University Medicine Oldenburg (UMO) is strengthening its collaboration on a new foundation. Today, the University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg Hospital (Klinikum Oldenburg), Oldenburg Evangelical Hospital (Evangelisches Krankenhaus Oldenburg), Pius Hospital Oldenburg (Pius-Hospital Oldenburg), and the Karl Jaspers Clinic (Karl-Jaspers-Klinik) signed a new framework agreement with the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science. This agreement will structurally link the university and hospitals together at the management level. Through this agreement, the partners are ensuring the long-term provision of university medical care for the people in the region.
Mutual Input at the Highest Level
With the new framework agreement, the university and hospital administrations are establishing conditions that will sustainably safeguard and closely coordinate the interests of university teaching, research, and patient care.
On the occasion of the signing, Lower Saxony’s Minister of Science, Falko Mohrs, stated: "Today, we are laying an even stronger foundation for medical care in the northwest. The University of Oldenburg and its four partner hospitals will collaborate more closely in the future. With the new framework agreement, we are establishing clear guidelines for the sustainable expansion of medical school places and shared responsibility for training. This lays another building block for ensuring high-quality academic conditions and sustainable medical care in the region in the long term.”
The new agreement focuses on establishing personnel links at the management level between the university and the four hospitals. The university president will become a voting member of Oldenburg Hospital's administrative board. The dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences will join the executive board of Oldenburg Hospital, which oversees 18 of the 26 university clinics and institutes. In these roles, both will have veto power over decisions significantly affecting research and teaching. Conversely, the hospital’s medical director will become a voting member of the dean’s office of the School of Medicine.
The other three UMO hospitals will also be represented in the faculty leadership through a new vice dean position. A newly established cooperation council will strengthen their direct exchange with the university. The university president will vote on the supervisory boards of the Evangelical Hospital, the Pius Hospital, and the Karl Jaspers Clinic for all research and teaching decisions.
The Medical Committee will remain a joint committee where university and hospital representatives continue to meet quarterly to guide the direction of UMO. New, however, is the so-called “Support Board.” Once a year, the university president will meet with the hospital administrative and supervisory committee chairpersons and representatives of relevant Lower Saxony ministries to exchange views. The Ministry of Science and Culture is responsible for the university, and the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labor, Health, and Equality is responsible for the hospitals.
"Today is an important milestone for University Medicine Oldenburg. The fact that the university and hospitals are closely linked in research and teaching – and now also at the organizational level – is a testament to the great trust we have in one another," said University President Prof. Dr. Ralph Bruder. He added that developing the details of this new structure and doing justice to all five partners and their different areas of focus and structures had been a challenging but worthwhile endeavor. "This diversity is what defines us. It offers our medical students unparalleled training opportunities and guarantees the people in the region access to the full spectrum of university medical care.”
Goal: A Model Region for Sustainable Healthcare
The new agreement outlines the shared goals of the participating partners. They aim to create a healthcare system that puts patients at the center, ensuring care across the region and in the context of an aging society through innovative concepts. In the field of research, UMO intends to focus on highly relevant societal topics and develop solutions that quickly reach patients. Together, the university and hospitals in the northwest aim to establish a model region for sustainable healthcare, expand partnerships – for example, with Groningen – and develop excellent training and career paths that encourage medical professionals to remain in the region.
Comments on the New Framework Agreement:
"The new framework agreement is one of the milestones that University Medicine Oldenburg has achieved this year. Construction is about to begin on UMO’s first dedicated building on Pophankenweg. Starting in the winter semester, the medical degree program will expand to accept 200 first-year students annually. These developments are closely interlinked and have required many years of preparation. They would not have been possible without the continuous collaboration of all stakeholders at the university and hospitals."
Prof. Dr. Hans Gerd Nothwang,
Dean of Faculty VI of Medicine and Health Sciences
"This governance structure will strengthen the Oldenburg model of university medicine in the long term. Together with our partners, Oldenburg Hospital will serve as a central anchor to solidify the connection between research, teaching, and patient care for the people of the region.”
Rainer Schoppik and Prof. Dr. Andrea Morgner-Miehlke,
Executive Board of Oldenburg Hospital
"The foundation of University Medicine Oldenburg is the distribution of medical specialties – coordinated with all Oldenburg hospitals many years ago – to ensure high-quality clinical patient care. With its essential specialties, the Evangelical Hospital Oldenburg contributes significantly to the success of this model and has thus also become a key pillar for research and teaching in the development of university medicine. The new governance structure is a testament to equal partnership and offers a perfect intermediate step toward achieving university hospital status.”
Kristina Minder and Dr. Alexander Poppinga,
Executive Board of the Evangelical Hospital Oldenburg
"University Medicine Oldenburg emerged 14 years ago from a shared vision and an extraordinary collective effort by the entire region. Preserving the progress achieved together and consistently driving it forward is a commitment that the Pius Hospital has embraced from the beginning. The new governance structure underscores the strength of an equal partnership and marks a decisive milestone on the path toward an effective network with the title of university hospital.”
Nadine Krefeld and Prof. Dr. Dirk Weyhe,
Executive Board of Pius Hospital Oldenburg
"The signing of the agreement marks an important step forward for University Medicine Oldenburg. From the Karl Jaspers Clinic's perspective, the new framework agreement lays the foundation for integrating research, teaching, and clinical care more closely, training more medical professionals in the region, and ensuring a more reliable financial basis for the partner hospitals' contributions for the first time.”
Michael Poerschke,
Managing Director of the Karl Jaspers Clinic
