MHH Vice President Martina Saurin in an interview about her confidence that things are really moving forward for MHH.
Martina Saurin: “Not every route for the third light rail connection is also good for MHH.” Copyright: Inka Burow/MHH
Ms. Saurin, the economic situation at MHH is difficult, but the summer party and MHH's birthday are still being celebrated. MHH has also entered dozens of relay teams in the Hannover Marathon again this year. How does that fit together?
The economically difficult situation of hospitals and especially university hospitals in Germany unfortunately also affects MHH. This is due to the fact that our highly specialized services are not fully refinanced via the flat rates per case. Compared to other university hospitals, however, MHH is still in a relatively good position. We can only improve our economic situation with highly motivated and committed employees. Events such as the marathon, which is sponsored by our MHH plus foundation, the summer party or the birthday party strengthen employees' identification with MHH. They are important to me because social cohesion is so important in today's world. MHH team spirit, i.e. cooperation between all professions on campus, is an essential success factor.
Our MHH daycare center - the Kita Campuskinder - needs a new building. How is the project progressing?
It is my personal goal to implement this project as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the building for the Campuskinder is neither a building for research and teaching nor a hospital building, which is why we are not receiving any money from the state. We are therefore looking for an investor who will provide us with a building very close to the current daycare center, which we can then rent for the campus children. I can tell you that we are already very far advanced in this respect. In order to keep these rental costs as low as possible, MHH would like to make its own contribution. We want to design the entire outdoor facilities. With very strong support from the Förderstiftung, we have already received some great large donations. A former scientist at the university has donated 500,000 euros. Together with an inheritance and the money from various fundraising campaigns, we have just broken the million mark. Various employees have also made donations. We are happy to accept every euro, because every euro counts.
The relief agreement that healthcare employees fought for together with the Verdi trade union came into force on April 1. What expectations do you have of it?
The E-VE is another important building block with which MHH is positioning itself as an attractive employer. At the moment, the technical implementation is a huge challenge. More than a dozen other university hospitals are facing the same challenge. According to our research, no one has yet managed to implement something like this in a technically automated way. To a large extent, we have already succeeded in implementing it: We have already implemented everything that can be mapped in Polypoint. We are working on making the interface to SAP work. With the implementation of E-VE, service restrictions may become necessary; and in any case - even if we find additional staff - the financial impact will drive MHH's result further into a high deficit. Nevertheless, I am confident that we will become more attractive as an employer with the promise of relief.
You just mentioned SAP. You have a really big project in the pipeline. What is it all about?
The project is called tranS/4mation, and the aim is to fundamentally modernize all of our administrative processes - in purchasing, HR management, controlling and so on. We currently run them in SAP R/3, which is outdated. That is why we are replacing it with SAP S/4HANA. Many processes will be completely redesigned, made leaner and faster. We have a great opportunity to achieve efficient, transparent and digitally integrated processes. Everything should come from a single source. For this to succeed, a rethink must take place in all areas involved. A major organizational project is therefore running in parallel to the IT project. A very dedicated project team is working on this. We want to be finished by the end of 2026.
MHH canceled the subsidy for the Jobticket and the Deutschlandticket at the beginning of the year. Why?
I am aware that this decision has affected many employees. Unfortunately, we were no longer able to invoke an old regulation, which we had interpreted as an exception for MHH, due to changed conditions. Our subsidy is interpreted by the state of Lower Saxony as a non-tariff allowance, which state companies are not allowed to grant. I very much regret this.
From the job ticket straight to the next public transport topic: will there also be a new light rail station for the MHH with the new building?
That would be great, of course! In winter, I travel by light rail myself, and the expansion of local public transport is definitely to be welcomed. But I am primarily responsible for MHH as an outstanding medical university and will not support any measures that restrict our activities or hinder patients, visitors or employees. And that is why not every route that has been discussed so far is good for MHH. I very much hope that politicians will ultimately make a decision that is acceptable to everyone.
Speaking of politics, you are involved in the VUD. Why is that?
I've been on the board of the VUD, the Association of University Hospitals in Germany, since 2021 because I believe that university hospitals are different from normal maximum care providers; they have a different mission and they need to be financed differently for this. That is the reason why I am involved in the VUD. That's why I'm delighted to have just been elected second chair.
What is your wish for MHH?
We are currently working on an application to become a University of Excellence. We still have a lot to do to achieve this. We need to modernize our IT landscape. We have already talked about tranS/4mation. The existing system is also being replaced in healthcare. Once both of these have been completed, we will have made a quantum leap. At the same time, we need to press ahead with the construction projects. We are already on the right track - both in terms of the new building and the construction work on the campus. Overall, I see more opportunities than risks. And that makes me so confident that things are really moving forward for MHH. If we can combine this with a little more entrepreneurial thinking and boldness, then I see a very positive future for MHH.
The questions were asked by Inka Burow.