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Mayo Clinic (/ˈmeɪjoʊ/) is a private American academic medical center focused on integrated healthcare, education, and research.[4] It maintains three major campuses in Rochester, Minnesota; Jacksonville, Florida; and Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona.

Key Information

Mayo Clinic employs over 7,300 physicians and scientists, along with another 66,000 administrative and allied health staff.[5][6][7] The practice specializes in treating difficult cases through tertiary care and destination medicine. It is home to the top-15 ranked Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine in addition to many of the highest regarded residency education programs in the United States.[8][9][10] It spends over $660 million a year on research and employs more than 3,000 full-time research personnel.[11][12]

William Worrall Mayo settled his family in Rochester in 1864 and opened a sole proprietorship medical practice that evolved under his sons, Will and Charlie Mayo, along with practice partners Stinchfield, Graham, Plummer, Millet, Judd, and Balfour, into Mayo Clinic. Today, in addition to the hospital in Rochester, Mayo Clinic owns and runs major campuses in Arizona[13] and Florida.[14] Most recently, in 2020, the Mayo Clinic bought a facility in central London, UK.[15][16] The Mayo Clinic Health System also operates affiliated facilities throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa.[17]

Mayo Clinic has been ranked number one in the United States for seven consecutive years in U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals Honor Roll,[18] maintaining a position at or near the top for more than 35 years.[19] It has been on the list of "100 Best Companies to Work For" published by Fortune magazine for fourteen consecutive years and has continued to achieve this ranking through 2017.[20][21] Drawing in patients from around the globe, Mayo Clinic performs near the highest number of transplants in the country, including both solid organ and hematologic transplantation.

Operations

[edit]

Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit hospital system with campuses in Rochester, Minnesota; Scottsdale and Phoenix, Arizona; and Jacksonville, Florida.[22][23] Mayo Clinic employs 76,000 people, including more than 7,300 physicians and clinical residents and over 66,000 allied health staff, as of 2022.[5] Additionally, Mayo Clinic partially owns and operates the Mayo Clinic Health System, which consists of more than 70 hospitals and clinics across Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin.[24] Mayo Clinic also operates the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, a nonprofit college dedicated to training medical and allied health professionals at Mayo Hospitals in Minnesota, Arizona, and Florida.[8]

The clinic was established as an independent business subsidiary in London in partnership with Oxford University Clinic, a collaboration between the University of Oxford and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, to operate a clinic starting in 2019.[25]

Currently, Mayo Clinic is led by president and CEO Gianrico Farrugia, M.D.[26] John H. Noseworthy, M.D., retired as president and CEO in December 2018; his predecessor, Denis A. Cortese, M.D., retired in November 2009.[27] Michael Powell, former chair of the Federal Communications Commission, serves as the chair of Mayo's governing board of trustees.[28]

Clinical practice

[edit]

In 2022, more than 1.3 million different patients from all 50 states and 138 countries were seen at Mayo Clinic facilities.[5]

Research

[edit]

Mayo Clinic researchers contribute to understanding disease processes, best clinical practices, and translating findings from the laboratory to clinical practice. As of 2022, research personnel included about 5,500 physicians and scientists.[29] Mayo Clinic's 2022 research funding exceeded $1 billion.[29] These research initiatives led to 9,275 research publications and review articles in peer-reviewed journals.[7]

Education

[edit]
Main article: Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science

The Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science (MCCMS), established in 1915,[30] offers educational programs embedded in Mayo Clinic's clinical practice and biomedical research activities.[31] MCCMS consists of five accredited schools:

History

[edit]
William Worrall Mayo, founder of Mayo Clinic

Early years

[edit]
St. Mary's Hospital in 1910

Mayo Clinic originated with the medical practice of William Worrall Mayo, M.D. (1819–1911).[34]: 5  Born near Manchester, England, he was mentored by the eminent British scientist John Dalton[34]: 11–13  and immigrated to the United States in 1846.[35]: 29  He worked his way west, earning two medical degrees at a time when formal education for physicians was limited.[34]: 20–21, 31  Mayo settled in Indiana, and he married Louise Abigail Wright in 1851.[34]: 25  They moved to Minnesota Territory in 1854, seeking a more healthful climate.[34]: 32–33  The family relocated within Minnesota several times until Mayo's appointment as an examining surgeon for the Union Army military draft board during the American Civil War brought them to Rochester.[34]: 78  On January 27, 1864, Mayo advertised in the Rochester City Post the opening of a private medical practice "over the Union Drug Store on Third Street" with "all calls answered by day or night."[36]

