UNR Med, Renown Health sign ‘historic’ 50-year affiliation deal

Leaders from Renown Health, the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) Board of Regents, University of Nevada, Reno and UNR Med converged for an affiliation agreement certificate signing on June 28, 2021. From left: Thomas L. Schwenk, M.D., dean, UNR Med; Laura Perkins, regent, Nevada System of Higher Education; Cathy McAdoo, chair-elect, Nevada System of Higher Education; Melody Rose, Ph.D., chancellor, Nevada System of Higher Education; Anthony D. Slonim, M.D., DrPH, FACHE, president and chief executive officer, Renown Health; Brian Sandoval, J.D., president, University of Nevada, Reno; Jim DeVolld, chair, Renown Health Board of Directors; and Joe Arrascada, regent, Nevada System of Higher Education.

Leaders from Renown Health, the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) Board of Regents, University of Nevada, Reno and UNR Med converged for an affiliation agreement certificate signing on June 28, 2021. From left: Thomas L. Schwenk, M.D., dean, UNR Med; Laura Perkins, regent, Nevada System of Higher Education; Cathy McAdoo, chair-elect, Nevada System of Higher Education; Melody Rose, Ph.D., chancellor, Nevada System of Higher Education; Anthony D. Slonim, M.D., DrPH, FACHE, president and chief executive officer, Renown Health; Brian Sandoval, J.D., president, University of Nevada, Reno; Jim DeVolld, chair, Renown Health Board of Directors; and Joe Arrascada, regent, Nevada System of Higher Education. Photo: David Calvert / The Nevada Independent

Jacob Solis | The Nevada Independent

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

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In a coda to more than 10 months of negotiations, officials from the UNR School of Medicine and Renown Health finalized a 50-year-long affiliation agreement during a signing ceremony at Renown Regional Medical Center on Monday, June 28.

As written, the landmark deal promises to integrate UNR Med and Renown in an effort to increase teaching capacity and class sizes, expand clinical research programs and bring the school in line with other medical schools nationwide with similar agreements.

Throughout the negotiation process, proponents of the integration — including UNR Med Dean Tom Schwenk and UNR President Brian Sandoval — have characterized the agreement as “transformative” and “historic.”

“I like to say a lot of times, and I said it today, when you're in the middle of history, you don't realize that you're making it,” Sandoval said during remarks Monday. “And this is going to be a new era of healthcare for Northern Nevada and all of our great state.”

The agreement — the first of its kind in Nevada — places the UNR President on the Renown Board of Directors and preserves the school’s status as a public, state-funded institution.

After being approved by Renown’s board and cruising through the Legislature in the form of SB342, which formally allowed the regents to enter into the agreement, the only public snag came earlier this month by way of the Board of Regents. At the board's quarterly meeting, several regents raised concerns about the longevity of the deal coupled with the phrasing of one of the agreement’s key exit clauses.

If at any point the sum of state funding and student tuition money falls by more than 20 percent in a single year, a clause in the agreement would allow Renown to terminate the deal and grant the group the right to make the first offer to buy the school’s basic science and clinical research departments.

Outgoing Board Chair Mark Doubrava, an ophthalmologist with a medical degree from UNR, said during the meeting that while he approved of the agreement “from a medical education standpoint,” he was concerned the clause could trigger unintended consequences years or decades down the road.

UNR President Brian Sandoval described the inclusion at the time as a “safety net,” to be used only in the case of a dramatic funding reduction that would require such a sale “to try to keep the doors open.”

Doubrava was ultimately the only vote against the agreement’s approval, which passed through the board 12-1 in its final hurdle before Monday’s signing ceremony.

In an October 2020 story in the NNBW, Schwenk expounded on the agreement, describing it as much more than just a partnership.

“We’re creating a new entity,” he said in the Oct. 23 article. “It’s not just us joining Renown or Renown joining the school. It’s actually a new integration of what you might call an academic health system or a teaching-and-research health system. What we get to do ... is have a much larger influence on the care and the community.”

The integration, Schwenk said, would make Reno-Sparks an even more attractive area to companies considering relocating or expanding to the region.

“This is what new businesses want to see when they move into the community, and this is what employees want to see when they are recruited to the community,” he said. “... Ultimately, this is about the quality of life, the quality of the business climate, and the overall economic success of the community. And healthcare is a major driver of that.”

Jacob Solis is a staff reporter for The Nevada Independent, a 501(c)3 nonprofit news organization. The following people or entities mentioned in this article are financial supporters of The Indy: Brian Sandoval - $935.00. This story was first published June 28 and is republished here with permission. For more Nevada news, visit The Nevada Independent. NNBW Editor Kevin MacMillan contributed to this report.

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