HealthPartners, University of Minnesota establish Nursing Collaboratory
October 2, 2025
HealthPartners and the University of Minnesota announced the creation of formal academic-practice partnership, or collaboratory, to generate, disseminate, and apply knowledge for the improvement of nursing practice, education, and patient outcomes.
Nursing collaboratories serve as an incubator for creativity and innovation. They aim to develop new strategies to enhance nursing education and professional development, research, practice, diversity, inclusion and equity, and recruit top talent into nursing.
“We’re proud to partner with the University of Minnesota School of Nursing,” says Melissa Fritz, DNP, RN, ACNS-BC, CENP, FAONL, Methodist Hospital vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer. “This partnership unites academic excellence with clinical innovation, and we’re confident it will drive meaningful impact for our patients, nursing teams and the future of health care in Minnesota.”
"Our collaboratory with HealthPartners is more than an agreement, it is a commitment to co-create solutions for today’s most pressing nursing workforce challenges," says Dean Connie White Delaney, PhD, RN, FAAN, FACMI, FNAP. “We are excited to join with HealthPartners to ensure nursing students are practice ready, strengthen the next generation of advanced practice providers such as clinical nurse specialists, and support nursing research to ensure our communities receive the highest level of care possible.”
According to an American Association of Colleges of Nursing and American Organization for Nursing Leadership task force, academic-practice partnerships such as the collaboratory are “an important mechanism to strengthen nursing practice and help nurses become well positioned to lead change and advance health.”
HealthPartners becomes the School of Nursing’s 11th collaboratory joining Allina Health, Children's Minnesota, Essentia Health, Faith Community Nurse Network, Hennepin Healthcare, Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System, M Health Fairview, Mayo Clinic, Minnesota Hospital Association and PrairieCare.
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