Community at the Helm: Shaping Minnesota’s Future Health Data Landscape

July 24, 2025

By Greg Hanley, Chairman of the Board; and Liz Cinqueonce, President and CEO

Greg Hanley, MBA, FACHE, CPHQ
Greg Hanley, MBA, FACHE, CPHQ
Liz Cinqueonce, MBA
Liz Cinqueonce, MBA

At MN Community Measurement (MNCM), we’ve long believed that meaningful progress in health care begins with community—when those closest to the work and most affected by outcomes help shape the path forward. That belief is the foundation of our second strategic priority in MNCM’s new five-year strategic plan:

Strengthen and expand partnerships across all community partner segments in the health care ecosystem to drive measurable improvements in quality, equity, and value—while modernizing the business model and financial framework to sustain and accelerate our mission.

This priority reflects an ambitious but necessary evolution: to reimagine what partnership looks like in an era where trust, transparency, and shared action are more essential than ever. Minnesota’s health care ecosystem is a tapestry of health systems, primary care clinics and specialty practices, health plans, public health and human service agencies, employers, researchers, community organizations, and—critically—the patients and communities we all serve. Each brings unique insight, data, and power to the table. Our goal is to create the conditions where every voice is heard, and every sector is aligned toward common outcomes.

A Shared Vision for Better Outcomes

MNCM is building deeper, more intentional relationships across this diverse landscape. We are listening and learning from our partners about what matters most—whether that’s closing persistent gaps in care, making data more usable at the point of decision-making, or accessing more complete information to understand and address the root causes of disparities. By aligning our work with the real-world challenges faced by our partners, we are ensuring that MNCM’s measurement and data infrastructure continues to support relevant, timely, and actionable insights.

This shift also demands that we modernize the way we do business. Sustaining and accelerating our mission means rethinking how our work is funded, structured, and governed. It means pursuing new collaborations and innovative funding models that allow MNCM to stay nimble, responsive, and independent—while remaining rooted in community purpose. We’re embracing opportunities to co-design solutions with our partners, to pilot and scale data-sharing initiatives that reduce burden and increase value, and to ensure our shared work reflects the lived experience of the communities we seek to serve. As part of this work, we are aligning with national standards for measurement and interoperability where possible to enhance scalability and comparability—while continuing to innovate in areas where existing standards and measures fall short of addressing community-defined needs.

A Call to Collective Leadership

We know that meaningful improvement in health care quality and equity can’t be achieved in silos. That’s why MNCM is inviting new and existing partners alike to be part of shaping what comes next. Together, we can build a modern health data landscape that’s community-centered, trusted, and sustainable—one that supports bold action to close disparities, improve outcomes, and ensure accountability across the system.

The road ahead will require innovation, courage, and deep collaboration. But we are confident that with the community at the helm, Minnesota will continue to lead the way.

What Community Partners Can Do

Every organization in the health care ecosystem—regardless of size, role, or resources—has a stake in and a contribution to make toward this shared future. Here’s how you can engage:

  • Share your priorities. Let us know what data, insights, and supports would help you most in your work to improve health outcomes, equity, and value. Reach out to us through support@mncm.org.
  • Collaborate on innovation. Partner with us on pilot projects or new models that reduce burden, close gaps, and strengthen system-wide learning. Special notices to partners are announced to those who subscribe to receive updates.
  • Join the conversation. Volunteer to participate in MNCM workgroups, advisory committees, and strategic planning inquiries—your voice shapes the direction of our collective work. New opportunities are announced to those who subscribe to receive updates.
  • Invest in the mission. Consider joining as a member or supporter, and reach out to explore opportunities for partnerships that leverage MNCM data and data services to help advance your goals focused on improving quality, equity, and value. For more information email support@mncm.org or donate online.
  • Uplift community perspectives and stories. Help MNCM showcase community examples of how data is being used to drive meaningful change and share best practices. If your organization has a an improvement initiative that you feel is important to share with the community, please submit information via our online form.

