Voice Your Concerns about Sanford Health’s proposed acquisition of North Memorial Health
1. Start with who you are
- You are a nurse or healthcare worker in Minnesota.
- You work for Sanford Health or North Memorial Health.
- You are submitting a comment because this acquisition could affect workers, patients, and communities across Minnesota.
- You understand both Sanford Health and North Memorial Health play important roles in delivering care across the region.
2. Describe your position carefully
- You have serious concerns about Sanford Health’s proposed acquisition of North Memorial Health.
- Based on the information available so far, you do not believe this acquisition should move forward without much more transparency and clear protections for workers, patients, and communities.
- You want the Attorney General to closely review the potential impact before allowing the transaction to proceed.
- Sanford Health and North Memorial Health have not provided enough information about what this acquisition would mean for:
- hospital workers
- collective bargaining agreements
- pensions
- staffing levels
- patient care
- emergency and trauma services
- local decision-making and accountability
- the future of hospitals, clinics, and services in Minnesota communities
- The Attorney General’s Office has already stated healthcare consolidation requires careful examination and public input.
- Workers and communities deserve clear answers before an acquisition of this size moves forward.
3. Pick a Topic(s) to Share More About
Collective bargaining agreements and worker protections
- Sanford Health and North Memorial Health have stated North Memorial would maintain its corporate existence, but workers still do not have enough information about what that would mean in practice over time
- Hospital workers need more than broad transition statements during a merger review process
- Neither system has clearly stated what this acquisition would mean for collective bargaining agreements moving forward
- Workers need clear, public assurances that:
- collective bargaining agreements will be honored as written
- pension obligations will be protected
- wages, benefits, and working conditions will not be weakened over time
- staffing and frontline hospital jobs will be protected
- local workers and communities will continue to have a voice in decisions affecting care delivery
Concerns about Maple Grove Hospital nurses securing a first contract
- Maple Grove Hospital nurses are still working to secure a first union contract.
- Major ownership and governance changes during first-contract bargaining can create additional uncertainty for workers.
- Nurses deserve clear information about how this acquisition could affect ongoing negotiations, workplace standards, and long-term labor protections.
- Workers should not lose momentum or progress made during bargaining because of a corporate transition.
- Nurses are concerned that progress already made at the bargaining table could be delayed, weakened, or undone during an acquisition process.
- Any agreements, tentative understandings, or bargaining progress achieved before this transaction should continue to be respected and advanced in good faith
- The Attorney General’s review should examine how this transaction could affect:
- first-contract negotiations
- bargaining timelines
- staffing and retention
- workplace protections
- nurses’ ability to advocate for patient care improvements
- Nurses at Maple Grove Hospital deserve the opportunity to negotiate and secure a strong first contract without disruption or pressure tied to a major healthcare acquisition.
- Any commitments regarding labor protections, bargaining rights, and continuity in negotiations should be clear, enforceable, and publicly stated before this transaction moves forward.
Accountability and public oversight
Because this transaction would reshape healthcare delivery and governance in Minnesota, both Sanford Health and North Memorial Health must make clear and enforceable commitments to protect workers, patients, and communities. General statements about integration or future collaboration are not enough.
Protections workers need addressed
- Whether union contracts will be honored beyond the immediate transition period
- Whether pensions will be fully protected
- Whether wages, benefits, and working conditions will be maintained
- Whether staffing and frontline hospital jobs will be protected over time
- Whether major operational or service decisions would ultimately move outside local communities
Concerns about cost and affordability
- Any transaction involving major healthcare systems should be reviewed for its effect on affordability, access to care, and public health.
- Minnesota patients and families cannot afford higher healthcare costs.
- The Attorney General’s review should closely examine whether this acquisition could reduce competition or increase costs for patients and communities.
Concerns about hospitals and access to care
- There is concern that this acquisition could lead to:
- reduced hospital services
- consolidation of care away from local communities
- reductions in specialty, emergency, or trauma care capacity over time
- decisions being centralized farther from the communities affected
- North Memorial Health serves an important role in emergency and trauma care in Minnesota, and Sanford Health serves communities across greater Minnesota and the upper Midwest.
- Any loss of services, staffing, or hospital capacity could further strain patients, caregivers, EMS systems, and surrounding hospitals.
4. Explain why this matters
- Uncertainty for nurses and healthcare workers affects morale, retention, and staffing stability.
- Instability in the healthcare workforce can affect continuity of patient care and patient outcomes.
- Changes to hospital ownership should be evaluated based on their real impact on workers, patients, and community access to care.
- Healthcare systems are essential public infrastructure, especially for communities that rely on emergency, trauma, and safety-net services.
5. Make an ask of the Attorney General
- Require full public transparency about how this acquisition would affect workers, patients, services, and local communities before allowing the transaction to proceed.
- Require clear, enforceable commitments regarding collective bargaining agreements, pensions, staffing, and working conditions.
- Require safeguards to ensure this acquisition does not reduce access to hospital care, emergency care, trauma services, or specialty services.
- Require safeguards to ensure this acquisition does not increase healthcare costs for patients and families.
- Ensure nurses, healthcare workers, patients, and affected communities have meaningful opportunities to provide public input throughout the review process.
6. Include strong closing language
- “At this time, I do not believe this acquisition should move forward without more transparency and enforceable protections for workers, patients, and communities.”
- “I urge the Attorney General to require meaningful safeguards and full public accountability before this transaction is allowed to proceed.”
- “Nurses and communities deserve clear answers before a healthcare transaction of this scale moves forward.”
- “Healthcare decisions affecting Minnesota communities should prioritize patient care, workforce stability, and long-term access to care.”
7. Submit your input
When your draft is ready, submit your comments to the Attorney General's Community Input Form.