University Medicine Oldenburg (UMO) is putting its cooperation on a new footing: the University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg Clinic, the Evangelical Hospital Oldenburg, Pius Hospital Oldenburg and the Karl Jaspers Clinic signed a new framework agreement with the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science today. In future, it will also structurally link the university and hospitals at management level. The partners are thus securing university medical care for people in the region in the long term.
Mutual co-determination at the highest level
With the new framework agreement, the university and hospital managements are creating the conditions to ensure that the interests of university medical teaching, research and patient care are sustainably secured and even more closely coordinated.
Lower Saxony's Science Minister Falko Mohrs explained at the signing ceremony: "We are now placing medical care in the north-west on an even firmer foundation. The University of Oldenburg and its four partner hospitals will work even more closely together in future. With the new framework agreement, we are creating clear guidelines for the sustainable growth of medical study places and shared responsibility for training. This is another building block in ensuring high-quality study conditions and sustainable medical care in the region in the long term."
At the heart of the new agreement are personnel links at management level between the university and the four hospitals. In future, the President of the University will be a voting member of the Board of Directors of the hospital. The Dean of School V - School of Medicine and Health Sciences will now be a member of the Board of Directors of the hospital, which operates 18 of the 26 university clinics and institutes. In these roles, both enjoy veto rights for decisions that significantly affect research and teaching. In a mirror image, the Medical Director of the Clinical Centre will become a voting member of the Dean's Office of the School of Medicine.
The three other UMO hospitals will also be represented on the Faculty Board in future - via a new Vice Dean position. A newly established co-operation council will also strengthen their direct exchange with the university. The University President will have voting rights on the supervisory boards of the Protestant Hospital, the Pius Hospital and the Karl Jaspers Clinic for all decisions relating to research and teaching.
The Medical Committee will remain a joint body in which representatives of the university and all hospitals will continue to meet quarterly and strategically steer the fortunes of the UMO. What is new, however, is the so-called Trägerboard. Once a year, the President of the University will meet with the Chairs of the administrative and supervisory boards of the hospitals and representatives of the responsible ministries in Lower Saxony. These are the Ministry of Science and Culture, which is responsible for the university, and the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour, Health and Gender equality, which is responsible for the hospitals.
"Today is an important event for University Medicine Oldenburg. The fact that the university and hospitals are closely linked in research and teaching and now also at an organisational level is testament to the great trust we have in each other," said University President Prof. Dr Ralph Bruder. Developing the details of this new structure and doing justice to all five partners with their different specialisms and structures was a challenge that was more than worth it. "This diversity is what makes us special. It offers our medical students unrivalled training opportunities and guarantees people in the region the entire spectrum of university medical care."
Goal: model region for sustainable healthcare
The new agreement formulates the common goals of the partners involved. They want to create healthcare for the region that puts patients at the centre and uses innovative concepts to ensure care in the region and against the backdrop of an ageing society. In the area of research, UMO wants to focus on topics with high social relevance and develop solutions that reach patients quickly. Together, the university and hospitals in the north-west want to establish a model region for sustainable healthcare, further expand partnerships - for example with Groningen - and develop excellent qualification and career paths that retain medical professionals in the region.
Comments on the new framework agreement
"The new framework agreement is one of the milestones that University Medicine Oldenburg has reached this year. In addition, construction of UMO's first own building on Pophankenweg is about to begin and the Human Medicine degree programme will grow to 200 new students per year in the winter semester. All of these developments are closely interlinked, have required many years of preparation and would not have been possible without the continuous cooperation of all those involved in the university and hospitals."
Prof Dr Hans Gerd Nothwang,
Dean of School V - School of Medicine and Health Sciences
"Governance sustainably strengthens the University Medicine Oldenburg model. Together with our partners, the hospital will act as a central anchor to help stabilise the connection between research, teaching and patient care for the people in the region."
Rainer Schoppik and Prof Dr Andrea Morgner-Miehlke
Board of Directors of Oldenburg University Hospital
"The nucleus of University Medicine Oldenburg is the distribution of specialist disciplines for high-quality clinical patient care, which was agreed with all Oldenburg hospitals many years ago. With its essential specialisations, the Protestant Hospital Oldenburg makes a significant contribution to the success of this model and has thus also become an essential pillar for research and teaching in the development of University Medicine Oldenburg. The new governance is a testimony to the work of equal partners and offers a perfect intermediate step towards the further development of the model into a university hospital in a network."
Kristina Minder and Dr Alexander Poppinga
Board team of the Evangelical Hospital Oldenburg
"University Medicine Oldenburg emerged 14 years ago from a shared vision and an extraordinary effort by the entire region. Preserving and consistently advancing the development we have achieved together is a challenge that Pius-Hospital has faced with full conviction from the very beginning. The new governance emphasises the strength of equal partnership and marks a decisive stage on the way to an efficient model of a university hospital in a network."
Nadine Krefeld and Prof Dr Dirk Weyhe,
Executive Board team of Pius-Hospital Oldenburg
"The signing of the contract marks an important step in the development of University Medicine Oldenburg. From the perspective of the Karl Jaspers Clinic, the new framework agreement creates the basis for interlinking research, teaching and clinical care even more closely, training more doctors in the region and, for the first time, reflecting the contributions of the cooperating hospitals more reliably in financial terms."
Michael Poerschke,
Managing Director Karl Jaspers Clinic
