Wir überwinden Grenzen

On April 1, 2021, the transfer of operations of the University Heart Center Freiburg - Bad Krozingen (UHZ) to the Medical Center - University of Freiburg will finally be completed. This will secure the jobs of around 1,700 employees at the UHZ and the Bad Krozingen site in the long term.

In recent years, the University Heart Center has built up a very good medical and scientific reputation as a cardiovascular center of excellence. It is also on the right track financially. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the UHZ found itself in financial difficulties, which necessitated far-reaching measures.

As part of a process of strategic and organizational development of the UHZ, talks have been underway for some time to integrate the UHZ more closely into the Medical Center - University of Freiburg. Transferring both the shares of the Benedikt Kreutz Verein (BKeV) and the business operations to the University Medical Center was therefore a logical solution that was preferred by both sides.

"I am delighted that we have found a forward-looking solution for the UHZ that will strengthen the Bad Krozingen site in the long term. All parties involved must now seize this opportunity and further develop the Heart Center within the Medical Center - University of Freiburg," says Minister of Science Theresia Bauer.

Chief Medical Director Prof. Dr. Frederik Wenz and Commercial Director Anja Simon of the Medical Center - University of Freiburg emphasize: "If we grow together now, we will be one of the largest university hospitals in Germany. This strength, this great potential, must now be put to good use; for the further expansion of quality-centered, cutting-edge university medicine in Freiburg and at the Bad Krozingen campus."

In constructive negotiations between the Works Council of the UHZ and the Board of Directors of the Medical Center - University of Freiburg, a good works agreement was reached for the employees. And thanks to the increase in the number of exemptions in the Staff Council of the Medical Center - University of Freiburg, the employee rights of the employees at the Bad Krozingen campus will in future be represented even beyond the legally prescribed level.

Volker Kieber, Chairman of the Board of Directors of BKeV and Mayor of Bad Krozingen, emphasizes that the transfer of operations is a classic win-win situation. "We negotiated in the interests of the employees and secured the Bad Krozingen site with its approximately 1,200 jobs as a cardiovascular focus. We have also succeeded in making the UHZ a permanent department of the Freiburg University Medical Center. This means that our small town is now also a university hospital location, which we are very proud of.

At the same time, with the contract for the BKeV, we have created the economic basis to support the association's diverse tasks and investments in accordance with our statutes and to be able to expand them in a sustainable manner."

Further information:

With more than 22,000 inpatients per year, 424 planned beds and around 1,700 employees, the University Heart Center Freiburg - Bad Krozingen (UHZ) is one of the largest cardiovascular centers in Germany. It occupies a prominent position in patient care, research and teaching in Germany and Europe. The University Heart Center has the knowledge carriers and equipment to research new treatment methods and bring them to patients quickly and responsibly. The research expertise is strengthened by the Institute for Experimental Cardiovascular Medicine (IEKM).

The UHZ emerged as a joint university heart center in 2012 from the merger of the Cardiovascular Center of the Medical Center - University of Freiburg and the Heart Center Bad Krozingen, whose sole sponsor until then was the Benedikt Kreutz Association (BKeV).