Is Sanford the "Walmart" of healthcare?

[Matt]

I've heard Sanford's goal is to be the next Mayo or Cleveland Clinic, but is Sanford coming off more like Walmart? In the hearings regarding the proposed merger with Fairview (and by extension the U of M medical center), Sanford was referred to just that.

From the article-The crowd applauded when he (David Finewachs, a former Minnesota Hospital Association lawyer) said any merger that would give Sanford Health control of the U of M Medical Center and Fairview would be like “selling the public library to Wal-Mart.”

As a Sanford patient, I don't see it this way but I'm starting to wonder if they've overreached with this one.

http://www.startribune.com/local/201869801.html

[Goon]

I've heard Sanford's goal is to be the next Mayo or Cleveland Clinic, but is Sanford coming off more like Walmart? In the hearings regarding the proposed merger with Fairview (and by extension the U of M medical center), Sanford was referred to just that.

From the article-The crowd applauded when he (David Finewachs, a former Minnesota Hospital Association lawyer) said any merger that would give Sanford Health control of the U of M Medical Center and Fairview would be like “selling the public library to Wal-Mart.”

As a Sanford patient, I don't see it this way but I'm starting to wonder if they've overreached with this one.

http://www.startribu.../201869801.html

My daughter was born at Merit Care in Fargo, ND which is now Sanford and I thought they were very professional.

Edited April 8, 2013 by Goon

[UNDBIZ]

My daughter was born at Merit Care in Fargo, ND which is now Sanford and I thought they were very professional.

It will take some time for the corporate hacks to push the good doctors and nurses away....

[neoflex]

As a health care provider living outside of the Midwest, comparing Sanford to Walmart is a very appropriate analogy. Having watched Samford buyout the town of Fargo, and virtually eliminating all competition, ther are now the only game in town. The employees that made up Meritcare and have now merged with Samford are great, in fact some of the greatest people you will get a chance to work with; however, there employer has stiflled growth and is very much has a For-Profit agenda. Very little private practice now exists in Fargo, as Sanford either bought out the larger physician practices in town and forced many of the smaller pracices to join. My wife and I looked at returning to Fargo, but without the ability to open up a private practice, it would be diffiuclt to work with Sanford due to their lower wage scale, and "fiscal incentives" to be efficient (i.e,,,charge your patient's more).

So like Walmart,,,they go into a town, lower prices, throw a whole bunch of money around, and when all the competition is run out of town, they raise prices and run their employees into the ground.

[BigGreyAnt41]

What's this "Samford" you speak of, neoflex?

[watchmaker49]

As a health care provider living outside of the Midwest, comparing Samford to Walmart is a very appropriate analogy. Having watched Samford buyout the town of Fargo, and virtually eliminating all competition, ther are now the only game in town. The employees that made up Meritcare and have now merged with Samford are great, in fact some of the greatest people you will get a chance to work with; however, there employer has stiflled growth and is very much has a For-Profit agenda. Very little private practice now exists in Fargo, as Samford either bought out the larger physician practices in town and forced many of the smaller pracices to join. My wife and I looked at returning to Fargo, but without the ability to open up a private practice, it would be diffiuclt to work with Samford due to their lower wage scale, and "fiscal incentives" to be efficient (i.e,,,charge your patient's more).

So like Walmart,,,they go into a town, lower prices, throw a whole bunch of money around, and when all the competition is run out of town, they raise prices and run their employees into the ground.

And they claim to be a non-profit. How many other so-called non-profit healthcare providers have been doing this nationwide?

[fightingsioux4life]

And they claim to be a non-profit. How many other so-called non-profit healthcare providers have been doing this nationwide?

I think it is time to crack down on organizations that claim to be "non-profit" to get out of paying taxes, but operate like Wal-Mart and Microsoft. These are tax loopholes that must be closed.

[Redneksioux]

And they claim to be a non-profit. How many other so-called non-profit healthcare providers have been doing this nationwide?

Cough altru in grand forks cough

[UNDBIZ]

As a health care provider living outside of the Midwest, comparing Samford to Walmart is a very appropriate analogy. Having watched Samford buyout the town of Fargo, and virtually eliminating all competition, ther are now the only game in town. The employees that made up Meritcare and have now merged with Samford are great, in fact some of the greatest people you will get a chance to work with; however, there employer has stiflled growth and is very much has a For-Profit agenda. Very little private practice now exists in Fargo, as Samford either bought out the larger physician practices in town and forced many of the smaller pracices to join. My wife and I looked at returning to Fargo, but without the ability to open up a private practice, it would be diffiuclt to work with Samford due to their lower wage scale, and "fiscal incentives" to be efficient (i.e,,,charge your patient's more).

