On June 27, the WinnMed Board of Trustees responded to a notice provided by Mayo Clinic Health System (MCHS) that the current Management Services Agreement (MSA) with WinnMed will not be renewed when it expires on July 1, 2025. Additionally, MCHS had voiced intentions to the WinnMed Board of Trustees to engage in negotiations with WinnMed leaders to develop a modified, long-term Professional Services Agreement, which would take effect in July 2025 for the MCHS physicians who practice at WinnMed.
At the June 27 meeting, the WinnMed Board of Trustees voted to appoint Steve Slessor, the chief administrative officer under the MSA, as the new WinnMed chief administrative officer. Slessor accepted their offer and began his WinnMed employment July 3, 2024.
Slessor and Dr. Tom Marquardt, chief medical officer of WinnMed, provide insight and information to patients and the broader region regarding the transition.
- What is a Management Services Agreement (MSA) and Professional Services Agreement (PSA)? The MSA is a legal agreement that provides WinnMed management/business services through Mayo Clinic Health System. The PSA is a legal agreement that provides Mayo Clinic Health System physicians to WinnMed. These agreements have been in place with various amendments since 2005 and are reviewed every three to five years. Mayo Clinic Health System physicians have had a presence in Decorah since 1992.
- What does the transition mean for WinnMed? Business strategies are always changing, including in healthcare. The transition opens alternate paths for WinnMed to reach our goals and there are positive opportunities in our future:
a. Current Mayo Clinic Health System physicians can continue to practice here as they do now
b. WinnMed will have full discretion on which specialties we recruit to join our WinnMed practice
c. WinnMed will have more local control over how we deliver service
d. WinnMed can broaden its partnerships as opportunities arise
e. Mayo Clinic will continue to be an important partner for us
- Why are these agreements changing? The Mayo Clinic Health System strategy is focused on fully owned facilities and medical practices. In fact, the MSA and PSA contracts were the only agreements of these types remaining in the entire Mayo Clinic Enterprise. WinnMed is owned by the citizens of Winneshiek County and governed by an elected board. The change in agreements allows both organizations to pursue their strategies independently. Mayo Clinic Health System has openly expressed their appreciation for the high quality of care and positive patient experience we provide at WinnMed. They have shared their desire for us to be successful and will support us in ways that also align with their strategy.
- Is this decision the result of WinnMed’s performance in any area? No, WinnMed is consistently a high performer in quality, patient satisfaction and employee engagement measures. MCHS leadership and the WinnMed Board of Trustees have expressed their deep appreciation and respect for the work done here, and the changes in agreements are in no way a reflection of the care we provide.
- What will happen with the local physicians? WinnMed leadership will engage in negotiations with Mayo Clinic Health System regarding the details of a modified PSA. Through the modified PSA or WinnMed employment, there will be attractive options for physicians to remain in Decorah. Future physicians who join our organization will be hired as WinnMed employees, or under other negotiated agreements, as presented at the time.
- What will happen to outreach physicians who see patients at WinnMed? Contracts for outreach services (cardiology, urology, endocrinology, pain management, etc.) are separate contracts from the PSA. Those contracts are not impacted by this change.
- Will my insurance be impacted? WinnMed independently contracts with insurance companies. None of WinnMed’s insurance network contracts are changing, so patients can continue to get care the same way they were previously. Billing for physician services will continue to be done by WinnMed, as it is currently.
- Will the employees be affected by this change? All staff are employed by WinnMed and will retain their status, compensation and benefits. In their daily work, some staff may experience changes in their roles, depending on how their work is integrated with Mayo Clinic Health System.
- Will Mayo Clinic Dialysis and the Mayo Clinic Store stay in Decorah? Those services are fully-owned by Mayo Clinic and simply lease space from WinnMed. They will remain as is and we are grateful to have both on our campus.
- Will the Transforming Tomorrow expansion project continue to move forward? WinnMed is in a strong financial position, and we will continue as planned with Transforming Tomorrow. Our confidence in this is enhanced by Iowa’s recent passing of the Medicaid Direct Payment Program, which infuses new funds into our bottom line.
- What negatives may come from this? We expect the biggest challenge will be recruitment of future physicians. WinnMed will add local recruitment resources and work with national recruitment companies to find top candidates to bring to our community. We know, though, that the Mayo Clinic name was certainly a draw, and this will no longer be a selling point for our open positions.
- What positives may come from this? With local control, we can increase our responsiveness to our communities and local needs. We will be able to bring in new care models, be able to discern the specialties we offer and tap into resources and new partnerships that may help us reach our strategic goals in new ways.
- Will the WinnMed name and new brand change? No, our recently updated name and brand will remain in place.
Slessor says, “Even as an administrator, I am fully aware that what the community cares about is not contracts related to how the hospital is managed, but rather the relationship with their clinician and the quality of care they receive. We fully expect that through a variety of options, none of that will need to change. We have a wonderful team of 600 plus employees and physicians that are here ready to provide high quality care and services as you have come to expect. While our path may be altered by this change, we still have many paths to success open to us and are confident we have the team and culture to continue to move this organization forward. My decision to join WinnMed as a direct employee through this change was an easy one due to this team, this community, and our future opportunities.
Dr. Marquardt comments, “As a Mayo physician in this community for nearly 20 years, I can speak for myself and my colleagues that this is home. As a practice, it is our intent to continue to provide the same level of care and services our community is used to.
