Message

Investing in the Future of our Health Care Enterprise

Dear students, faculty, and staff,

We are writing today with important news about the University of Minnesota’s mission to support the health of all Minnesotans. The University is taking important steps to build a new vision for M Health, including our Medical School and health sciences and all of our healthcare enterprise.

Health care in our country and state are at a major crossroads and the impact on the people of Minnesota is profound and growing. In some cases that impact is life threatening. Downward revenue pressures, higher supply costs, and increased competition are resulting in historically low or negative margins. As a result, healthcare services are being cut back or are no longer accessible to many in Minnesota. The impact is felt most deeply among those in rural and underserved communities and among Tribal nations—all of whom have been central to the University’s healthcare mission since day one.

The University of Minnesota is taking proactive steps to overcome these challenges while remaining rooted in the University’s historic and long-standing commitment to excellence in clinical care and academic and research programs. Our approach will leverage the full reach of the University, the strength of its Medical School, and the innovation of its M Physicians' practice in service to patients across Minnesota.

Specifically:

  • We will integrate more fully all the elements of the University’s healthcare enterprise, including with M Physicians. The fuller integration will knit together all our healthcare work to advance the health of all Minnesotans and elevate our leadership in the state, nation, and world.
  • We are committed to add important expertise and capacity to our already strong University-wide health and clinical leadership teams. The University has begun a search for an interim Executive Vice President for Health Affairs (EVPHA), who will join Dr. Jakub Tolar, Dean of the Medical School and Vice President for Clinical Affairs, and Dr. Bevan Yueh, CEO of University of Minnesota Physicians. While the University’s expertise is exceptionally strong in the academic, clinical, and interdisciplinary approaches needed for success, this leader will bring experience that will be essential to owning and operating a successful and financially feasible hospital system. The Medical School Dean and M Physicians CEO will report to and work in partnership with the EVPHA to unify Medical School operations and the clinical practice in this next phase of the University's academic health enterprise. This expanded expertise and capability is essential for managing and operating a successful and financially sustainable university health system.
  • We will continue to analyze our operations, create new opportunities for collaboration, and be extraordinary stewards of our resources through a new University of Minnesota Physicians governance structure—the creation of which will lift up faculty input and leadership. This work will help ensure the success and vitality of our world-class medical school and superb faculty practice.
  • M Physicians aims to adopt an updated governance structure in partnership with the University that will maintain and empower faculty, physician, and healthcare professional leadership, while preparing to lead a reinvisioned and full-scale operation of our university health system. An implementation plan for integrated governance will be developed by June 30, 2025 and faculty, physicians, and healthcare professionals will be afforded ample opportunity to offer input.
  • The University continues to explore options to purchase the University of Minnesota Medical Center assets from Fairview Health Services—East and West Bank facilities, Masonic Children’s Hospital, and the Clinics and Surgery Center on Fulton Street SE, Minneapolis.

The growing demand for innovative health solutions and Minnesota’s current and future health workforce needs make these investments essential. The conclusion of existing M Health Fairview agreements in 2026, along with our ongoing collaboration with Fairview to forge a new path, presents an exciting opportunity to build and implement this vision for the future. We must invest now to further strengthen the University’s position and prepare for our successful shared future.

Creating a reimagined, U of M-led health system is a monumental public service opportunity and responsibility that requires us to preserve the best of what we do, evolve our approach where needed, and invest in ways that best serve our patients, the state, nation, and world. We will embrace this opportunity and prepare to integrate a new M Health vision that innovates and supports all Minnesotans. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the physicians, health professionals, faculty, researchers, students, and staff that have fostered our long tradition of innovation and public service. We are strongly committed to ensuring their legacy of excellence is sustained for generations to come.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Cunningham, MD
President

Jakub Tolar, MD, PhD
Dean of the Medical School
Vice President for Clinical Affairs
Chair, University of Minnesota Physicians Board of Directors

Bevan Yueh, MD, MPH
CEO, University of Minnesota Physicians
Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs, University of Minnesota Medical School