ABOVE: Health officials from Mayo Clinic Health System discuss the changes moving forward and answer questions from concerned citizens during a Minnesota Department of Health public hearing on Monday night at Mayo Clinic in Fairmont.

FAIRMONT–During a public hearing on Monday night, Mayo Clinic Health System leaders explained the reasoning behind the closure of surgical, labor and delivery and pediatric care units and answered questions from concerned citizens.

The hearing was held by the Minnesota Department of Health, which is required by the state when any provider makes a large change to services. These units are planned to be closed by March 31, 2025. Deliveries in Fairmont have been on an extended diversion since August 2024. Leaders emphasized that no changes to the closure of services could be made at the meeting.

Mayo’s Regional Vice-President James Hebl started the meeting by explaining the changes to labor and delivery and inpatient pediatrics. He said since 2021, birth volumes at Fairmont Mayo have decreased from 170 to 135 in 2023. By the time a diversion was placed, only 80 deliveries had been made. Of the births had in the Fairmont Mayo service area, only 35 percent were done at Fairmont Mayo.

Due to difficulty maintaining skills and recruiting and retaining staff in low-volume practices like Fairmont Mayo, a study presented by Hebl showed risk of complications is 37 percent higher in a hospital like Fairmont Mayo, with between 111-240 deliveries a year.

Hebl said Mayo has tried aggressively for years through both internal and external recruitment agencies, some of which cost nearly $100,000 annually, and there have been no OB-GYN candidates to meet Mayo’s standards. These standards include board certification in the specific area, additional training in OB-GYN for family care practitioners and two years of experience.

Prenatal and postnatal care, well-baby care, and GYN medical care will continue. Hebl said the patient’s choice of delivery site will remain a priority, but the nearest Mayo hospital is in Mankato.

Regional Clinical Practice Chair and OB-GYN Physician Gokhan Anil covered ophthalmology and surgery. He said only one general surgeon remained, as the last podiatrist, orthopedic surgeon and opthalmologist left in May 2023, July 2024 and August 2024 respectively. Anil said four years of recruitment efforts also turned up no viable candidates to replace these positions.

The floor was then turned over to the attendees for public comment. Over 150 people attended the meeting online and submitted questions both before and during the meeting. The room had 40 attendees, and more had to attend online from the waiting room due to occupancy restrictions.

Several attendees pointed out the danger this can put people in when medical emergencies arise and people need immediate care. Hebl said that Mayo Fairmont will still have the services necessary to stabilize people suffering from immediate medical conditions until transport can be secured.

Staffing levels at nearby hospitals such as United Hospital District in Blue Earth raised several questions as to why they were able to find candidates but Mayo Fairmont was not. Hebl said he could not speak to the hiring practices or standards of other hospitals, but they had not fielded any candidates that met the standards of Mayo.

Mayo’s Mankato location also drew a focus on some issues. One attendee noted that many have colonoscopies in November or December, but Mankato is already booked through January. They asked if the remaining surgeons and GI physicians could handle everyone in the service area with that need, or if more could be brought in.

Anil said Mankato has had staffing issues, including at the GI physician specialty. He said it is obvious Mayo will have to combine resources to ensure everyone gets the care they need. Anil said other options, like Cologuard, are also available to use at home.

Records from the event, including all the archived questions and comments submitted online, will be available from the Minnesota Department of Health. For more information, visit https://www.health.state.mn.us/about/org/hrd/hearing/mayofairmont.html.