Mayo Clinic Announces The Closure and Relocation of Services in Six Rural Minnesota Clinics
- Sep 11
- 2 min read
Mayo Clinic, the renowned healthcare system based in Rochester, Minnesota, has announced a significant restructuring of its services in the region, which includes the closure of six clinics in small communities across southeastern Minnesota and the relocation of elective outpatient surgeries from the Albert Lea hospital to its Austin and Waseca facilities. These measures, which will take effect by December 10 at the latest, seek to optimize care delivery and ensure its long-term sustainability.
The closures will affect clinics in Belle Plaine, Caledonia, Montgomery, Northridge (North Mankato), St. Peter, and Wells. The decision is primarily based on declining staffing and low patient volumes, as well as the need to ensure "reliable care". According to Dr. Karthik Ghosh, vice president of Mayo Clinic Health System in Minnesota, some of these clinics operated with inconsistent hours due to having only one or two clinicians staffing them, making them unviable. Maintenance issues, such as a mold problem in the Wells clinic, were also noted.
In Albert Lea, the community has expressed dissatisfaction with the relocation of elective surgeries in specialties such as ophthalmology, orthopedics, endoscopy, gynecology, and podiatry, which will now move to the Austin and Waseca campuses. Advocacy groups like the Albert Lea Healthcare Coalition have criticized the decision, recalling past promises from Mayo Clinic about the continuity of these services. Despite the changes, Mayo Clinic has assured that the Albert Lea campus will remain important, retaining non-elective surgeries and offering local pre- and post-operative care, in addition to being in the process of upgrading its emergency department. Dr. Ghosh argued that surgeries tend to be safer and have fewer errors when performed in hospitals with higher volumes and more experience, which translates into improved quality of care.
For affected patients, the institution has committed to providing assistance in transitioning to other nearby Mayo facilities, and alternatives such as online care (Primary Care On Demand) and same-day appointments have been offered to reduce unnecessary travel. Patients will need to travel between 10 and 20 minutes farther to access the next closest Mayo facilities. Regarding staff, Mayo Clinic has guaranteed that all workers at the closing clinics will have the opportunity to relocate and keep their jobs within the healthcare system.
This consolidation of services is part of a broader trend affecting rural healthcare in the United States. Although Mayo Clinic reported a record operating income of $1.3 billion in 2024 and is investing $5.6 billion in its "Destination Medical Center" plan in Rochester, many rural health institutions face financial difficulties and a persistent talent shortage. In a national context, while 20% of Americans live in rural areas, only 9% of physicians practice in these regions, due to factors such as less competitive salaries and scarce advanced educational opportunities.
With 16 hospitals and 45 multi-specialty clinics in 39 communities across Minnesota and Wisconsin, Mayo Clinic aims with this restructuring to "strengthen rural health care delivery and ensure safe, high-quality and sustainable care for generations to come".
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