Top Sanford Health executives have disavowed an email sent by the health system’s president and CEO regarding masking and COVID-19. They also apologized to the organization’s employees.
Sanford Health President and CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft, who is not a doctor, sent an email to employees in which said he wouldn’t wear a mask because he considered it a “symbolic gesture” since he had caught COVID-19 and now considered himself immune.
The health system issued a statement on Friday flatly distancing itself from Krabbenhoft’s claims.
Kelby Krabbenhoft’s email was based on his own experience with COVID-19 and his personal opinions about the virus. They do not reflect the views of our health system as a whole,” wrote Sanford Executive Vice President Micah Aberson.
Sanford executives also sent an email to all employees distancing themselves from Krabbenhoft’s statements and apologizing for their effects. “We know that words matter, and words have power, and we regret that the message left many frustrated and disappointed,” wrote the five executives, in the email obtained from multiple sources by Forum News Service. “You are our heroes working tirelessly to take care of our patients and we hear you, support you and appreciate you.”
Sioux Falls-based Sanford Health is one of the nation’s largest non-profit health systems, with major medical facilities and hundreds of clinics in South Dakota, North Dakota and Minnesota.
(Source: Forum News Service)
