WinnMed, a 25-bed critical access hospital in Decorah, Iowa, has approved a new professional services agreement with Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic Health System.
The agreement will take effect July 1, 2025 and remain in place for three consecutive five-year terms.
On June 27, 2024, Mayo Clinic Health System announced its intentions to end the current management services agreement and PSA with WinnMed and develop a new PSA, in coordination with WinnMed leadership, to address physician services.
Six things to know about the new PSA:
1. All current Mayo Clinic Health System physicians at WinnMed and two physicians who have signed their contracts, but not yet started, are included in the agreement.
2. There will be no expansion of the Mayo Clinic Health System-Decorah Clinic Physicians team; new physicians will join as WinnMed employees or through contracts with another entity.
3. Outreach physician service agreements (ophthalmology, cardiology, urology, etc.) remain unchanged and separately negotiated.
4. WinnMed will continue to bill for Mayo Clinic Health System-Decorah Clinic Physicians professional services and insurance contracts remain the same. Patients will not experience changes to their coverage.
5. WinnMed can partner with other organizations for physician services beyond Mayo Clinic Health System.
6. Mayo Clinic Health System-Decorah Clinic Physicians physicians can continue to provide leadership within WinnMed.
"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," WinnMed Chief Administrative Officer Steve Slessor said in a Jan. 9 news release. "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."