smallAnford Health Services and Fairview have canceled for the second time planned mergerannounced the systems on Thursday.
The plan to create a $14 billion health system with just 60 hospitals has met with significant resistance from the University of Minnesota, whose main teaching hospital in Minneapolis is part of Fairview. University leaders and state officials equated the idea of the hospital being owned by an entity outside the state. The merged system would be headquartered in Sioux Falls, SD, where Sanford is based.
Despite the heartburn in Minnesota, it was ultimately Sanford who called off the deal. The system said in a statement that its board made the decision at a meeting at noon on Thursday. Sanford CEO Bill Gassen called Fairview CEO James Hereford two hours later to tell him.
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