Breaking: Sanford Health Unveils Hotel Within Orthopedic Hospital
Sioux Falls, SD — A new nine-story orthopedic hospital at Sanford Health’s campus now includes a 56-room luxury hotel on its top two floors, allowing patients and families to stay overnight before major procedures without needing a doctor’s appointment. The $130 million facility, which opened earlier this year, combines 12 operating rooms and 19 inpatient beds with a bar, restaurant, and sky lobby — a rare hybrid in U.S. healthcare.
“Patients can take an elevator down eight floors and check in for surgery instead of commuting across town or hundreds of miles,” said Andy Munce, president and CEO of Sanford Health’s Sioux Falls region. He emphasized the stress-reducing goal: “How can we make it easy for them?”
The design, by architecture firm HKS, merges two distinct teams — hospitality and healthcare — to create separate identities for the hospital and hotel. “People expect cleanliness and professionalism from a hospital, and comfort from a hotel,” said Luis Zapiain, HKS’s director of hospitality.
Background: Addressing Rural Travel Burdens
In largely rural South Dakota, patients often drive halfway across the state for specialist care. The 56-room hotel — with a fireplace and restaurant — offers an alternative to long drives or impersonal nearby motels. Sanford Health operates the hotel itself, integrating it into the patient experience.
“This isn’t just a place to stay — it’s an elevated, holistic service,” Zapiain explained. The hotel is an extension of the hospital, according to Munce, because “when traveling for ICU scenarios, they have a lot on their minds.”
What This Means: A New Model for Patient-Centered Care
The Sanford Orthopedic Hospital and Highpoint Hotel may signal a shift in hospital architecture. By blending clinical and comfort spaces under one roof, the facility reduces travel stress and could improve surgical outcomes. “Few hospitals offer this,” said Munce. “We’re rethinking what a health system can do.”
Designers ensured the hospital and hotel maintain separate characters: white-walled, functional spaces downstairs; warm, calm rooms upstairs. “We had two teams doing interior designs,” Zapiain noted. The result is a seamless but distinct journey for patients — from check-in to recovery.
For South Dakota, this model could become a blueprint for other rural health systems. “It’s about making the experience easier,” Munce concluded. “That’s the future of healthcare.”