4:04 AM Productions: Wear a damn mask

I understand that some individuals believe there is no need to wear a mask during this pandemic. I disagree with their belief. I get that a lot of the time, these beliefs are politically motivated thanks to the utter lack of leadership by Donald Trump on the issue. But I never thought I'd hear that Kelby Krabbenhoft, the CEO of a large health system made a public statement that he no longer needs to wear a mask; because he has been infected and believes he is immune. He sent a mass email to the 50,000 employees of Sanford Health. You can read the full email here. Here is an excerpt:

"For me to wear a mask defies the efficacy and purpose of a mask and sends an untruthful message that I am susceptible to infection or could transmit it. I have no interest in using masks as a symbolic gesture when I consider that my actions in support of our family leave zero doubt as to my support of all 50,000 of you. My team and I have a duty to express the truth and facts and reality and not feed the opposite."

I find this to be irresponsible. The science has not proven that there is immunity in every case. It has not proven that once infected and this supposed immunity has been created, that an infected individual is no longer contagious.

Did I mention the mask issue is political? Yes I did. So it should come as no surprise that Mr. Krabbenhoft is a frequent and longtime donor to Republican politicians, candidates and causes. He sent two contributions of $1,000 to Senator Lindsey Graham just this past March. He gave $4,000 to Rudy Giuliani's 2008 presidential campaign.

He can afford his generosity. The 2015 tax return of the Sanford Health Foundation (the non-profit that operates the Sanford Health System) shows he was paid $3.8 million in compensation and that another $717,000 was put into what is probably a "Rabbi Trust" to benefit him in retirement. The 2017 return of the same organization shows his compensation was "only" $2.3 million with another $877,000 going into that Rabbi Trust.

By the way, Sanford Health is a textbook example of the profit in being a not for profit, although my 2019 blog on the subject was focused on private schools. The data below is the annual "surplus" generated by the Sanford Health Foundation:

Year Surplus

2014 $19.9 million

2015 $16.9 million

2016 $13.2 million

2017 $10.5 million

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So who is Kelby Krabbenhoft responsible to? That's simple. The Board of Trustees of the Sanford Health Foundation. Who are they? See below. If you feel like you want to tell them how you feel about his lack of leadership, feel free to let them know. The company's Twitter is @SanfordHealth

Brent Teiken (Board Chair)

Sales Manager at Perficient, Fargo ND - @Life_of_Teik

Donald "Jake" Jacobs (Vice Chair)

Market Manager/VP at Townsquare Media - donald.jacobs@townsquaremedia.com

Neil Gulsvig (Treasurer)

President/CEO at Align

Andy Nortb (Secretary)

Former Professional Golfer, Golf Analyst for ESPN - www.andynorth.com

Mark Paulson, MD (Past Chair)

Perham Health Clinic

David Bieto

President, Northern State Bank