A merger between Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health and Minneapolis-based Fairview Health System has been a subject of debate in the North Star State, with ownership of the University of Minnesota Medical Center proving particularly contentious, Becker’s reports.
Fairview acquired the university’s flagship hospital, also based in Minneapolis, in 1997. The entities’ affiliation agreement stretches until 2026. But the university is concerned that Fairview’s proposed merger with Sanford — which would create a 50-plus hospital system with 78,000 employees across the Dakotas and Minnesota — would interfere with its mission of providing academic healthcare in Minnesota.
Reacquiring the University of Minnesota Medical Center from Fairview would kick-start the institution’s “MPact Healthcare Innovation vision,” which it announced Jan. 12.
The new strategic plan highlights plans to “own, govern and control” flagship facilities, and potentially build a new hospital near the existing medical center. Read more.
