CU med center renews Tenet deal

Creighton University Medical Center has renewed its partnership with Tenet Healthcare Corp., university and Tenet officials said Thursday evening.

The partnership automatically renews at two-year intervals unless changes are requested by one of the entities, the university and Tenet said in a written statement.

The deadline for the two to decide whether to continue together had been pushed back at least twice since December.

Dallas-based Tenet owns 74 percent of the hospital at 601 N. 30th St., and the university owns 26 percent.

The statement said the new agreement calls for additional capital investment in the hospital, expansion of primary care networks and improved faculty recruitment efforts.

American Medical International acquired the hospital about 25 years ago. American Medical was absorbed by National Medical Enterprises in 1995. The company name then became Tenet.

The Creighton hospital has struggled in recent years to maintain its patient numbers. It is the only hospital in Omaha east of 30th Street, while the city for the most part has grown westward.
Many area hospitals are far newer or have undergone recent renovations.

The Creighton hospital is one of two academic medical centers and one of two trauma centers in the city (In both instances, the other is the Nebraska Medical Center). The Creighton hospital also provides a great deal of charity care for the uninsured.