Both of W. W. Mayo's sons, William James Mayo (1861–1939) and Charles Horace Mayo (1865–1939), who became known as Dr. Will and Dr. Charlie, grew up in Rochester and attended medical school. William graduated in 1883 and joined his father's practice, with Charles joining in 1888.[37][38] On August 21, 1883, a tornado struck Rochester, causing at least 37 deaths and over 200 injuries.[39] One-third of the town was destroyed, but the Mayo family escaped serious harm. Relief efforts began immediately in a variety of makeshift facilities. Mayo was placed in charge of organizing medical care for the wounded survivors. Needing nurses, he reached out to Mother Alfred Moes, the founder of the Sisters of Saint Francis of Rochester, Minnesota (a teaching order).[34]: 244 

After the crisis subsided, Mother Alfred approached W. W. Mayo with a proposal: The Sisters of St. Francis would raise funds to build a hospital in Rochester if he and his sons provided medical and surgical care.[34]: 246–247  The agreement was made over a handshake.[35]: 51  On September 30, 1889, Saint Mary's Hospital was opened by the Sisters with the three Mayo physicians on staff.[35]: 11–22 

Group practice

[edit]

The growing specialization of medicine and the expanding use of railroads, automobiles, and mass communications provided context for the development of integrated multi-specialty practice.[34]: 481–485, 497 [35]: 134 [40]: 28–30 

Starting in the 1890s, the Mayo brothers welcomed other physicians to join them. W. W. Mayo's solo practice had evolved into a family practice with his sons' participation, which then became a group practice with other medical colleagues.[34]: 359  Mayo Clinic's first partners were physicians Augustus W. Stinchfield,[41] Christopher Graham,[42] Melvin C. Millet,[43] Henry Plummer,[44] E. Star Judd,[45] and Donald Balfour.[46]

Preeminent among the early physicians who joined the practice was Henry Stanley Plummer, M.D. A specialist in thyroid disease, he made contributions to the treatment of goiter.[34]: 632, 634–636  In terms of organizational development, he collaborated with the Mayo brothers in coordinating the introduction of specialties that expanded the scope of the Mayo practice beyond its origins in surgery.[40]: 19  A polymath whose interests included architecture, engineering, and art, Plummer also created many of the systems and procedures that remain central to Mayo Clinic today, such as the integrated "dossier" medical record.[40]: 37 

Growth and national expansion

[edit]
Mayo Brothers U.S. Commemorative Stamp issued 1964

The Mayo brothers both served as presidents of the American Medical Association and achieved recognition as surgeons.[40]: 23–25  In 1919, the brothers and their wives donated the assets of the medical practice, including land, buildings, and equipment, as well as the majority of their life savings, to transform the private partnership into a not-for-profit organization.[35]: 105 [47][48][49]

Following World War II, Mayo Clinic continued to expand in Rochester, Minnesota. In 1972, the Mayo Medical School (now Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine) opened.[50]

In 1986, Mayo Clinic formally united with Saint Mary's Hospital and Rochester Methodist Hospital.[51] That same year, Mayo Clinic expanded to Florida partly because of a donation of 400 acres of land in Jacksonville from the Davis family.[52][53] This was followed by expansion to Scottsdale, Arizona, in 1987;[54] the Phoenix, Arizona, campus opened in 1998.[54] In 1992, Mayo Clinic Health System became operational as a network of community-based medical services in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin.[55] In 2011, Mayo Clinic launched the Mayo Clinic Care Network, a collection of facilities with access to Mayo Clinic protocols and experts.[56]

In November 2019, the Mayo Clinic, in a joint partnership with SEHA Abu Dhabi Health Services Co, invested $50 million into a 741-bed hospital in the United Arab Emirates for a 25% stake.[57][58][59]

At the beginning of 2020, the Mayo Clinic opened a health clinic in central London, in partnership with Oxford University Clinic. It was officially named Mayo Clinic Healthcare.[60][61] In July 2020, it was reported that the Mayo Clinic had bought Oxford University Clinic's share of the facility, to become the sole owner and its first overseas clinic operated as a Mayo Clinic entity.[15][16]

Contributions to medicine and science

[edit]

In the early 20th century, Henry Plummer developed Mayo Clinic's multi-specialty group practice model and an integrated medical record system.[62] Plummer's system enabled physicians to share patient information better.[62] Before Plummer's system, physicians worked solo. They shared patient information when necessary, either verbally or by letter.[62] Plummer also helped design and fabricate building systems innovations, including steam sterilization rooms, metal surgical tools and equipment, pneumatic tube systems, and knee-operated sinks.[63][64] In 1905, Mayo Clinic advanced a technique of using frozen tissue during surgery to determine if a patient had cancer while the patient was still in the operating room.[65][66] Mayo Clinic offered the first graduate medical education program in 1915 and the first nonprofit practice aligned with medical education and research.[66] In the 1920s, Albert Compton Broders of the Mayo Clinic created the first index to grade tumors.[67] Mayo Clinic opened the first hospital-based blood bank in Rochester in 1935.[50] Early in Mayo Clinic's history, the hospital designed the one-legged mobile instrument stand known as the Mayo stand.[68]

