Essentia Health and University of Minnesota Looks to Form Non-Profit Health Care Organization

MINNESOTA — Essentia Health and the University of Minnesota are looking to build a more sustainable future together with $1 billion dollars investment over the several years.

Both organizations’ leaders have proposed the formation of a new non-profit health care organization, which aims to improve patient outcomes, expand access to health care, and combine both institution’s visions towards a stronger healthcare in Minnesota.

The project looks to combine Essentia Health rural health care system and the University of Minnesota’s academic research into a new integrated care model.

“Our state’s health care providers and leaders, as well as everyday Minnesotans, have said loud and clear that the status quo is no longer working for anyone,” said University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham in a press release. “This bold, newly proposed path would shift us away from business as usual and position us to transformational solutions in health care.”

Through this vision, Essentia patients would have a more seamless access to the highest levels of care through collaboration with the University’s academic medical center.

The proposed framework also opens potential for significant re-investment in rural health care.