Former Govs. Pawlenty, Dayton urge Fairview and University of Minnesota to resolve dispute soon

Two former governors on Tuesday urged Fairview and the University of Minnesota to work out financial terms of a long-term partnership after the health system said the existing arrangement is untenable.

Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty requested more specifics on what the state would have to "backfill" to address the U's financial needs while former Gov. Mark Dayton expressed dismay over all that has unfolded this past year.

The two men, speaking before a state task force on training health professionals at the U, agreed the ongoing uncertainty must end or risk top talent leaving the university.

"Your presentation glosses over the reality of what you have put Minnesotans through for the last year," Dayton said following remarks from James Hereford, the Fairview chief executive. "It seems as though you're making your own decisions in your own best interest without concern for the future of the medical school, which then means the future of medical care in Minnesota."

The comments came one day after Fairview announced it won't renew its current affiliation with the university, which runs through the end of 2026, but pledged to negotiate for a new agreement.

Fairview acquired the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis in 1997 and provides significant financial support to the U's medical school — at least $100 million this year alone.

Hereford said the health system is willing to pay its fair share and wants the university to be successful.

"The problem is we have been a source of investment into the university, and we simply cannot afford it at the levels that we've been able to support it at in the past," Hereford said. "It's just not going to work."

The task force heard from Hereford as it moves into the next phase of its work, drafting recommendations by mid-January for what additional state support lawmakers should provide for training health care professionals at the U.

That's difficult to do, Pawlenty said, without knowing how much funding Fairview will provide going forward.

"I know there's a lot behind the curtain here, but it would help a lot if you and the university and your team could agree on the number," he said to Hereford. "You're not going to probably want to put your number out there first, because you'd like to see what the state is going to do ... because maybe the state will pay more than you think. So, it's sort of this weird moment."

To reach a new agreement, Dayton said Fairview and the U will likely need a mediator to resolve all the bad blood built up over the past year.

He criticized the health system for pushing a merger with Sanford Health, which the university opposed. And he faulted Fairview for how it handled Monday's decision to not renew the existing affiliation agreement, saying the U's two members on the Fairview board of directors only learned of it that morning.

"From all descriptions I've heard, that relationship is in tatters," Dayton told Hereford.

The CEO did not respond directly to the comments, but told both governors at different points that he recognized the urgency of the situation.

"Time is of the essence. We need to come together. We need to figure out what our solution paths are," Hereford said.

The health system's decision this week doesn't affect the delivery of patient care at M Health Fairview, the network of hospitals and clinics that it jointly operates with the U. The current affiliation will run through at least December 31, 2026, while Fairview and the university work toward a new agreement.

"I hope what we're continuing to signal to all our respective organizations is that we're leaning in, we're committed, we're looking for a path forward," Hereford said. "Because that does help stabilize."

Jeffrey Ettinger, the interim president of the U, opened the meeting by requesting "conceptual support" from the task force for building a new world-class medical center facility on its East Bank campus — an idea the university started to publicly float in January.

Doctors are working in "outdated facilities" at the U Medical Center, where space is so tight that some patients are being turned away, even for services where the U has unique expertise, he said.

What's more, Ettinger said, there's operational inefficiency with staff and patients having to routinely travel across the Mississippi River between medical center facilities on or near the U's East Bank and West Bank campuses.

"The university does not intend to ask for specific financial support of new facilities in the 2024 legislative session — the near-term need is clearly to stabilize the funding for the academic medical programs," Ettinger said.

"We will be keenly interested in soliciting and receiving your conceptual support for this vision for a world-class medical center on the Twin Cities campus," he said, "that fosters our academic health mission, its core health sciences and serves Minnesotans with the best we have to offer."