Former Rochester City Council president tackles new role with DMC
May 22—ROCHESTER — A familiar face was introduced Thursday to the state Destination Medical Center Corp. board, but in a new role.
"Some of you know her, because you sat alongside her when she was (Rochester) City Council president," DMC Economic Development Agency Patrick Seeb said as he introduced Brooke Carlson as the agency's newest team member.
Carlson served on the council from 2021 to 2024. She opted not to seek a second term. As council president, she had a seat on the DMCC board for four years. Carlson started her new position as director of public experience for strategic infrastructure this week.
Seeb said Carlson is assigned to the DMC effort through an arrangement with Mayo Clinic. The goal is to coordinate efforts related to infrastructure investments as the DMC initiative reaches its halfway point and Mayo Clinic's $5 billion "Bold. Forward. Unbound. In Rochester." expansion project continues.
He said her initial focus will be working with neighbors, businesses and service organizations near the Mayo Clinic expansion project to optimize public investments by enable the communities to thrive amid the changes.
"We expect to bring back before you a strategy that tells the story of the role DMC might consider playing in supporting unbound and the adjacent neighborhoods to maximize the extraordinary investment," he told the DMCC board.
DMCC board member Doug Baker, who serves as Mayo Clinic's representative on the state board, said the work will be critical in the next five to 10 years.
"We are in a different stage, obviously," he said. "The first 10 years have been a big success, and 'Forward. Unbound.' is one of the crowning achievements. The thing we have to ensure is we do a great job in enabling 'Forward. Unbound.' to live up to its potential, both for Rochester and Mayo."
James Campbell, who is the longest-serving DMCC board member, agreed, but said the key component to any success will be listening to the people affected by the developments.
"What you are going to be working on is absolute bedrock," he told Carlson. "It is critical for the next 10 years."
Carlson said she's looking forward to the work ahead, which she expects will move from the downtown core to other areas of the city.
"If you think about the impact of Bold Forward and downtown, you can think about concentric circles moving outward," she said. "As I step into this role, I will be thinking about those intercircles. They are more pressing; the construction and demolition is already well underway. People are being impacted in their day-to-day lives."
She said she wants to coordinate efforts to set community priorities to help address the local impacts and maintain needed connections.
Deputy City Administrator Cindy Steinhauser, who has been assigned to help coordinate city efforts with the Mayo Clinic expansion, said she's looking forward.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Cereals Canada Launches its 2025 Growing Season Progress Report
Global buyers use the interactive report to stay informed. WINNIPEG, MB, May 28, 2025 /CNW/ - With Canada's 2025 spring wheat crop underway, Cereals Canada has resumed regular updates to its interactive Growing Season Progress Report. The report will continue to be updated until harvest is complete across all three Prairie provinces. View the report: "The Growing Season Progress Report includes information about Western Canadian wheat, including environmental factors that could impact crop quality or development," says Leif Carlson, director of market intelligence and trade policy. "We encourage global customers of Canadian wheat, as well as Canadians and members of the value chain, to visit the report for timely updates on the 2025 Prairie wheat crop as it develops." Cereals Canada works with provincial departments of agriculture in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba throughout the growing season to gather information on seeding, crop conditions and quality, and harvest progress for spring wheat. The information is compiled and presented in an interactive, user-friendly format with maps, provincial highlights, and links to crop reports. Historical data for the past five years is also available for comparison purposes. "With most wheat acres located in the Prairies, the report provides global buyers with a glimpse into how the Canadian wheat crop is progressing, from seeding to harvest," says Carlson. "Global customers want to be kept informed about how the Canadian wheat crop is progressing over the growing season. We make it easy for them to quickly get all their information in one place." Watch Matilda van Aggelen, market and trade specialist, introduce the 2025 Growing Season Progress Report: About Cereals CanadaCereals Canada is the national, not-for-profit, industry association representing the Canadian cereal grains value chain. We value relationships and work with government and stakeholders to provide timely, expert technical information and deliver best-in-class customer experience. We are dedicated to supporting the Canadian cereals value chain including farmers, exporters, developers, processors, and our customers around the world with a focus on trade, science, and sustainability. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Cereals Canada View original content to download multimedia:
