The facilitator of facilitated dialogue sessions between the city of Albert Lea and Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea and Austin will no longer participate in ongoing talks.

Retired Judge David Minge led approximately 10 facilitated dialogue sessions over the last approximately 14 months.

The sessions began after Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea and Austin announced it would transition most inpatient services from Albert Lea to Austin in June 2017.

Minge said he resigned his role after recognizing his presence was not necessary for talks to continue.

The last dialogue he led was Nov. 9.

“It became apparent to me after two or three meetings that a facilitator was playing kind of a nominal role, that it was relatively easy for some very capable individuals to communicate,” Minge said Friday at the Albert Lea hospital.

“The time has come to say that there is not a need for a facilitator,” he said.

The dialogues initially included Freeborn County, the city of Albert Lea and Mayo Clinic Health System. The county withdrew from talks in September after expressing concerns over what it said was an ongoing lack of communication from the hospital system.

At the time, Freeborn County Administrator Thomas Jensen said Mayo Clinic Health System made no concessions following facilitated dialogue sessions and rebuffed commissioner requests to bring back at least some inpatient services to Albert Lea.

Minge noted there was an initial lack of trust between the hospital system and the city.

“When we first started, there was a great deal of suspicion from both directions,” he said. “I think that folks at the city were concerned that Mayo had an agenda, and the agenda was going to leave Albert Lea dramatically short of health care services. I think that some of the people with Mayo felt that there was this hostility in the city and a suspicion that made it difficult to have a positive relationship between health care providers and the patients.”

Minge called the meetings “very civil.”

“I found Mayo to be very responsive in the dialogue,” he said.

Minge noted there was a question of whether Mayo was contractually obligated to maintain a certain level of health care services at the Albert Lea hospital. Despite a feeling that the hospital system did not want to disclose that information, he noted the hospital system allowed facilitated dialogue participants to read non-confidential information relating to the contract.

“The disclosure of that document in that setting and having an attorney for the county look at it, helped, I think, dispel some of this suspicion that there were contractual obligations that were being short-circuited or circumvented, and, I think, put that fear behind us,” Minge said.

Mayo Clinic Health System Associate Administrator Kristin Johnson said a community health care cooperative of regional residents and Mayo representatives focusing on the wellness of Freeborn County residents will start in January.

Magnets showing where Freeborn County residents can receive in-county health care services have been produced.

Johnson noted wellness programming at local long-term care facilities focuses on health care, depression and other topics.

She said some community residents have been confused about available services at the Albert Lea hospital as the transition unfolds, adding the hospital system’s website listing the services has improved. 

“There was quite a bit of confusion as to what care actually remains in the community — especially surrounding the emergency room — and that the emergency room is here to stay,” Johnson said.

Minge spoke highly of attendance at facilitated dialogues. The city and Mayo Clinic Health System split the costs 50-50.

“I thought attendance overall was very good,” he said. “Typically we had more people from Mayo than we had city or county representatives.”

Minge acknowledged Albert Lea residents may have “lingering misgivings” about the transition of most inpatient services. The intensive care unit moved in October 2017 from Albert Lea to Austin, and inpatient surgeries moved in June to Austin. The inpatient behavioral health unit moved this fall from Austin to Albert Lea, and medical and surgical hospitalizations will move next year from Albert Lea to Austin. Childbirth services will be the last to move to Austin in 2020.

“I’m not sure that it’s easy or even possible to put all of that behind us,” Minge said. “But, ideally, I’d like to think that the overwhelming bulk of the community would see that really high-quality health care services have been here and will continue to be here and have confidence that the physicians, nurses and other providers have their best interest in mind.” 

Johnson said the hospital system plans to continue dialogue next year.

She spoke highly of Minge’s work.

“Judge Minge was very instrumental in bringing us together and the successful work that’s been done through the facilitated dialogue,” Johnson said. “He has a fantastic sense, to, I think, read the room and ask some challenging questions and facilitate the outcome, and we couldn’t have made such great progress without him.”

A message to Albert Lea City Manager Chad Adams were not returned as of press time.