Having "Mayo Clinic" on the entrance would seem like a badge of honor for a community hospital in rural Minnesota. But a vocal group of leaders in Fairmont, Minn., view it as an albatross, saying Mayo's acquisition of their hospital has pulled its finances into the red, siphoned off patients and doctors, and dragged the hospital to the bottom of key national quality-of-care rankings. At a town hall forum Oct. 23, an estimated 400 people complained about long waits for care and being diverted to Mayo's hospital in Mankato because the Fairmont hospital was short-staffed. "Fairmont deserves to be more than a Band-Aid or triage station," said Wes Clerc, mayor pro tem, during the forum.
