Contact: Barbara Brady
(o) 651-414-2849
(c) 651-202-0845
barbara.brady@mnnurses.org
Contact: Rick Fuentes
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org
(St. Paul) – June 12, 2017 – Mayo Clinic Health System’s decision to effectively close the Albert Lea hospital and turn it into an outpatient and surgery center will disrupt patient care and cost the community hundreds of jobs, including nurses and other healthcare employees, over the next few years, according to MNA nurses at the facility.
Mayo announced today details of a complex plan to restructure its hospitals in Albert Lea and Austin.
“Albert Lea residents are losing their community hospital and will have to travel long distances for the quality healthcare they now enjoy close to home,” said MNA Albert Lea spokesperson Kathy Lehman, RN.
“Nurses just received the plan and are carefully reviewing its impact on patients and staff,” said Lehman.
“We are very concerned about potential layoffs of hundreds of nurses and other staff, which would threaten the quality of care our patients now receive,” said MNA President Mary Turner, RN. “Nurses will push for changes that protect patients and the people who care for them.”
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