The merger is scheduled to end on March 31, but Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said that timeline is concerning.
Minneapolis — Critics of the move are growing as the potential merger of two major healthcare systems approaches.
And now that voice includes Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
In a statement to KARE 11, Ellison wrote: It’s the deadline and I’m waiting for an official response. “
If all goes according to plan, Fairview Health Services and Sanford Health have agreed to merge on March 31st. It’s a move the two systems first attempted a decade ago.
It was, and still is, severely criticized. People share similar concerns at several listening sessions Ellison’s office has hosted statewide.The most recent was held Wednesday night in Worthington.
Fairview and Sanford leaders addressed the audience as well as former nurses who worked at Worthington Regional Hospital, which Sanford took over in 2008.
“We were told there would be no change. Slowly, this increased more and more,” said one nurse who had worked there for 48 years. , business and profit came first, patients second.”
But while there was concern, there was also some praise — partly from a pastor who runs a free clinic for uninsured immigrants.
“Sanford Health plays a key role in our ability to provide accessible and timely care for our communities,” said James Callahan. “Our job is not easy, but Sanford Health and other clinics, I am very grateful.”
Founded more than 100 years ago, Sanford is based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and is known for serving rural people while rooted in the Lutheran Church. Already in Minnesota he runs 20 hospitals.
Fairview is a nonprofit affiliated with the University of Minnesota and its medical center (the hospital Fairview bought back in 1997), but now U of M wants to buy it back and build another hospital .
The move was only announced at a press conference in mid-January when the merger became more clear.
In that same statement, Ellison also said U of M “has not given due consideration to its interests,” which is part of the reason it is calling for the March 31 merger to be postponed. I wrote that it is also.
“The hearings we have conducted so far have provided useful information and the investigation goes well beyond them. We are now awaiting substantive information from Fairview and Sanford that needs analysis. The University of Minnesota believes that this proposed merger has moved too quickly, its interests have not been fully considered, and the Minnesota legislature will soon begin reviewing the matter,” Ellison wrote.
Several unions, such as the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), are also against the merger. We represent workers in aviation, woodworking, manufacturing, healthcare and other industries in Minnesota and across the country.
“When we talk about healthcare mergers, we should first look at the research. According to research by the Kaiser Family Foundation, these types of corporate healthcare mergers can result in higher costs for patients and what’s out there. There is generally no indication that this type of merger will improve the quality of service,” said Shane Brinton, director of IAM Healthcare.
According to Brinton, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that hospitals acquired by off-market hospital systems cost about 17 percent more than independent hospitals that were not acquired.
IAM represents approximately 400 healthcare workers in the upper Midwest. Of these workers, 100 are Sanford nurses, personal care attendants and dietitians.
Brinton said Sanford successfully merged with the Good Samaritan Society in 2018, ultimately closing nine nursing homes between November 2021 and June 2022.
A nurse who attended a Worthington listening session said, “Hospitals used to be places where people went to work and were there for their careers.
Another listening session is scheduled in Grand Rapids on Tuesday, January 31st.
“Listen to those on the front lines,” Brinton said. “Keep calm and review the evidence, and after you’ve done it all, go back and reconsider your decision.”
In its latest statement, Fairview said the merger is about doing more for the people it serves.
A spokesperson wrote: “While our target date is March 31, we are working closely with the Office of the Attorney General to ensure we have the information we need to evaluate this merger. It’s meant to do more for the people we serve, and it’s getting behind every day.The Sanford-Fairview merger is great for our patients, our people, and the communities we serve. We will be missing out on an opportunity to realize significant benefits. This merger also takes an important step in providing Minnesota communities with the financial sustainability they need to serve them well into the future.
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