Sanford Health receives pontifical award for innovation

Sanford Health has been awarded a major honor at the Cellular Horizons conference in Vatican City.

On Thursday, the health system received the Pontifical Key Innovation Award, presented by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, and Dr. Robin Smith, president of the Stem for Life Foundation.

The award recognizes game-changing medical innovation exemplified by transformative thinking, creativity and ingenuity used to deliver the highest quality of medical care, the organizations said.

“We congratulate Denny Sanford and Kelby Krabbenhoft and the entire team from Sanford Health on receiving the 2016 Key Innovation Award,” Ravasi said. “Sanford Health is uniquely devoted to improving the human condition through an exceptional commitment to research, education and community growth.”

Krabbenhoft, Sanford Health's CEO, thanked T. Denny Sanford, whose donations to the organization have totaled more than a half-billion dollars, including a transformational gift of $400 million in 2007 that launched the system into intense research and sparked its global clinic initiative.

“This is a big deal,” he said. “Things like this award make you remember where you came from. Real fast.”

A video introducing Sanford Health during the presentation recognized the health system’s commitment to research as well as its growing number of world clinics and the Imagenetics program focusing on personalized medicine.

“There is one organization at the forefront of innovation, bringing the future of health care closer to more people, forever changing the world around us,” the video said. “The team at Sanford Health is transforming the way the world looks at medicine and doing it on an unprecedented scale.”

Krabbenhoft said when he first learned last year that the award existed, he never conceived of winning it.

“I just thought, ‘Well, this is for other people,’ typical of a South Dakotan or North Dakotan,” he said. “Only the ‘real world’ gets things like that. We’re just tucked away here.”

Six representatives of Sanford including Krabbenhoft, T. Denny Sanford and four research scientists are speaking throughout the three-day Vatican conference this week.

They received a standing ovation as the award was announced.

Smith, who leads the Stem for Live Foundation, praised Sanford Health's work.

Breakthrough research: Sanford shares results

“Whether cancer, rare genetic disease or diabetes, Sanford Health’s integrated model for research and drug development and clinical practice holds the promise of one day developing cellular cures for countless diseases, and we are thrilled to be able to recognize them globally for their accomplishments,” she said.

Krabbenhoft also thanked his board of trustees, who were in Vatican City for the award, for “allowing me the flexibility to take the risks and jump on the far end of the diving board once in awhile to try and change things and make things happen.”

The award prompts “an immediate sense of obligation,” he added.

“This just put a heavy load on us. We have to live up to expectations when you get an award like this.”