If we are to achieve the goals we share—better quality, greater equity, and more value across Minnesota’s health care system—it will take all of us. We look forward to working alongside you to continue building a health data landscape that is aligned to meet the needs of our community.


Posted in Blog

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October 20, 2026
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — October 20, 2026 — MN Community Measurement (MNCM) today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Koble-MN's health information exchange (HIE) business line and the MNSHINE brand from The Koble Group. On November 1, MNCM will officially change its legal name to Minnesota Statewide Health Information Network and Exchange, known as MNSHINE. The transition follows a special joint meeting of MNCM's Board of Directors and members on October 12, at which the Board unanimously approved resolutions authorizing the acquisition, changing the organization's legal name, and establishing a new HIE Advisory Committee. Members unanimously adopted the name change and related amendments to the organization's Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. An intentional decision to collaborate The transition is the result of an intentional decision by Minnesota health care leaders to collaborate on a health data landscape that makes sense: one that reduces redundancy, increases efficiency, and delivers needed information to those with legal authorization to receive it, where and when it is needed, without unnecessary administrative barriers. "This is not simply a merger of services. It is a deliberate choice to build the kind of health data infrastructure Minnesota deserves," said Liz Cinqueonce, President and CEO of MNCM. "For too long, organizations across our state have had to navigate duplicative systems and disconnected data. By bringing measurement and exchange together, we can reduce that burden and make sure the right information reaches the right people at the right time, with patient privacy protections firmly in place, so they can focus on improving care." The effort builds on months of work by the Executive Leadership Council, convened earlier this year by MNCM, the Minnesota Electronic Health Records Consortium, and Koble to explore how a sustainable, statewide health data utility could serve the public interest. "Minnesota is at its best when we take on difficult challenges together and align on solutions," said Mark Steffen, MD, Chair of the MNCM Board of Directors. "The Board's unanimous support reflects a shared conviction that our future depends on organizations keeping their unique strengths and missions while participating in shared infrastructure and governance. That balance is what enables greater coordination, transparency, efficiency, and impact." A trusted backbone for Minnesota's health data Minnesota's future health data ecosystem is one in which organizations retain their unique strengths and missions while participating in shared infrastructure and governance. The vision for MNSHINE is to become the health data utility, governed in the public interest with strong privacy protections and transparency, that serves as the trusted backbone connecting these efforts, ensuring data can be used more effectively to improve health, wellbeing, and outcomes for all Minnesotans. By bringing the measurement of health care quality, cost, and utilization together with the infrastructure that moves clinical data between organizations, MNSHINE will be positioned to support providers, payers, public health, researchers, policymakers, and communities alike, each within the limits of applicable law and participant agreements. The goal is healthier people, stronger communities, greater equity, better public decisions, smarter investments, and a health system that learns continuously. Continuity for HIE participants HIE services will continue without interruption. To ensure continuity of leadership and relationships, Chad Peterson, CEO of The Koble Group, has joined MNCM as Senior Vice President of HIE Services. “For HIE participants, this transition opens new possibilities,” said Peterson. “When exchange and measurement are guided by one mission, we can reduce duplication for providers and better support care coordination, while holding firm to the privacy protections patients expect. I’m proud to help lead that work, and I’m committed to making sure every participant feels supported as we grow.” MNCM has also established the HIE Advisory Committee as a standing committee of its Board of Directors. The committee continues the work of the Koble-MN Advisory Committee and will advise the Board on interoperability, participant relationships, privacy, security, data governance, and health equity. Jennifer Lamprecht of Sanford Health and Dr. Justine Mrosak of Hennepin Healthcare have been appointed to co-chair the committee, which will include consumer representatives alongside members representing a cross-section of Minnesota's health care community. Protecting patient privacy This transition changes who operates Minnesota's health information exchange. It does not change how patient information is protected or who may access it. MNSHINE will continue to operate in compliance with HIPAA and the Minnesota Health Records Act, which is among the strongest patient-consent laws in the nation, and in compliance with the participant agreements that govern how information is exchanged. Health information exchange and measurement will each remain governed by their own legal and contractual requirements, and bringing them into one organization does not change the purposes for which patient information may be used.
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