Medi-Sota

What Medi-Sota does

Medi-Sota, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit healthcare consortium headquartered in Dawson, Minnesota, founded in March 1976 by five rural communities (Appleton, Dawson, Madison, Montevideo, Ortonville) to jointly attract physicians. The organization now serves 36-39 rural healthcare organizations across Minnesota through four integrated service lines: (1) membership-based collective purchasing and preferred-vendor contracting across more than twenty categories (waste management, EHR, education, chronic care, revenue cycle, mobile imaging, equipment, legal, etc.); (2) healthcare provider recruitment, operating as the lead agency for 3RNet in Minnesota since 2019, with placement fees of $15,000-$25,000 for physicians and advanced practice providers and up to $12,000 for allied health professionals; (3) education and training programs, internally managed since 2020, delivered through workshops, webinars, on-demand video, and CEU-eligible content; and (4) peer networking via department manager meetings, administrator meetings approximately six times per year, annual board retreats, and quarterly nursing-administrator meetings. Governance is cooperative: CEOs of member facilities serve as the Board of Directors, led by President Brad Burris (CEO, Pipestone County Medical Center).

The underlying technology is a straightforward web-based member portal supporting meeting calendars, workshop registrations, an education media library, and document sharing, with no proprietary AI/ML components and no public API or SDK. The revenue model is a hybrid of recurring annual membership dues ($5,500 per member, billed quarterly at $1,375), episodic recruitment placement fees, modest pay-as-you-go fees for select education programs, and historical grant funding (e.g., Otto Bremer Foundation, 1995; MN Rural Flex Program, 2001). Day-to-day operations are delivered by a four-person core team: Executive Director Jennifer Gearman, Member Services Coordinator Alyssa Christianson, Healthcare Recruiter Pamela G. Lehmann, and Executive Assistant Nikki Larson. The operating geography is exclusively Minnesota, with no disclosed expansion outside the state.

Name

Medi-Sota

Legal name

Medi-Sota, Inc.

Website

https://medi-sota.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Medi-Sota is a non-profit healthcare consortium serving 36-39 rural Minnesota healthcare organizations with collective purchasing, preferred-vendor contracting, healthcare provider recruitment (as Minnesota's 3RNet lead agency), and member education and networking programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rural Healthcare Consortium Services

NAICS

Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthcare Clinical & Allied Health Staffing (BPACADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Workforce Development & Training Grants (Public Health) (HLAJALAM)

Keywords

• Rural healthcare consortium
• Healthcare recruitment services
• Healthcare education programs
• Group purchasing organization
• Vendor contracting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Dawson

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues of $5,500 ($1,375 quarterly). Provides access to all consortium benefits including education, recruitment services, preferred vendor contracts, and networking.
2. Recruitment Services: Healthcare provider placement fees: $15,000-$25,000 for physicians, specialists, and advanced practice providers; 20% of annual wage (max $12,000) for allied health professionals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Medi-Sota, Inc. is a non-profit healthcare consortium providing rural Minnesota healthcare organizations with collective purchasing power, preferred vendor contracting, continuing education programs, healthcare professional recruitment services, and peer networking. Members pay annual dues of $5,500 and access recruitment placement services, Lorman continuing education webinars, preferred-vendor discounts, and regular member meetings. The organization also serves as the lead agency for 3RNet in Minnesota.

Product overview

Medi-Sota is a non-profit healthcare consortium of 36-39 rural healthcare organizations in Minnesota. The organization operates as a unified platform offering multiple interconnected services: (1) Healthcare Consortium Membership providing collective purchasing power and preferred vendor contracting, (2) Recruitment Services including 3RNet Minnesota lead agency operations for healthcare professional placements, (3) Education and Workshop Programs with monthly webinars and on-demand training, and (4) Networking Services through regular member meetings. The consortium helps members reduce costs through group purchasing, fill workforce gaps through recruitment programs, maintain compliance through education, and share best practices through peer networking. Annual membership dues are $5,500/year.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Healthcare Consortium Membership Annual membership for rural Minnesota healthcare organizations providing collective purchasing power, preferred vendor contracting, continuing education, recruitment services, and peer networking. Members pay $5,500/year (billed $1,375 quarterly).
• Healthcare Recruitment Services Recruitment program connecting physicians, specialists, advanced practice providers, and allied health professionals with member rural Minnesota healthcare facilities. Placement fees range $15,000-$25,000 for advanced providers and 20% of annual wage (max $12,000) for allied health professionals.
• 3RNet Minnesota Lead Agency Service Lead agency for 3RNet (National Rural Health Network) operations in Minnesota, connecting healthcare professionals seeking rural opportunities with member and subscribing rural organizations across the state.
• Education and Workshop Programs Workshops, webinars, and on-demand training library covering healthcare topics including Acute Care, Long Term Care, Management, Business Office, Compliance, and ancillary departments. Continuing education credits available; free or discounted rates for members.
• Preferred Vendor Contracting Services Negotiated preferred-vendor contracts across business office resources, education, facility services, grants, health information hardware/services, HR staffing, legal, mobile services, purchasing/equipment, waste management, interpretation, website/social media, and clinical support services. Provides member facilities discounted access without mandatory contracts.
• Member Networking Services Facilitated peer networking via department manager meetings, administrator meetings approximately six times per year, annual Board retreats, and quarterly nursing administrator meetings for regulatory compliance and best practice sharing.

