Gov. Mark Dayton's administration expressed "serious concerns" Monday over Mayo Clinic's plan to remove key inpatient and obstetrics services from its hospital in Albert Lea, a plan that has triggered sustained opposition by civic leaders in the southern Minnesota city.
While Mayo has maintained for months that the hospital realignment is necessary for physician recruitment and economic survival, the Rochester-based clinic system has received stiff resistance from community leaders, who have won the support of Albert Lea's City Council and school board, U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, and now the governor.
"We have serious concerns about Mayo Clinic's decision to reduce services at their Albert Lea hospital, and how this decision will impact the community," Dayton said in a statement with Lt. Gov. Tina Smith.
The dispute revolves around Mayo's plans to consolidate its Albert Lea and Austin hospitals, which are 23 miles apart. Austin would provide labor and delivery, inpatient surgeries and intensive care, while Albert Lea would provide inpatient chemical dependency and mental health care.
Both campuses would maintain full lines of outpatient surgeries and clinic services — which Mayo leaders have argued is the majority of modern health care anyway.
"The changes we're making are intended to keep both the Albert Lea and Austin campuses viable and available to current and future generations of patients," a Mayo spokesman said in a written statement Monday.
Dayton's intervention is significant considering he has oversight of millions of dollars in state funds going to Rochester for the Destination Medical Center project, which Mayo leaders had sought so their flagship hospital could remain competitive in the global health care market. Smith chairs the corporate board overseeing the Destination project.
The governor's statement did not ask Mayo to drop the plan, only that it "engage the public in an open discussion about the impact of its business decisions on people."