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
Nonprofit providers' operating margins fall as more challenges loom
This story was originally published on Healthcare Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Healthcare Dive newsletter. The nation's leading nonprofit healthcare providers struggled financially during the quarter ended March 31. Most of the major systems, including Kaiser Permanente, Mass General Brigham, Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, Ascension and Providence, recorded operating margins that were flat or lower than this time last year, despite growing patient volumes. The results come as analysts have been sounding the alarm with escalating urgency about how headwinds, including market volatility and policy changes in Washington, could harm provider finances. Of the major nonprofits, only Mayo Clinic achieved a 3% operating margin — the 'magic number' necessary to guarantee systems' financial health, according to Kevin Holloran, senior director of credit rating agency Fitch Ratings. Still, that margin is well below Mayo's performance last year, when it recorded a 7.7% margin. Providence, which restructured its executive team in January and froze nonclinical hiring in April, logged the lowest operating margin of -3.1% compared with last year's operating margin of 2.3%. Ascension, Mass General Brigham and CommonSpirit also reported negative operating margins. However, CommonSpirt's margin marked an improvement relative to the same period last year. Some of that difficulty was predicted. Ascension, for example, suffered a major cyberattack during the fourth quarter of 2024 that disrupted patient services. The system has been working to recover since then, but progress has been slow. Even Kaiser, which has a large, well-diversified portfolio, suffered financial setbacks. The Oakland, California-based provider recorded an operating margin of 2.9%, compared with last year's 3.4%. Nearly all of the health systems' operating margins declined year over year. This embedded content is not available in your region. All major nonprofits said their investment portfolios underperformed during the quarter compared to the same time last year. Kaiser attributed market conditions to nonoperating income dropping more than $780 million year over year. Providence reported $105 million in investment gain, compared with $205 million the prior year; Mass General Brigham logged $55.2 million in investment income, compared to $710.9 million last year; and Mayo Clinic's investment and contribution return fell 20.6% year over year. Threats to health systems' investment portfolios shouldn't be taken lightly, a Fitch report said last month. The money serves as a rainy day fund and can offer extra liquidity to help health systems weather operational challenges without dinging systems' credit scores. From 2020 to 2023, when the markets were strong, investment returns helped add 28 days to providers' median days of cash on hand, allowing systems to carry a median of 220 days of cash on hand sector-wide, the report said. A modest 25% reduction in investment income could cut the sector's median days of cash on hand to 215 days, while a more severe 75% reduction in investment income could slash available cash to 205 days. Tempered liquidity is concerning as health systems stare down possible cost pressures, including changes to state supplemental payments for Medicaid, higher costs for supplies and the possible burden of caring for more uninsured individuals should Congress implement cuts to Medicaid. Rahul Singh, national industry lead of providers at West Monroe, worries some providers might opt to slow their investments in areas like technology as they see looming challenges and declining investment portfolios. 'If they're not generating enough cash flow from these investments, then it makes it even more challenging to invest in some of these capabilities, because they're also losing money on operations,' Singh said. 'In the past, they were offsetting some of that in a bull market.' It could put health systems in a catch-22: Providers may think they're cutting costs by reducing spending on new advancements, but without spending on new capabilities, they'll be unable to perform at a higher level. Cutting jobs isn't a solution for the investment income shortfall either. 'It maybe helps in the short term, but it doesn't solve the structural, long-term issues,' Singh said. 'You have to re-engineer or use technology, automation — but those require investments. In the absence of having the ability to make those investments, I think folks are just cutting headcount. That shows up in other places... which has kind of a cascading [negative] effect.' The results released in recent weeks ended March 31 — before disruptions caused by President Donald Trump's Liberation Day, when he announced intentions to levy tariffs on most of the country's trade partners, and before the CMS and Congress set their sights on cutting Medicaid and supplemental payment programs. Cuts to the safety-net program could increase hospitals' uncompensated care and their ability to recover costs, Fitch said in a report last month. 