Rural Minnesotans have less access to health care providers than their peers in metro areas, a gap that could widen even more with upcoming Mayo clinic closures in Greater Minnesota.
Where are clinics closing?
Mayo Clinic Health System, a network of health care centers in southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin, recently announced that it will close clinics in the following cities on Dec. 10:
- Belle Plaine
- Caledonia
- Montgomery
- North Mankato
- St. Peter
- Wells
The health system stated that transitions to other sites are part of a “broader effort to strengthen care delivery across our communities.”
Apart from Belle Plaine, located on the edge of the Twin Cities in Scott County, the other sites are in Greater Minnesota counties. The closures come after the health system closed at least 17 clinics mostly in southern Minnesota — a few were in northern Iowa — between 2017 and 2024, according to an analysis by the Rochester Post Bulletin.
As of 2023 there were about 241 primary care clinics located in rural areas of Minnesota, representing 40% of the total in the state. Although most counties in Greater Minnesota are considered to have health professional shortages, according to the Minnesota Department of Health, only two of the clinics set to close are in such areas.
Which clinics are in counties with health professional shortages?
- Montgomery (Le Sueur County)
- Wells (Faribault County)
Other clinics border shortage areas. Sibley County, for example, has a shortage and is right across the Minnesota River from Belle Plaine. Given the trend of consolidation in health care, all the clinics likely draw patients from rural parts of their counties, where care gaps tend to be most pronounced.
How wide is the health care access gap in rural areas?
- 8% of Minnesotans live in isolated rural areas, compared with only 4% of health care providers practicing in these areas.
- Isolated rural areas have one primary care physician per 2,715 people, as opposed to one per 965 metro area residents, according to the University of Minnesota.
The term metro is not exclusive to the Twin Cities. Mankato and North Mankato are separate cities in different counties — Blue Earth County and Nicollet County — but combine to form the same metro area. Patients in North Mankato wouldn’t have to travel as far to get to the next Mayo facility as patients in other communities impacted by the closures.
How far is it to the closest Mayo clinic?
- 23 miles from Caledonia to La Crosse, Wisconsin
- 22 miles from Wells to Albert Lea
- 16 miles from St. Peter to Mankato
- 15 miles from Belle Plaine to New Prague
- 8 miles from Montgomery to New Prague
- 6 miles from North Mankato to Mankato
Notably, Wells, St. Peter, Belle Plaine and North Mankato have other clinics operated by providers other than Mayo. Patients in these communities have options that those in Caledonia and Montgomery don’t, although services and insurance networks may not be like-for-like.
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