By Hannah Yang, Minnesota Public Radio News

Mayo Clinic Health System in Fairmont will close its surgical unit and labor and delivery unit at the end of March 2025.

Surgeries, procedures and in-patient obstetric care, including the labor and delivery unit, will permanently end on March 31, though deliveries have been on an extended diversion since August 2024. Expecting patients will continue to be diverted to Mankato or another location of their choice until the official service closure, according to Mayo’s announcement Monday.

Two labor and delivery and eight postpartum beds will be deactivated as a result. The reason for the change is because of the shortage of physicians in the area. Mayo Clinic stated that it searched for several years “to find the practitioners needed to provide these services in Fairmont,” with no success.

Mayo also cited that Fairmont was seeing a declining birth rate and aging patient demographic, contributing to the “lowered need for OB-GYN services.” With the labor and delivery unit closure, consistent low patient numbers and need to shift more primary care resources to the clinic to improve patient access, in-patient pediatric admissions will also sunset on March 31. Patients can receive in-patient pediatric care at Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato or another facility of their choice.

“With physician shortages, ongoing recruitment challenges, and low surgical and birth volumes, we are unable to continue the experience and quality of care in Fairmont that we strive to provide,” said Dr. James Hebl, regional vice president of Mayo Clinic Health System in Southwest Minnesota. “This is a personal and emotional topic for many. While these changes are challenging, the safety and sustainability of these services for our patients were central considerations in these decisions.”

The Department of Health and Human Services project there will be a shortage of more than 5,000 obstetricians and gynecologists across the country by 2030.

Outpatient surgical and procedural consultations, prenatal, postnatal and gynecological care, and outpatient pediatric care will continue in Fairmont along with other existing Fairmont-based services.

Affected staff have an opportunity to consider employment options with Mayo Clinic Health System or Mayo Clinic and can receive individualized support from Human Resources.

“We continue to work with our staff, community board of directors, the Fairmont Community Hospital Foundation board of directors, the Fairmont Community Hospital Foundation and other community stakeholders,” Hebl added.

Minnesota statute requires that Mayo Clinic Health System informs community members of nearby facilities that deliver babies. Below are the facilities that deliver babies within 65 miles of Mayo Clinic Health System in Fairmont:

• United Hospital District in Blue Earth
• Windom Area Health
• Windom Family Medical Center
• New Ulm Medical Center
• Lakes Region Healthcare
• Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato