ProMedica and UT finalize agreement

The University of Toledo struck a 50-year, $250 million educational deal with ProMedica Health System, one of the largest healthcare providers in Northwest Ohio.

The Academic Affiliation Agreement will move UT medical students, residents and fellows to ProMedica facilities, and is expected to present students a broader display of medical cases, according to Chris Cooper, dean of the College of Medicine and Life Sciences.

In exchange, ProMedica will provide $250 million to “rebuild�? the college and at least $50 million per year in “academic support payments,�? according to a slideshow presented at a May 2015 meeting of the UT Board of Trustees.

Cooper presented the final agreement Monday afternoon to the Board alongside David Morlock, executive vice president and CEO of the University of Toledo Medical Center.

Morlock said ProMedica will amend their articles of incorporation and mission statement to include academics as a primary component of its mission.

“We have been doing a ton of work to get to this stage; this is an important moment in the history of the university,�? he said. “The fact of the matter is we’re basically at the starting line. We’re not done, we’re starting and we’re starting with an important transition phase and an important future phase.�?

The agreement’s execution will be overseen by a committee called the Academic Affiliation Operating Group, which Cooper will chair. He said this long-term cooperation will help the university maintain a stable relationship and be stronger in collaboration.

“This partnership between the two organizations creates for the next generation of our patients, of our health care professions and scientists a legacy that we can build on,�? Morlock said.

President Sharon Gaber was there when the agreement was presented and said this agreement means a strong future for academic medical education at UT.

“With this [agreement], we’re talking about recruiting more students from Ohio, we’re talking about trying to keep many of the students who have gone through med school here for residency,�? she said. “This is the first step in moving the reputation of the university forward, we view it, when this is fully ramped up we’ll have the opportunity to compete with some of the other medical communities and not lose people, and not lose doctors that have been trained here to those areas.�?

A signing ceremony will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 26, at 2 p.m. at the Grand Plaza Hotel in downtown Toledo. For more information about the College of Medicine and Life Sciences, call 419-383-4229, or email [email protected].