So like Walmart,,,they go into a town, lower prices, throw a whole bunch of money around, and when all the competition is run out of town, they raise prices and run their employees into the ground.

Check with Essentia in Fargo.

[fightingsioux4life]

Cough altru in grand forks cough

Agree 100%. And you can add EERC to that list.

[watchmaker49]

Cough altru in grand forks cough

Would be simpler to say ALL OF THEM!

[Redneksioux]

There are many medical centers up here in nd that aren't owned by altru. Many of them are county owned and don't have the monopoly attitude that altru carries.

[Anderson2200]

I am married to a nurse who works in Fargo. You're in good hands at Sandford for sure.

[JohnboyND7]

I am married to a nurse who works in Fargo. You're in good hands at Sandford for sure.

I worked for Sanford for 8 months in the training center in Fargo. Sanford is working really hard to stay at the forefront of things.

Anderson2200, you should ask your wife how she feels about the OneChart system. I'll hang up and wait for your response.

[Anderson2200]

I worked for Sanford for 8 months in the training center in Fargo. Sanford is working really hard to stay at the forefront of things.

Anderson2200, you should ask your wife how she feels about the OneChart system. I'll hang up and wait for your response.

I shuttered when I read the word "OneChart" as it is often the subject of pillow talk on a nightly basis... she hated how tedious charting is to begin with and this has made it worse..

[yzerman19]

the care systems mentioned are all taxable non-profits, meaning they pay less in taxes, but they still pay taxes.

References to charges are really quite irrelevant. ND providers deal with two essential monopolies on the payer side: BCBSND with 80% market share, and Medicare.

Also, care systems don't lower the cost of care. The leverage of the large integrated delivery systems on commercial payments creates a disparity, where you'd be crazy not to sell your practice- cashflows for the same services at a higher level.

private practice was dying well before the existence of Sanford as its current entity.

healthcare is big business- don't mitigate the economic impact of those provider systems on the community...think about all of the federal dollars via Medicare that enter the community.

Also, if you look at compensation structures, etc. Altru, Sanford, and Essentia are all quite reasonable based on their size. In fact, compared to other areas of the country and for-profit siblings, compensation is on the low end for executives, higher for doctors- in order to attract them, and pretty reasonable for other professional staff (nurses, pharmacists, etc)

[JohnboyND7]

I shuttered when I read the word "OneChart" as it is often the subject of pillow talk on a nightly basis... she hated how tedious charting is to begin with and this has made it worse..

I worked exclusively on that for 20-35 hours a week for 8 months. Not to the same extent the nurses do but once they get all the bugs out, it will make things better for everyone(or so the brass brainwashed me into thinking )

[Matt]

Well that didn't take long. Once T Denny's name started getting dragged through the mud it all stopped.

This was also a good lesson for those in Fargo that think of themselves as more a part of Minnesota...the feeling most definitely isn't mutual.

http://www.twincities.com/ci_22996861/sanford-health-backs-out-fairview-merger-talks

[Oxbow6]

This was also a good lesson for those in Fargo that think of themselves as more a part of Minnesota...the feeling most definitely isn't mutual.

Most of us don't and never want to.

[darell1976]

Most of us don't and never want to.

Agree!!!

[Matt]

I'm not sure I've seen them (twin cities media/MN Pols/UofM Reps) turn on one of their own like this before. (T Denny Sanford U of M '58) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._Denny_Sanford

[GFG]

I don't even care if they're called the "Walmart of healthcare" because they're hundreds of times better than the crap hole hospital here in Grand Forks. Altru is a joke of a hospital.

[Sioux-cia]

As a health care provider for longer than some of you have been around, I'm here to tell you that health care, regardless of place or size, has evolved from a service to a business. Don't be fooled by the rhetoric into thinking otherwise.

[Cratter]

I believe Altru was rated the worse customer satisfaction in the state. Article in the herald few months ago.

[Oxbow6]

I'm here to tell you that health care, regardless of place or size, has evolved from a service to a business. Don't be fooled by the rhetoric into thinking otherwise.

Spot on with those comments