Quantifiable outcome

• 52% reduction in hospital readmissions through Chronic Care Management (Chartspan vendor)

Named customers16 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• 3RNet (National Rural Health Network)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedi-Sota serves as the lead organization for 3RNet in Minnesota, connecting healthcare professionals with opportunities in rural and underserved areas. This role provides access to a broad pool of candidates and enables sharing of recruitment opportunities with both Medi-Sota member facilities and subscribing 3RNet organizations.
• StericycleminorOthersRegulated medical waste, hazardous waste, and pharmaceutical waste disposal services for members.
• Rural Health AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGroup purchasing organization partner. Previously co-founded recruitment program with Medi-Sota in 2001; RHA exited in 2015 leaving Medi-Sota as sole owner.
• ReliasminorOthersComputer-based training software, courses, and learning administration platform for member education.
• TransmedminorOthersMobile ultrasound and echocardiography services.
• Shared Medical ServicesminorOthersMobile MRI and PET/CT imaging services.
• ChartspanminorOthersChronic Care Management, Annual Wellness Visits, and Quality Improvement Services. Reduces hospital readmissions by 52% on average.
• SpendMend PharmacyminorOthers340B audit, compliance, and cost recovery services for pharmacy operations.
• Sand ConsultingminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerStrategic planning, change management, organizational culture, and physician leadership development.
• Woods FullerminorOthersHealthcare legal services including immigration legal services for members.
• Lorman Education ServicesminorOthersOnline and on-demand training with CEU credits for member staff education.
• ZieglerminorOthersGenerator maintenance services for member facilities.
• AgilitiminorOthersClinical engineering services and medical equipment management.
• OmnicellminorOthersAutomated dispensing systems for medication management.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Vizient: Large national healthcare performance improvement and group purchasing organization. Operates at vastly greater scale than Medi-Sota but competes for the same wallet share on group purchasing, analytics, and supply chain services for hospital members.
• HealthTrust Performance Group: Group purchasing organization serving hospitals, ambulatory centers, and non-acute providers. Comparable to Medi-Sota in the group-purchasing and contract-negotiation dimension but at national scale and with deeper clinical supply chain expertise.
• Minnesota Hospital Association: State-level membership association representing Minnesota hospitals and health systems. Serves a much broader set of members (including urban systems) but overlaps with Medi-Sota on advocacy, education, and peer-networking for the rural subset.
• Premier Inc. Major healthcare GPO and performance improvement company serving hospitals and health systems. Competes in the same group-purchasing and supply-chain category as Medi-Sota's vendor contracting program, but at national scale.

Regional players

• Iowa Hospital Association: State-level membership association for Iowa hospitals. Operates a similar model to Medi-Sota (membership, education, advocacy, group services) but in an adjacent geography and at slightly larger scale, serving as a useful comparison for state-level rural consortium models.
• Wisconsin Hospital Association: State-level membership association for Wisconsin hospitals providing advocacy, education, and shared services. Comparable in structure and member-services mix to Medi-Sota but serving a larger and more diverse membership base.
• Stratis Health: Minnesota-based independent nonprofit working on healthcare quality, patient safety, and care transitions. Overlaps with Medi-Sota on the quality-improvement and education side for rural Minnesota providers but is more focused on QIO-style services.

Direct peers

• Rural Health Alliance: Minnesota-based rural healthcare group purchasing and partnership organization. It co-founded the recruitment program with Medi-Sota before exiting in 2015 and remains a directly comparable peer in shared services for rural Minnesota facilities.
• National Rural Health Association: National membership organization focused on rural health issues, advocacy, education, and workforce. Directly comparable to Medi-Sota in mission and member-services structure, but at national scale and primarily focused on policy and advocacy rather than recruitment/operations.
• 3RNet (National Rural Health Network): National network dedicated to connecting healthcare professionals with rural and underserved opportunities. Medi-Sota is the Minnesota lead agency for 3RNet, making it both a partner and a comparable state-level recruitment intermediary for rural healthcare.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/medisota
• Facebookfacebook.com/medisotarecruiting
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/medisota

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Medi-Sota