Health care is the city's biggest industry. As of September 2006, employment in the "education and health" sector accounted for 38,724 jobs - or more than 36% of Rochester's total employment!. The majority work for Mayo Clinic...and while Mayo Clinic is the largest, it isn't the only health care enterprise in town.
When you want to see a doctor, you can choose among Mayo Clinic, Olmsted Medical Center, and the Rochester Family Medicine Clinic. And when you're counting health related organizations, remember Olmsted County Public Health Services, Ronald McDonald House, Gift of Life Transplant House, Hope Lodge, hospice, nursing homes, assisted-care facilities, support groups, and holistic therapy centers.
Health care is indeed Rochester's biggest industry.
The world-renowned Mayo Clinic didn't begin with a cast of thousands. It started with one physician, Dr. William Worrall Mayo, who hung out his shingle in Rochester in the 1860's. By 1890, his sons Will and Charlie had earned medical degrees and joined the practice. The Mayo brothers, eager to learn the most up-to-date surgical techniques, traveled all over the world to study and when they returned home they improved on the techniques they had learned.
By then, physicians from around the world were coming to Rochester to learn from the Mayo brothers, and with them more patients and the practice began to expand. In 1912, the clinic treated 15,000 patients, and 60,000 by 1919. In 2005, Mayo served more than 320,000 unique patients totaling 1.41 million outpatient visits. With 1,700 staff physicians and scientists, and just as many residents and fellows, Mayo is one of the largest group practices in the world.
Today, Mayo Clinic is one of the most respected health institutions worldwide attracting more patients and respect every year and still abiding by the same philosophy when Mayo Clinic was founded. Through expansion and growth, Mayo has maintained its high standards of excellence in every pursuit it has lead and followed. In 2003, Governor Tim Pawlenty awarded Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota a grant for the state's goal of becoming a leader in genetic research, realizing the best chance at success rested with Mayo Clinic.
- More than 80 percent of the patients who come to Mayo Clinic are treated as outpatients
- 80 percent of Mayo Clinic patients come from Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin
- Mayo Clinic operates two local hospitals - Rochester Methodist Hospital (794 beds) and Saint Marys Hospital (1157 beds)
- Mayo Clinic occupies approximately 15 million square feet - about 2.9 times the size of the Mall of America.
Another cornerstone of the health system in Rochester is the Olmsted Medical Center. Just over 50 years old, the Olmsted Medical Center was also started by one man, Dr. Harold Wente, who was encouraged by city leaders as well as Mayo Clinic to offer another hospital to the residents of Olmsted County.
The hospital offers many services such as emergency care, same day surgery, a birth center, and a full range of diagnostic and patient services. Olmsted Medical Center provides city and county residents health care options and alternatives. Mayo Clinic College of Medicine students also receive part of their training at OMC and OMC practitioners also attend meetings and seminars at Mayo Clinic, giving the two medical centers a unique synergy that complements each others' strengths.
Besides these two medical centers, Rochester is home to numerous support groups, nursing homes, and independent businesses that help fill out the city's health industry. One public entity, the Olmsted County Public Health Service, is aimed at preventative services to ensure homes are healthy and provide consultation and advice to the area residents. Very often Mayo Clinic and OMC make use of these services and vice versa.
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The new Gonda addition will help Mayo expand its services.
The level of health care in the area rivals larger cities.
Research is a growing part of the health care industry in Rochester
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