Sanford Health and chief medical officer part ways

Sanford Health said Wednesday night that it has parted ways with its chief medical officer, Dr. Allison Suttle.

In a statement, Sanford's chief people officer, Darren Walker, said Suttle made the decision to leave Sanford to "pursue new opportunities."

"We’re grateful to Allison for her role in building public trust in our work during this unprecedented time, and we wish her well," Walker said.

A phone number listed to Suttle was not answered Wednesday night.

More:Sanford Health stops merger talks with Intermountain Healthcare

Sanford's new leadership team will not include a chief medical officer. Instead, Dr. Jeremy Cauwels has joined the team as a chief physician. 

That team also includes a new chief nursing officer, Erica DeBoer, who replaces Meghan Goldammer. Goldammer remains employed with Sanford, spokesman Paul Heinert said in an email, and has taken a different role on the executive team.

In the early days of the pandemic in South Dakota, Suttle appeared in press conferences that included Gov. Kristi Noem. Over the weekend, she Tweeted a link to a column from the New York Times that was critical of the state's response to the pandemic.

The departure of Suttle comes amid an unprecedented shakeup at Sanford, after president and CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft announced his departure last month and Sanford announcing that it would halt merger plans with Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare.