The preliminary request for the State of Minnesota to support the university’s health system, UMN Health, aims to acquire flagship healthcare facilities — the University Medical Center East and West Bank facilities, Masonic Children’s Hospital and its clinics and surgery center — and operate the flagship facilities. The investment would also include the transfer of facilities and funding for workforce needs, union contracts and new leadership for a university-operated organization.
The move would significantly alter the university’s relationship with Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services amid its proposed merger with Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health. University officials oppose the merger.
“The stakes are high for us all,” board chair Ken Powell said in a March 10 news release. “We are presented with a historic opportunity to create a strong University-centric academic health system. For the public interest to prevail, we need the public to care — and to act.”
The next board meeting is scheduled for May 11-12.
