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U considers a multimillion dollar health system renovation
September 3, 2004

Minneapolis, Minn. — (AP) - The University of Minnesota is considering a half-billion-dollar plan to renovate its medical facilities in an effort to improve patient care and boost the medical school's reputation.

The 10-year plan, estimated to cost $500 million, would eventually close the Riverside branch of Fairview-University Medical Center, transfer all hospital care to the university campus, and build a new children's center and outpatient clinic.

The university is also proposing to build a new school of public health, at a cost of about $150 million.

Dr. Frank Cerra, senior vice president of health services, said the investments will improve patient care and draw high quality staff and students - as well as more grant money - to the university.

"That's what makes the difference in a top-shelf medical school," he said.

The $500 million plan is still in the formative stages and requires approval from the university's Board of Regents. It was drafted by top university officials, the Fairview hospital system and a group representing physicians at the medical school.

"We know we're going to have to raise money to do this," Cerra said.

The details, including the funding, are still being worked out. Cerra said costs would be shared by the university, Fairview Health Services and the physicians' practice group. He said the groups could issue bonds to help cover the construction costs or work out leasing arrangements with a developer.

The plans call for razing one of two dorms, Pioneer Hall or Centennial Hall, to make way for the new children's center and outpatient clinic.

Cerra said he hopes to complete the plans by the end of the year and break ground in about two years. The Board of Regents is expected to review the plan in November and vote at a later date.

The plan also must be approved by Fairview, which bought the university hospital in 1997. Fairview merged the university hospital with its Riverside hospital across the Mississippi River and has operated them jointly ever since.

David Page, Fairview's chief executive officer, said the company has been looking for a chance to consolidate.

"We would like to have all the assets of the hospital on one side of the river," he said.

Among other things, the plan would consolidate children's services that are now scattered throughout the medical campus. It would also close the outpatient clinics in the Phillips-Wangensteen building and replace them with new ones that are more accessible to medical students.

When the old clinics were built in the 1960s, most teaching took place in hospitals. But now, much of the hands-on teaching has shifted to outpatient clinics, and the university needs to adapt, said Dr. Roby Thompson, who heads University of Minnesota Physicians, the faculty practice group.

He said the new clinics will allow the medical staff to see twice as many patients. The old clinic building would be converted into research and teaching facilities.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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