Fairview gave recommendations to the state’s Task Force on Academic Health on Tuesday and said they need to invest in research and education at the University of Minnesota.
These recommendations come after Fairview announced Monday they will not renew their contract with the University six weeks before the Dec. 31 deadline.
James Hereford, the president and CEO of Fairview, said Fairview has a network of more than 5,000 providers, including faculty from the University.
“I believe deeply in the importance of the University of Minnesota to Minnesotans,” Hereford said. “To their health, to the vitality of our economics — it is central that it is successful.”
Former Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, a special advisor on the task force, said Hereford’s presentation glossed over the reality of Fairview’s relationship with the state, citing the failed Sanford-Fairview merger opposed by the University.
Additionally, Fairview announced on Nov. 3 they planned to cut 250 jobs by the end of the year, according to MPR.
“You dragged the state and the medical school,” Dayton said. “From all descriptions I’ve read, that relationship [between Fairview and the University] is in tatters.”
The agreement between Fairview and the University lasts until 2026. The contract has an automatic renewal and without notification, the agreement would be renewed for another decade, Hereford said.
The M Fairview Health contract was crafted in 1997 and needed to be updated, according to Hereford.
“We felt strongly that we did not want to have that agreement,” Hereford said. “What it does not indicate is that we do not want a relationship with the University.”
The University and Fairview will work together to draft a new contract before the current one expires in three years.
Hereford added the decision does not change the health care provided by Fairview.
Fairview’s decisions were made without concern for the future of the University Medical School or health care in Minnesota, Dayton said.
“In fact, it seems you are making your decisions in your own best interests,” Dayton said.
At a special meeting for the committee on academic health on Tuesday, the Board of Regents reviewed the state of the health sciences at the University.
Regent Penny Wheeler said the board will discuss the M Fairview Health decision not to renew the contract at the next meeting Dec. 7-8.
Jane Dugan
Nov 22, 2023 at 11:27 am
As a Fairview patient, I find this corporation to be greedy (cutting space in their clinics so each exam room is the size of the smallest walk-in closet, any many other similar cost-cutting measures. I had a chipped bone that went undiagnosed because no x-rays were taken (too expensive!). An orthopedist at a non-Fairview clinic found it. Healing time five weeks extra because of this. Overall morale among the staff I see seems sadly low. Rarely a smile is to be seen! I could go on, but that’s enough for now.
John Crosson
Nov 22, 2023 at 9:23 am
An adequate clinical base for teaching purposes is critical for a good medical education for all health care providers.