'Providers, particularly those with a higher share of Medicaid patients, could cut services, close locations, or reduce staff,' the report said. Health systems also nodded to the possibility that headwinds could intensify, and some said they're making preparations now. Mass General Brigham, for example, said it sought to get ahead of labor and supply cost inflation, an ongoing capacity crisis and possible federal policy changes when it laid off hundreds of staff and restructured in February. The health system said it was also 'developing action plans to mitigate potential financial impacts' of any policy changes out of Washington. Providence also said it was preparing for Medicaid cuts and attributed its quarterly performance in part to shifting economic headwinds and policy changes on the state and federal level. 'While we have made significant progress in our key operating performance metrics in recent years, the last several months have brought greater uncertainty around Medicaid funding, with only slight increases in Medicare rates,' said Providence CFO Greg Hoffman in a statement. 'Rather than sitting on our hands, Providence is preparing for every scenario and is proactively redesigning our operations to ensure our Mission continues to thrive whatever happens.' Executives from CommonSpirit echoed concerns about changes to Medicaid during a recent earnings call. CFO Daniel Morissette said he is most concerned about eligibility requirements, including changes to beneficiaries being able to sign up retroactively, work requirements and requiring enrollees to recertify twice during the year. 'We're very concerned about Medicaid cuts,' Morissette said. 'So we, of course, have survived for many, many decades, and we'll figure out a way to do it. We certainly hope that these cuts are less than the initial commentary that has come from some of the legislative group.' Recommended Reading Growing market volatility spooks hospital analysts
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Former Rochester City Council president tackles new role with DMC
May 22—ROCHESTER — A familiar face was introduced Thursday to the state Destination Medical Center Corp. board, but in a new role. "Some of you know her, because you sat alongside her when she was (Rochester) City Council president," DMC Economic Development Agency Patrick Seeb said as he introduced Brooke Carlson as the agency's newest team member. Carlson served on the council from 2021 to 2024. She opted not to seek a second term. As council president, she had a seat on the DMCC board for four years. Carlson started her new position as director of public experience for strategic infrastructure this week. Seeb said Carlson is assigned to the DMC effort through an arrangement with Mayo Clinic. The goal is to coordinate efforts related to infrastructure investments as the DMC initiative reaches its halfway point and Mayo Clinic's $5 billion "Bold. Forward. Unbound. In Rochester." expansion project continues. He said her initial focus will be working with neighbors, businesses and service organizations near the Mayo Clinic expansion project to optimize public investments by enable the communities to thrive amid the changes. "We expect to bring back before you a strategy that tells the story of the role DMC might consider playing in supporting unbound and the adjacent neighborhoods to maximize the extraordinary investment," he told the DMCC board. DMCC board member Doug Baker, who serves as Mayo Clinic's representative on the state board, said the work will be critical in the next five to 10 years. "We are in a different stage, obviously," he said. "The first 10 years have been a big success, and 'Forward. Unbound.' is one of the crowning achievements. The thing we have to ensure is we do a great job in enabling 'Forward. Unbound.' to live up to its potential, both for Rochester and Mayo." James Campbell, who is the longest-serving DMCC board member, agreed, but said the key component to any success will be listening to the people affected by the developments. "What you are going to be working on is absolute bedrock," he told Carlson. "It is critical for the next 10 years." Carlson said she's looking forward to the work ahead, which she expects will move from the downtown core to other areas of the city. "If you think about the impact of Bold Forward and downtown, you can think about concentric circles moving outward," she said. "As I step into this role, I will be thinking about those intercircles. They are more pressing; the construction and demolition is already well underway. People are being impacted in their day-to-day lives." She said she wants to coordinate efforts to set community priorities to help address the local impacts and maintain needed connections. Deputy City Administrator Cindy Steinhauser, who has been assigned to help coordinate city efforts with the Mayo Clinic expansion, said she's looking forward.
