T Denny Sanford

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GopherWeatherGuy said:
Sanford isn't moving their headquarters to Minneapolis, plus they are larger than Fairview. If the deal goes through, it will be headquartered in Sioux Falls.

This isn't the first time they've attempted this merger, so it wouldn't surprise me if it fell through, again.
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What numbers are you using to state Sanford is larger?
 

PMWinSTP said:
What numbers are you using to state Sanford is larger?
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Right, Fairview has, I believe, more overall revenue. Sanford has more (but smaller) hospitals. Fairview states they have 27.6% of the metro market share, including the academic crown jewel. It would be a shame to allow an entity domiciled in North Dakota, headquartered in South Dakota and fueled by the donations of T Denny to gain control.

 
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Gophers_4life said:
(Mod team: feel free to move this thread to OTB at any time. It hasn't been about the OP question for some posts now. Or don't.)

Fairview VP write-in to the STrib: (this is not the full text of it, but the meat of it)

Rather than continue to focus on what will happen if Fairview and Sanford Health combine, it's time to ask: What will happen if they don't combine?

Let's start with the facts: More than half of U.S. care delivery systems lost money last year due to increasing labor and supply costs, and declining health care reimbursements from government and private payers. As a result, many health systems have had to make difficult decisions to cut services, reduce staff or worse — leave a community altogether.

Fairview has been transparent about its financial challenges. In line with previous years where reimbursements did not keep pace with costs, Fairview is expected to lose more than $300 million in 2022. And with current labor costs and Fairview's ongoing commitment to fund the university to the tune of $80 million a year, 2023 looks to have another significant negative operating margin. This path is simply not sustainable.

Given these losses, Fairview will have a difficult time investing in needed infrastructure and expansion of hospitals such as St. John's in Maplewood, which is experiencing crushing demands on its emergency room and hospital beds. This trajectory will not slow down as our population ages. To meet the long-term care needs of baby boomers, social and public policy changes must begin soon. As health care providers, we cannot sit idle and wait for change to happen. We must innovate now to provide the care our patients deserve, when they need it.

Like all hospital systems, Fairview also needs to make future investments in rapidly changing medical technology and facilities if it is to remain relevant in Minnesota. Sanford will bring some of those needed resources as it has done in Minnesota over the past 25 years. Look no further than Bemidji for evidence. Since merging with North Country Health Services in 2011, Sanford Health has invested more than $100 million to increase access to primary and specialty care. Sanford has also kept its commitments to ensuring accessible, culturally competent care for Native American and tribal communities, and other underserved populations.

This is not about growth for growth's sake. This is about doing the right thing for Minnesotans. The pandemic underscored the importance of working together to deliver critical health care under extraordinary circumstances. Once again, we must join forces — urgently — to prepare for a new world of health care delivery, one that can address the many health and wellness needs of our state.

This is a merger between two very complementary organizations and does not create a monopoly in either the Twin Cities or greater Minnesota. Both Fairview and Sanford Health are not-for-profit organizations, have shared experience in providing care to patients in the Upper Midwest, and have demonstrated high quality of care in the communities they serve.

Last, I am surprised by the vehement opposition to this merger by the University of Minnesota and its portrayal of it as a takeover of the Medical School. This is simply not true. This bears repeating — Fairview and the U are separate organizations and do not control the other's destiny. Fairview has never been involved in the operations, research, education or direction of the Medical School or its provider group, and neither will Sanford.
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Given the pandemic events of the past few years, associated staff retirements and eg traveling nurse costs is it shocking to have temporary losses. The question is whether this VP expects those operating losses to continue into the future. Maybe there are structural factors that predict eventual financial ruin but a few bad years in the midst of a pandemic seems more like not letting a crisis go to waste.

I don’t think Minnesotans are getting the full picture here and there are undoubtedly and inevitably some dollar incentives for the merger to proceed that probably aren’t advertised. Is it good for patients, workers, or healthcare costs. I’m going to guess no.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Right, Fairview has, I believe, more overall revenue. Sanford has more (but smaller) hospitals. Fairview states they have 27.6% of the metro market share, including the academic crown jewel. It would be a shame to allow an entity domiciled in North Dakota, headquartered in South Dakota and fueled by the donations of T Denny to gain control.

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Agree. Fairview had about $1B more in revenue reported in 2021.
 



