sidewalks before beginning his administrative rounds. His career progressed through top executive positions at hospitals and health systems of increasing size and scope, including Sisters of Mary of the Presentation Health Corporation in Fargo, North Dakota; St. Margaret’s Hospital in Spring Valley, Illinois, and Freeman Health System in Joplin, Missouri. In late 1996, Kelby took over leadership of what was then known as Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Over the next 20 years, he built a highly integrated care delivery model – rapidly growing the system’s geographic research, the breadth and depth of specialty in its physician clinic and

Investing in Health & Healing through Research, Wellness, and the Next Generation of Healthcare Professionals

establishing a health plan to combine the financing and delivery of health care. Besides the earlier personal experiences of his brother and father, he was further inspired by the story of Maurice Hilleman, a microbiologist with a forceful personality who eschewed conventional medical thinking and went on to develop eight life-saving vaccines for common conditions. (He is credited with saving more lives than any other medical scientist of the 20th century.) But there is one singular relationship that has come to define Kelby’s career and legacy more than any other. A chance introduction by a close, mutual friend of both led to a legendary relationship between Kelby and Denny Sanford that continues to shape health care around the globe. It began with a “small” (relative to Sanford’s generosity) matching gift of $16 million to fund construction of the Castle of Care Children’s Specialty Hospital in Sioux Falls. The relationship was reaffirmed in the most significant of ways when Mr. Sanford agreed in 2007 to gift $400 million to the health system, which was renamed in his honor. Their relationship grew deeper as Mr. Sanford was continually impressed with Kelby’s vision – his audacious pursuit of advancement – and invested a total of nearly $1 billion toward health system pursuits led by Kelby. The results reflect Kelby’s passion to care for and improve the lives of others. What began as a small, regional health system now delivers care across nine states and four continents. The combination of a robust research operation aligned with a large integrated care delivery organization is driving the pace of innovation to discover, assess and bring to the bedside the next generation of treatments and cures for a wide range of conditions. Among them: type 1 diabetes, breast

cancer, rare children’s diseases, genetic conditions and many more. The example set by Kelby and Mr. Sanford continues to inspire philanthropy and the pursuit of excellence around the globe. Growing up in a family of educators, it was no surprise that Kelby recognized, and to this day holds a deep appreciation for, education. Health care is a labor-intensive industry that relies on specially trained medical professionals, care team members and business professionals to carry out the daily mission of the health systems for which Kelby has been responsible. One of his proudest legacies at Sanford Health has been the organization’s support for secondary and post-secondary education, including investments in medical education and training, collegiate athletic programs and a world-class scholarship and internship program offering financial support and experiential opportunities to students. Kelby also has a life-long passion for athletic activity, and basketball in particular. He may have had a genetic predisposition – his mother, Elaine, was an avid basketball fan. Kelby also recognized the importance of an active lifestyle on a person’s health and the characterbuilding opportunities that come from athletics and team competition. Kelby played college basketball at Concordia, and his appreciation for the game continued long after his playing days. At Sanford Health, Kelby led the charge to develop the Orthopedics & Sports Medicine service line into a national practice, established the POWER program to help athletes of all levels improve their performance, and established the Sanford Sports Complex in Sioux Falls as a regional destination for training, competition and marquee events featuring the top college and professional teams from around the country.

Nominator:Cindy Morrison

For being recognized as a champion for the people of South Dakota and for your leadership in the world of health care.

Your vision for Sanford Health has been the driving force in our organization for the past 20 years. Your commitment to revolutionize health care has put us and South Dakota on the world’s stage, and your passion to always put the patient first inspires all 28,000 of your employees.

~The Sanford Health Board of Trustees and the Sanford Family

South Dakota Legends

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Frank Alvine Sparky Anderson JoAnne Bird Tom Brokaw Mary Hart

SouthDakotaLegends.com Carole Hillard Oscar Howe Billy Mills George McGovern Al Neuharth

2017 Honors Ceremony We join you in recognizing her as a Champion for Excellence. CoBank congratulates Stephanie Herseth Sandlin on her induction into the 2017 SoutH Dakota Hall of fame 800-542-8072 www.cobank.com Why you and your students should use this program

— Fourth Grade Classroom Teacher • 100% free. Due to our generous supporters, this program is free for districts, teachers and students. • Multimedia, web-based and not in any textbook. Students like the interactive biographies, photos, video and exercises. We believe that this program provides students with meaningful role models and inspiration for their own lives. • A year-long curriculum that meets state standards in several areas. Students learn about history, vocabulary and other subjects through the lives of outstanding South Dakotans. • Designed by teachers, the curriculum is geared to 4th grade but is adaptable for “As my students read, listened and got to know these Champions, they learned about the value of hard work, the importance of knowledge and perseverance, that being from tough circumstances can be an advantage and there are many paths to success. They learned how to accomplish great things.”