KSMQ Public Television viewers will be premiering the national television film “The Mayo Clinic: Faith – Hope – Science” from 7-9 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 25.

“The Mayo Clinic: Faith – Hope – Science” is a new, national two-hour documentary executive-produced by Ken Burns and directed by Burns, Erik Ewers and Christopher Loren Ewers. It is being shown on PBS television stations throughout the United States.

Featuring interviews with famous patients including the Dalai Lama and the late Sen. John McCain, the film tells the story of William Worrall Mayo, an English immigrant who began practicing medicine with his sons, Will and Charlie, in Rochester. The film features the voices of actors Tom Hanks, Sam Waterston, Blythe Danner, and Josh Lucas.

“This history of the founding of the Mayo Clinic is well known to many people in southeastern Minnesota and northeastern Iowa,” said KSMQ President and CEO Eric Olson. “But this national film will be seen by millions of Americans across the country on PBS television stations, giving them the background story of this great institution.”

Blending historical narrative with contemporary patient stories, “The Mayo Clinic: Faith – Hope – Science” is a timely look at how one institution has met the changing demands of healthcare for 150 years—and what that can teach us about facing the challenges of patient care today.

“When the Mayo Clinic began in the late 19th Century, the medical community was so amazed at its success, they dubbed it ‘The Miracle in the Cornfield,’” said co-director Erik Ewers.

“But as unique as Mayo may be, it’s not a miracle. It’s about incredibly determined and compassionate men and women who came together to figure out how to create a model of care that puts patients before profits.”

When a deadly tornado tore through Rochester in 1883, the Mayos took charge of recovery efforts, enlisting the help of the nearby Sisters of Saint Francis to care for patients. Afterwards, Mother Alfred Moes, the leader of the convent, told Dr. Mayo she had a vision from God that instructed her to build a hospital, with him as its director. She believed it would become “world renowned for its medical arts.”

“The history of healthcare is a larger reflection of who we are as a nation,” said Burns, the executive producer. “It includes advances in science and technology, but also touches on more universal themes of love and compassion. This is an extraordinary story that places our fundamental need to care for each other within the larger framework of America’s healthcare system and modern medicine.”

“The Mayo Clinic: Faith – Hope – Science” is a production of Florentine Films, Ewers Brothers Productions, and WETA Washington, DC. It is executive produced by Burns, directed by Burns,  Erik Ewers and Christopher Loren Ewers, written by David Blistein, produced by Julie Coffman with an original score by David Cieri, and narrated by Peter Coyote.

Funding for the film was provided by the following members of “The Better Angels Society,” a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating Americans about their history through documentary film, Jay Alix and Una Jackman, Stephen and Barbara Slaggie and Family, the Russell and Carla Paonessa Family, Sandra and Bert Getz, the GHR Foundation, the Pfeil Foundation, and Gilchrist and Amy Berg. Additional funding was provided by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.

KSMQ Public Television secured permission from the producers and will also rebroadcast the movie at the following times:

  • Thursday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m.

  • Saturday, Oct. 6, at 10 p.m.

  • Sunday, Oct. 7, at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

  • Monday, Oct. 8, at 7 p.m.

  • Tuesday, Oct. 9, at 11:30 a.m.

  • Wednesday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m.