Albert Lea has always tried to be a proud city, but this last blow is enough to do her in. Mayo Clinic was to be her saving grace by becoming the biggest employer in Albert Lea after the devastating closure of Farmland and then the fire, which put the final nail in the biggest employer in Albert Lea.

They came here with all these visions, buying up houses and land for expansion although someone pointed out to me that was Mayo Clinic Health System that started the process. Now we are being told that it just isn’t feasible anymore to keep the campus intact and there is a shortage of doctors in the rural areas. OK, so how come so many doctors mysteriously left and the rumor being they couldn’t work with the politics of Mayo. For some strange reason, Mayo isn’t about compassionate health care. Once again they have become a big business, and it all boils down to the almighty dollar. Greed is an evil thing.

I really do not understand how they can move the Baby Place to Austin, when there was a difference of less than 10 births in both locations for 2016. And all surgeries moving to Austin, so they let Gold Cross build a new facility to house enough to transport Albert Lea patients to Austin. And those patients’ insurance will foot the bill, so let’s mess with the insurance costs some more as if the whole insurance industry isn’t in enough trouble. People should not be fooled into believing that Hormel didn’t play a big part in the decision to renovate the Austin campus.

Is it possible that Mayo has had these plans in the hopper for far longer than anyone was aware of? Is it possible that we were phase one of an even bigger plan that will continue on into the future? If I were Austin, I would be a little afraid of the next phase on the way to making Rochester a Destination Medical Center.

We pride ourselves on being Minnesota nice and taking people at their word. I think sometimes because Albert Leans come across as being naive that we are rubes, but nothing could be farther from the truth. We believe in the goodness of human nature, and we believed in the reputation of Mayo Clinic as being the foremost medical center in the United States, known for its amazing compassion and care. When did it become about greed and that the little man takes a hit for your agenda? Shame on you Mayo Clinic.

Barbara Osmundson

Albert Lea