Steven Briggs, MD, FACS

Steven Briggs, MD, FACS, is chief medical officer for the Fargo Region of Sanford Health, the largest rural health system in the country, and a practicing trauma surgeon at Sanford Medical Center Fargo, the only Level 1 Trauma Center in the state of North Dakota. Prior to becoming CMO in 2022, Dr. Briggs spent 18 years in the surgical practice of Emergency General Surgery, Trauma, and Surgical Critical Care and was physician lead in the initiatives to build American College of Surgeons Level II Pediatric and Adult Level 1 Trauma Centers in Fargo.
He received a B.A. in biology from Concordia College in Moorhead, Mn. while working as both a ground and flight paramedic, an M.D. from the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Services, and completed a general surgery residency at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ. He also completed a fellowship in Surgical Critical Care and Trauma through East Carolina University at Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville, N.C. In addition, he has completed Physician Leadership College at the University of St. Thomas – Opus College of Business in Minneapolis. 

Dr. Briggs also serves as Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences.  He has held several leadership roles at Sanford Health over the last 18 years including Service Chair of Trauma and Acute Surgery, Medical Director of Trauma Services, Medical Director for Sanford AirMed Fargo, and has been a member of the Physician Executive Committee and Board of Directors. Dr. Briggs is passionate about advancing innovation in health care, supporting provider well-being and improving quality and safety outcomes. Since assuming his role as chief medical officer in Fargo, Sanford Medical Center Fargo has seen an overall reduction of serious safety events by approximately 50% and achieved a 5-star rating from CMS. He has also teamed up with Sanford on the conceptual development intellectual property around safer gastrostomy tubes in the ICU, and minimally invasive approaches to the surgical stabilization of rib fractures.