Planning for Cannon Falls medical center continues

As plans continue to develop for a new medical center off Highway 52 in Cannon Falls, Mayo Clinic Health System is moving into the next phase of the project — finding funding for the construction.

“During this phase of planning, it will be critical to have community involvement,” said Tom Witt, CEO of Mayo Clinic Health System locations in Cannon Falls, Lake City and Red Wing. “The total project cost is expected to be around $30 million, with $10 million of that coming from local sources.”

Although Mayo Clinic is close to its goal, about $3.2 million is still needed. Officials said the project cannot move forward until all funding has been identified.

Nine community leaders are working on a capital campaign to raise additional funds for a new facility, which Witt said is becoming more and more necessary as developments are made in the medical field.

“The current facility has served the community well since it was built in 1958 by the community, but the picture of health care in Cannon Falls and beyond has changed dramatically in the last 54 years and it requires a different kind of medical center,” he explained.

When constructed, the new proposed medical center will feature between 80,000 and 90,000 square feet of space in a single facility. This replaces the hospital, clinic, modular building and adjacent homes in use today that combine to cover 35,000 square feet.

Along with the increase in overall space will come an increase in surgical areas, emergency services and rehabilitation equipment available.

According to Mayo Clinic officials, the new facility will feature state-of-the-art medical equipment that will support both inpatient and outpatient care, and help deliver new models of health care that include long distance in-room consultations with experts at Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

“The vision is to provide high quality primary care close to home, including adding more specialty services, with access to expert specialty care when needed,” Witt said. “This project will provide the facility and the setting to allow our staff to meet our community’s expectations for local, high-quality care.”

In addition to improved health care, Mayo Clinic said in a statement that it sees several other benefits to a new facility, including “stronger viability of Cannon Falls as an attractive community to live and raise a family” and an “overall positive impact on economic growth in the region.”

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