Governor asks for “open discussion” regarding Mayo’s changes in Albert Lea
Published 11:52 am Monday, August 21, 2017
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has added his voice to the controversy surrounding Mayo Clinic Health System’s decision to transfer some inpatient services to Austin from Albert Lea.
Dayton said he and Lt. Gov. Tina Smith “have serious concerns about Mayo Clinic’s decision to reduce services at their Albert Lea hospital and how this decision will impact the community,” according to a statement released Monday morning.
“Mayo Clinic owes it to the Albert Lea community, and any community it serves, to engage the public in an open discussion about the impact of its business decisions on people.
“Minnesotans in Albert Lea rely on Mayo Clinic for essential care and services and they deserve an open discussion, especially when a decision like this affects so many.”
Mayo Clinic Health System’s decision in June to transition most inpatient services to Austin has sparked negative feedback in Albert Lea. Dayton has joined a growing political voice in the discussion; in addition to U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, state senator Dan Sparks, and state representatives Peggy Bennett and Jeanne Poppe, have all called for an open discussion about the Albert Lea concerns. Attorney General Lori Swanson was to travel to Albert Lea today to discuss issues related the transition.
Mayo in June announced its plan to realign services. The intensive care unit is scheduled to be moved in October to Austin. Inpatient surgeries are slated to move to Austin in January 2018, and the behavioral health center is expected to move from Austin to Albert Lea in 2019.
Labor and delivery services will be the last to relocate to Austin in late 2019 or early 2020, in a new building scheduled to be built near the Mayo campus.
Emergency services, pregnancy care, outpatient surgeries and lab and radiology services will remain in both locations.