The Hennepin County Board has scheduled a private meeting Monday with HCMC, citing an exemption in state law that allows hospital boards to meet in private.
The county announced the closed-door meeting between commissioners and the Hennepin Healthcare board in an e-mail Friday.
Carolyn Marinan, a county spokeswoman, said in an e-mail Saturday that state law allows the County Board to hold closed meetings with Hennepin Healthcare (HH) executive board and executive leaders "to discuss strategic plans."
"This statutory authority has been utilized for many years to discuss competitive and strategic information" regarding Hennepin Healthcare, she said.
Longtime media lawyer Mark Anfinson, who drafted portions of the statute that exempt hospital boards from the open meeting law, said the exemption was intended to allow public hospitals that were in competition with other hospitals to plan without tipping off their competitors.
He said it's unclear why that part of the law would apply to the County Board, though he noted the "very complicated" relationship between the County Board and the hospital.
HCMC leadership has come under scrutiny in the past year after a series of Star Tribune stories citing a leaked report from the Minneapolis Office of Police Conduct Review. Reports from federal regulators, obtained through a public records request, show the hospital continued to recruit subjects for the trial until Nov. 19.
Marinan said Saturday that the ketamine issue was not on Monday's agenda.
Emma Nelson • 612-673-4509
