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383B.217 Medical center and HMO.

Subdivision 1. Establishment. Hennepin County may establish a medical center to provide hospital and medical services to the general public, including the indigent as defined by state and federal law, and as determined by the county board, and may provide for health education and training, and research, and may provide for other service as the board of commissioners determines, by resolution, to be in the best interests of the county. The county board may determine to continue the operation of the medical center, to expand or limit its operation, or discontinue it, if the services provided by the medical center in the judgment of the county board can better be provided by other means. If the county board determines that the care and services provided by the medical center is better provided by other hospitals, the cost of the care and services shall be paid by the county at reasonable rates established by the county board.

Subd. 2. Organization and management. With the advice and assistance of persons to whom health, medical and hospital administrative authority has been delegated by the county administrator, the county administrator, subject to approval of the county board, shall establish bylaws, rules and regulations for the organization and management of the medical center.

Subd. 3. Medical center administrator. The medical center shall be managed by a medical center administrator who is qualified by education and experience in the management of hospitals. The medical center administrator shall be in the unclassified service, notwithstanding any other statutory provision to the contrary. The medical center administrator shall be appointed, suspended and removed by the county administrator subject to approval of the county board.

Subd. 4. Licensed professional staff. Personnel employed by the county, who are required by law to be licensed as a condition to the performance of medical and related services, shall be subject to the provisions of Laws 1980, chapter 573, except that bylaws adopted by the county board may provide for alternative or exclusive grievance procedures for their discipline or dismissal.

Subd. 5. Affiliation agreements. The county board may enter into affiliation agreements or contracts with the state, political subdivisions of this state or other states, educational institutions, nursing homes, public or private hospitals and organizations for the purposes provided in section 383B.211.

Subd. 6. Medical facilities. The county board may acquire by purchase, gift or condemnation, or may lease, the property necessary for the provision of hospital and medical services as required under sections 383B.211 to 383B.229.

Subd. 7. Purchasing, contracting, meetings, data. (a) Contracting and purchasing made on behalf of the HMO, ambulatory health center, or other clinics authorized under section 383B.219, of goods, materials, supplies, equipment, and services that are incidental to or that are included as part of a contract for the purchase of goods, materials, supplies, or equipment are specifically exempted from sections 383B.141 to 383B.151 and 471.345 or other applicable laws related to public procurement. Contracting and purchasing of services shall comply with sections 383B.141 to 383B.151 or other applicable laws related to public procurement.

(b) Notwithstanding chapter 13D, the county board on behalf of the HMO or Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc., may meet in closed session to discuss and take action on specific products or services that are in direct competition with other providers of goods or services in the public or private sector, if disclosure of information pertaining to those matters would clearly harm the competitive position of the HMO or Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc.

(c) The HMO or Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc., shall inform the county board when there are matters that are appropriate for discussion or action under paragraph (b). The county administrator or the administrator's designee shall give the board an opinion on the propriety of discussion or action under paragraph (b) for each of the matters. The county board may, by a majority vote in a public meeting, decide to hold a closed meeting under paragraph (b). The purpose, time, and place of the meeting must be announced at a public meeting. A written roll of members present at a closed meeting must be made available to the public after the closed meeting. The proceedings of a closed meeting must be tape recorded at the expense of the county board and be preserved for not less than five years after the meeting. The data on the tape are nonpublic data under section 13.02, subdivision 9, until two years after the meeting. A contract entered into by the county board at a meeting held on behalf of the HMO is subject to section 471.345. All bids and any related materials that are considered at the meeting must be retained for a period of not less than five years. After the expiration of the term of any contract entered into pursuant to this subdivision or a period of two years, whichever is less, the contract, the bids, and any related materials are public data. The contract, the bids, and any related materials are subject to review by the state auditor at any time.

(d) Data concerning specific products or services that are in direct competition with other providers of goods or services in the public or private sector are trade secret information for purposes of section 13.37, to the extent disclosure of information pertaining to the matters would clearly harm the competitive position of the HMO. The data are trade secret information for the term of the contract or a two-year period, whichever is less.

(e) Notwithstanding section 471.345 or other applicable law, the county board on behalf of the HMO, ambulatory health center, or other clinics authorized under section 383B.219, may contract, except for services, by any means that the county board or at its direction the HMO, ambulatory health center, or other clinics authorized under section 383B.219, may determine. When contracting for services, the county board must comply with sections 383B.141 to 383B.151 and other applicable law, except that the board may contract with a private or public cooperative purchasing organization if it can be established that the purchasing organization's services that are purchased have been awarded through a competitive or request for proposal process.

(f) This subdivision applies to the HMO, Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc., ambulatory health centers, or other clinics authorized under section 383B.219, as well as any other organization, association, partnership, or corporation authorized by Hennepin County under section 144.581.

Subd. 8. Financial procedures. Sections 383B.111 to 383B.119 shall apply to financial procedures of the medical center.

HIST: 1981 c 91 s 4; 1987 c 144 s 3; 2002 c 302 s 1; 2003 c 98 s 1; 2005 c 125 art 2 s 7; 1Sp2005 c 7 s 31

* NOTE: Subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 are repealed by *Laws 2005, chapter 125, article 2, section 9, effective the day *after the Hennepin County Board files a certificate of local *approval in compliance with section 645.021, subdivision 3. *Laws 2005, chapter 125, article 1, section 29, as amended by *Laws 2005, First Special Session chapter 7, section 34; and Laws *2005, chapter 125, article 2, section 10.

* NOTE: The amendment to subdivision 7 by Laws 2005, chapter *125, article 2, section 7, is effective the day after the *Hennepin County Board files a certificate of local approval in *compliance with section 645.021, subdivision 3. Laws 2005, *chapter 125, article 1, section 29, as amended by Laws 2005, *First Special Session chapter 7, section 34; and Laws 2005, *chapter 125, article 2, section 10.

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes