Mayo Clinic going to Mall of America

[dflprincess]

The medical leader may be shopping for patients with a clinic at the Mall of America.

http://www.startribune.com/local/south/48279737.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU

In a move that could shake up the Twin Cities health care market, Mayo Clinic said Wednesday that it plans an outpost amid the roller coasters, restaurants and retailers as the Mall of America expands into a second phase.

Mayo officials said they haven't decided what services the site will offer, but said they could include diagnostic screenings, wellness counseling and other services that might direct patients to the home campus in Rochester.

"The Mall of America provides a tremendous opportunity to provide a gateway to services we provide and a platform for innovation," said Dr. Glenn Forbes, CEO of Mayo Clinic Rochester, adding: "It's not our intention to replicate what we're doing in Rochester."

The new facility might, for example, offer telemedicine consultations and organize logistics for international patients. But it will not offer routine primary care such as treating sore throats and broken bones. At a news conference on Wednesday attended by Mall officials and Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Mayo executives said they plan to spend the next 12 months deciding the nature of the facility and the size of their investment. There is no opening date as yet.

The coming together of one of the most famous medical centers in the world and one of the most famous malls is at once incongruous and inevitable. The mall gets 40 million visitors a year, many of them international. Mayo gets a half-million patients a year, with a small but high-profile percentage coming from abroad. Besides Mayo, a Marriot Hotel and a water park have signed on to the second phase of the Mall of America expansion.

Okay, so this probably isn't the worst idea Mayo ever had, but there's something about the symbolism of mixing one of the great medical clincs with the largest retail establishment in the U.S. that's just icky.

They might be trying to drum up some business, but they fail to mention that while Mayo is one of those places people come to from all over the world, there are a lot of Minnesotans who can't use it because it is "out of network".

[Mnemosyne]

1. At least it's not Walmart?

:shrug::)

Gets stranger on this planet all the time, I swear! :hi: