Seems like it’s been awhile since we checked in on the ongoing divorce between those former Texas Medical Center partners, Methodist Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine. Here are the earlier posts on the historic divorce between the medical school and its former teaching hospital.
In this article, the Chronicle’s Todd Ackerman, who has done a fine job covering this story, reports that Baylor’s counsel has sent a letter to the Texas to the corporation that manages the Medical Center questioning whether three Methodist activities violate the Medical Center’s guiding principle of “institutional cooperation and coordination” — operating its own residency program; operating a research facility without the affiliation of a Medical Center institution; and using its teaching beds in conjunction with New York’s Cornell University Weill Medical School, which is not located in the Medical Center. Mr. Ackerman reports that the Texas Medical Center has hired outside counsel and commenced an investigation into the matter.
Baylor’s latest salvo in the ongoing battle between the former Medical Center partners is unlikely to succeed because it, in effect, attempts to enforce a covenant not to compete, which are not favored under Texas law. Nevertheless, Baylor continues to let its bigger and better-endowed rival know that it will not slip meekly away. It will be fascinating to watch this institutional competition unfold and to assess where each institution stands in 5-10 years.