Health care at the University of Minnesota has a new name.
The school, University of Minnesota Physicians and Fairview Health Services launched a new brand of health care, called University of Minnesota Health, earlier this month.
The new brand streamlines hospitals, clinics and facilities previously operating under separate methods into one care model and one electronic medical record. This will make the patient and staff experience compatible and team-focused, University of Minnesota Physicians CEO Dr. Bobbi Daniels said.
“It really is kind of an exclamation point behind everything that we’ve been doing, and it symbolizes the coming together of these two organizations and the connection to the University,” Daniels said.
Patients can now rely on one health care system across the state, regardless of which University of Minnesota Health facility they use. Members of health care teams will also have better access to areas of expertise across professions, Daniels said.
University Medical School students will also be able to work between different clinics and hospitals with more consistency and ease.
The rebrand will unite the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview; Amplatz Children’s Hospital; Fairview Maple Grove Medical Center and other University of Minnesota Physicians clinics and phone service lines.
The hospitals, clinics and facilities that are now part of University of Minnesota Health will also incrementally fund the Medical School over the next decade with some of their profits.
In the next decade, the agreement says $90 million of profits from the brand’s participants will go to the Medical School.
“We’re always looking for even more collaboration with the [Medical] School,” University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview president Carolyn Wilson said. “We’re committed to increasing our academic support as well, because that’s so important to us and to our patients in Minnesota and our trainees.”
Better health care transparency nationwide and a more informed consumer base were a few of the reasons the partners decided to integrate, Wilson said.
The brand is the next stage in the evolution of UMP and Fairview’s partnership, which Daniels said began in 1997.
Recent milestones in this partnership include expansion of the University’s Biomedical Discovery District, an integrated structure agreement approved last year, and construction of the Ambulatory Care Center.
Discussion about the brand began in the fall of 2011. University of Minnesota Physicians and Fairview signed letters of intent in May 2013, and final legal agreements were signed in June, Wilson said. At that point, conversations began with the Board of Regents and branding consultants.
Since the process began last summer, University of Minnesota Physicians and Fairview have seen improvements in coordination of patient visits and testing, which have helped to reduce the time patients need to spend in hospitals and clinics for care.
A lot of care and thought went in to the name of the brand, Daniels said.
Regents Chair Richard Beeson said he’s happy with the final name choice and partnership.
“I think it elevates the University around the campus and the state of Minnesota,” Beeson said. “All the good that we do and having the University’s name associated with that will help everybody.”