The University’s initial agreement with Universal Health Services to co-fund the Medical Faculty Associates halved its financial support for the medical enterprise as the parties negotiate a deal to sever GW’s financial ties, University President Ellen Granberg told the Staff Council Friday.
Granberg’s insight into the co-funding structure comes three months after officials announced in October that UHS — GW Hospital’s owner and operator — would step in to help fund the MFA for the remainder of negotiations. The 50 percent reduction in the University’s financial support follows six consecutive years of MFA losses, including $100 million in fiscal year 2025, pushing its debt to GW and other lenders to $444 million.
Granberg said officials are “working very hard” to finalize an agreement with UHS but have yet to resolve complex issues, including employment agreements and challenges tied to the academic enterprise.
Officials in October’s announcement said GW would continue to fund the MFA’s clinical education under the preliminary agreement, as the enterprise’s physicians teach School of Medicine & Health Sciences’ students, residents and researchers.
Chief Financial Officer Bruno Fernandes told the Staff Council last month that GW and UHS hope to reach a resolution on the MFA within the next month or two, adding that the process is “not going as quickly” as officials anticipated because of “concerns in terms of the physicians.”
In November, officials announced UHS would establish a new non-profit physician practice group to directly hire MFA employees if the parties’ ongoing negotiations to end the University’s financial support for the medical enterprise succeed.
News of GW’s 50 percent funding reduction came after Granberg fielded a question from Staff Council President Mindy Galván about what the community can expect from officials in the year ahead regarding more consistent and transparent updates. Granberg said she strives to be as transparent as possible but noted that some issues prevent officials from sharing full details, pointing to the limited updates she provided on the MFA while negotiating the initial co-funding deal with UHS.
“I am a big believer in being as transparent as possible,” Granberg said. “We are in a moment right now where we are dealing with a few things, where I have to admit, it’s not in the best interest of the University to be fully transparent.”
