Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic Health System will relocate elective surgeries and procedures in orthopedics, podiatry, endoscopy, ophthalmology and gynecology from its Albert Lea, Minn., campus to its Austin, Minn., and Waseca, Minn., campuses by early December.
Outpatient services in Belle Plaine, Caledonia, Montgomery, Northridge, St. Peter and Wells, Minn., will also move to nearby Mayo sites. The Albert Lea hospital will continue offering outpatient evaluations, consultations and follow-up care, with emergency services unchanged, according to a Sept. 9 MPRnews report.
The health system cited staffing shortages and declining patient volumes in a Sept. 8 news release shared with Becker’s.
“MCHS is committed to continuing to provide high-quality rural healthcare, and to do so, we must adapt,” said the release. “At times, this requires making difficult but important decisions — such as consolidating clinic services — to maintain patient and staffing volumes, modernize facilities and ensure care remains safe, reliable and sustainable for the future.”
All staff will be retained, and free transportation remains available for patients 55 and older traveling between Albert Lea and Austin, according to the report.
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