By Seth Boyes,
The WinnMed Board of Trustees approved a new service agreement with the Mayo Clinic System last week.
The hospital had held a professional services agreement as well as a management services agreement with the Mayo system in some form since 2005 — the PSA provided Mayo physicians to the Decorah location, and the MSA provided management and business services to the hospital through the broader Mayo system. WinnMed officials announced in June of 2024 that the hospital would no longer be managed by the Mayo system as of 2025, and new agreements were being pursued. WinnMed officials said at the time that its PSA and MSA were the only remaining agreements of their kind in Mayo’s entire enterprise.
WinnMed’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved a new professional services agreement with Mayo during its Jan. 8 meeting. The new agreement will take effect July 1 and is expected to remain in place for three consecutive five-year terms, according to information from the hospital — hospital staff confirmed there are no plans to establish a new MSA or similar agreement with Mayo Clinic after the current MSA expires in July.
“I am thrilled that WinnMed and Mayo Clinic Health System came together to develop an agreement that keeps our local physicians here in the community and supports the continuation of quality healthcare in our region,” said WinnMed’s Chief Administrative Officer Steve Slessor. “The approval of the new professional services agreement, along with the recent approval of the WinnMed Physician Compensation Plan by our board, gives our physicians two strong choices for remaining here to provide care to the thousands of patients who rely on them for healthcare.”
Clark Goltz, chair of WinnMed’s Board of Trustees, had noted soon after the June announcement that the change in management would allow the hospital opportunities to partner with a broader range of healthcare entities, rather than exclusively employing or contracting for services within the Mayo Clinic Health System.
“WinnMed is in a strong position to employ the existing leaders and pursue its goals independently,” Mayo’s Regional Vice President Dr. Robert Albright Jr. previously said in a statement dated June 27, 2024. “We appreciate and value the history of this partnership, and we look forward to collaborating to ensure patients in and around Decorah continue to receive high-quality care.”
WinnMed officials said the newly approved agreement is expected to create a framework for its physicians to continue providing healthcare at WinnMed as they have been — hospital staff confirmed no employees left their positions at WinnMed due to the transition.
The new professional services agreement includes all current Mayo physicians at WinnMed as well as two physicians who had signed contracts but had yet to begin their work, according to information released following last week’s vote. The hospital’s statement said any new physicians recruited by the hospital will be employed directly through WinnMed or another healthcare entity. Officials also noted WinnMed’s outreach physician services — such as ophthalmology, cardiology and urology — were already negotiated through separate contracts and will be unaffected when the new agreement takes effect this summer. The hospital’s statement said WinnMed will also continue to bill for services and insurance as it has been, and staff does not expect patients will experience any changes to their coverage due to the new agreement.
“I appreciate the many people who provided input throughout this process so we can move forward with a strong and solid foundation for the future,” Slessor said following last week’s board vote.
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Will it be harder to get a referral to a Rochester specialist with this change?