Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic declared plans to make a multimillion-dollar investment in its Albert Lea campus Aug. 21, according to KTTC News.
The investments include $720,000 in improvements to the facility's cancer center, $2.75 million toward the creation of a campus cooling plant, the addition of several short-stay observation beds near the facility's emergency department, a new CT scanner and a remodeling project to move the Austin campus' inpatient psychiatric unit to Albert Lea, the report states.
"We are a committed part of this community, and we take very seriously our responsibility to provide high-quality local care in a changing rural healthcare landscape," said Mark Ciota, MD, CEO of Mayo Clinic Health System–Albert Lea and Austin. "These investments are an important step in that direction. As the population ages, cancer care will be needed more than ever, and Albert Lea is positioned to grow as a state-of-the-art cancer care hub."
News of the health system's investment into the Albert Lea campus comes the same day Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson planned to meet with city and council leaders regarding the services consolidation between the Albert Lea and Austin campuses.
The transition of select services between the two campuses is set to begin in October.