Mayor talks to UM, Jackson heads about bitter contract dispute

Twenty-four hours after lambasting the proposal in often heated terms, the board of the Jackson Health System on Thursday unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding to forge a new relationship with the University of Miami. The vote suspended —at least temporarily—the bitterest battle in the 60-year history of two of South Florida’s largest and oldest institutions. Despite the vote to accept the deal, board member Joe Arriola, a former UM trustee, said "the business model [with UM] does not work" and insisted Jackson must find a way to break its ties to UM in the next few years.