Bloomington, June 17, 2009—Mayo Clinic CEO Glenn Forbes, M.D., announced that Mayo Clinic will be part of the Phase II expansion of the Mall of America at a press conference at the mall on Wednesday.

Forbes said the decision to partner with the retail facility was an attempt to reach a broader audience. He noted that the mall attracts 40 million visitors from 32 countries. “In pastimes, we may have had the patients come to us,” Forbes said. “We’re reaching out to where the patients are, where individuals are.”

 
David Herman, M.D., Mayo Clinic director of employee and community health will head the project. He said Mayo’s intent with the new facility is to focus on health and wellness. “If America is going to realize the potential of decreased health care costs,” he said, “it’s important to engage and empower our patients to maintain their own health.”

Herman said Mayo will firm up plans for the new facility and what it will offer during the next year. Initial ideas include testing, counseling, and screening; helping new and returning patients with access to existing Mayo Clinic services; and delivering health education. Herman noted that the new facility would not offer primary care or replicate Mayo’s other services. “There are plenty of places for that now,” he said. “We hope to make something new and unique.”

When questioned further about the specifics of the new facility, Forbes said, “We know that we want to produce a gateway to what we already do in Minnesota. Exactly how we’ll model that—what the size and scale and scope will be—that will be the job and charge for the next 12 months.”