Pompous Elitist said:
Sanford doesn’t own Sanford Health, he “bought” naming rights with large donations. He has done similar elsewhere. How much he has to do with day to day operations is completely unknown, I’d guess.
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He has zero to do with the operations. Lives in AZ. I believe the balance of his fortune goes to Sanford Health upon his death.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Right, Fairview has, I believe, more overall revenue. Sanford has more (but smaller) hospitals. Fairview states they have 27.6% of the metro market share, including the academic crown jewel. It would be a shame to allow an entity domiciled in North Dakota, headquartered in South Dakota and fueled by the donations of T Denny to gain control.

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Well said!
 

Where do the University and M Health Fairview stand in the largesse if Sanford gives away his fortune so he has zero balance upon his demise?

More importantly for Gopher Football fans, is he going to donate more money to Gopher Athletics?

The expiration date needs to be considered. IMHO, it is not a good picture.
 

hungan1 said:
Where do the University and M Health Fairview stand in the largesse if Sanford gives away his fortune so he has zero balance upon his demise?

More importantly for Gopher Football fans, is he going to donate more money to Gopher Athletics?

The expiration date needs to be considered. IMHO, it is not a good picture.
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Wut the wut wut?
 



Gophers_4life said:
Last, I am surprised by the vehement opposition to this merger by the University of Minnesota and its portrayal of it as a takeover of the Medical School. This is simply not true. This bears repeating — Fairview and the U are separate organizations and do not control the other's destiny. Fairview has never been involved in the operations, research, education or direction of the Medical School or its provider group, and neither will Sanford.
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To answer my own question, and exactly as I suspected:

hfo2aO0.jpg



So while, as he says here, neither Fairview currently nor Sanford if the merger were completed, actually dictate what is taught in the first two years of the U's Med School ... the last two years are potentially directly impacted.

Of course, residency would be as well. But those are graduates of med schools from all over the country, not just the U's.
 


Gophers_4life said:
Which is exactly why if that does indeed happen, the company headquarters must be located in Minnesota and thus be answerable to Minnesota state government.

That should be written into state law.


No different to Xcel and the PUC.
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The Sanford folks are perfectly capable of running things from SD. It will be a breath of fresh air to have some new perspectives. What is clear is that the U hospital has significant balance sheet and cash flow issues that have stressed Fairview and now Fairview would like to move on. The $1 billion the U just asked for is silly. They are getting curb stomped by Mayo and need to up their game in a lot of ways.
 




It never fails, the Holier than Thou are worse than thou.
 

Gophers_4life said:
To answer my own question, and exactly as I suspected:

hfo2aO0.jpg



So while, as he says here, neither Fairview currently nor Sanford if the merger were completed, actually dictate what is taught in the first two years of the U's Med School ... the last two years are potentially directly impacted.

Of course, residency would be as well. But those are graduates of med schools from all over the country, not just the U's.
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Having graduated from med school and residency at the U I would say a couple things.

One is that I’m not clear how the merger would affect the med school clinical faculty. Historically academic physicians have been better protected against the pressure to produce more clinical revenue, so they have more time for research and teaching. In recent years that has changed in many places around the country and at the U it would be no different. If they were independent, I think the pressure would be higher.

In regard to medical school, what I liked most about the U was that the clinical rotations could be done at any of the major hospitals around town which gave a more representative experience of medical practice. So I don’t think this experience would be much different whatever happens with Sanford ownership. In residency we were a bit more centralized but still spent about 1/3 or our time at the VA, for instance.
 

Catechol said:
Having graduated from med school and residency at the U I would say a couple things.

One is that I’m not clear how the merger would affect the med school clinical faculty. Historically academic physicians have been better protected against the pressure to produce more clinical revenue, so they have more time for research and teaching. In recent years that has changed in many places around the country and at the U it would be no different. If they were independent, I think the pressure would be higher.

In regard to medical school, what I liked most about the U was that the clinical rotations could be done at any of the major hospitals around town which gave a more representative experience of medical practice. So I don’t think this experience would be much different whatever happens with Sanford ownership. In residency we were a bit more centralized but still spent about 1/3 or our time at the VA, for instance.
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Thanks for the response and perspective.

The two main aspects you brought up, I don't think is what most people are talking about or worried about. Agree they wouldn't change much, or like you said if they went independent then med school faculty perhaps would be under more pressure to publish more.


There are other aspects about not really just medical education but really healthcare in this system in general. IE, what doctors, residents, med students would be allowed to practice in the facilities ......


I don't want it to be possible that a board sitting in Sioux Falls, beyond the reach of the Minnesota state government, gets to dictate that.
 




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