In the 1930s, Mayo Clinic associates Walter M. Boothby, Randolph Lovelace, and Arthur H. Bulbulian developed a high-altitude oxygen therapy mask known as the BLB flight mask.[69]

During World War II, the U.S. Army tasked Mayo Clinic with finding a solution for dying pilots after suffering blackouts. Mayo Clinic hired a team of physicians to research and define the specific physiologic effects causing blackout and unconsciousness during high G forces.[70] Physiologists Earl H. Wood, Edward Baldes, Charles Code, and Edward H. Lambert developed the G-suit with air bladders that prevented blood from pooling in pilots' legs.[70] The suit was worn by U.S. pilots toward the end of World War II.[71]

Two Mayo Clinic physicians were among three people awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1950 for the discovery of cortisone.[72] Professor Edward C. Kendall, Ph.D., and Philip S. Hench of Mayo Clinic were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine alongside Tadeus Reichstein, a Swiss chemist who conducted independent research, for the discovery.[72] They separated and identified compounds from the adrenal cortex that produced cortisone and hydrocortisone.[73] Later in the decade, Mayo Clinic began using and refining the Gibbon heart–lung machine in cardiac surgery. It is now known as the Mayo–Gibbon heart–lung machine.[74]

Mayo Clinic associates Edward Howard Lambert, Lealdes (Lee) McKendree Eaton, and Edward Douglas Rooke were the first physicians to substantially describe the clinic and electrophysiological findings of what is known as Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome in 1956.[75][76] In 1972, the clustering of LEMS with other autoimmune diseases led to the hypothesis that it was caused by autoimmunity.[77]

In 1969, Mayo Clinic doctors performed the first Food and Drug Administration-approved hip replacement in the United States.[78] In 1973, Mayo Clinic bought the first CT scanner in the U.S.[79]

Mayo Clinic and Roche Molecular Biochemicals developed a rapid DNA test in 2001 to detect anthrax in humans and in the environment.[80]

The Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation was established in 2008 and has since worked on over 270 projects.[81][82]

In 2013, Mayo Clinic specialists in regenerative medicine began the "first-in-human study," whereby patient cells are used to attempt to heal heart damage.[50]

After several years of using Apple Inc.'s Macintosh computers and mobile devices for patient care and test results, Mayo partnered with Apple in 2014 to develop the Apple Health and HealthKit apps as a central location for personal health information.[83] Mayo Clinic and Delos Living launched the Well Living Lab in September 2015. This research facility is designed to simulate real-world, non-hospital environments, allowing Mayo Clinic researchers to study the interaction between indoor spaces and human health.[84]

Mayo Clinic's Advanced Care at Home Model of Care launched in 2020 and assists patients in their own homes through virtual care.[85]

In 2020, Mayo Clinic began running a federally sponsored Expanded Access Program for Convalescent Plasma to treat hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in the United States.[86]

In 2018, Mayo Clinic and UCLA used spinal cord stimulation and physical therapy that allowed a man paralyzed since 2013 to briefly regain his ability to stand and walk with assistance. The patient was able to walk 111 yards for a total of 16 minutes when given artificial electrical stimulation, although he was unable to continue that mobility once the artificial stimulation was removed. The results were published in the journal Nature Medicine.[87]

As of 2023, Mayo Clinic had treated more than 10,000 patients with proton beam therapy across two of its facilities. According to Post-Bulletin reporting, proton beam therapy is limited in the U.S., with only 2 percent of radiation patients being treated with the technology.[88]

Plummer Building in Rochester, Minnesota

Architecture and art collection

[edit]

As the practice grew in the 20th century, it required additional space. Saint Mary's Hospital underwent frequent expansion. Rochester business leader John Kahler built innovative hotel-hospital facilities that served Mayo Clinic patients.[34]: 501–502  In 1914, Mayo Clinic opened the world's first building expressly designed for multispecialty group practice, known as the 1914 "red brick" building.[89][34]: 544  It facilitated ease of movement for patients and staff among specialty areas, brought research and education functions into proximity with clinical practice, and patient amenities.[34]: 544 [40]: 38–41  This approach was replicated and enhanced with the adjoining 1928 Mayo Clinic building, later named for Plummer,[40]: 77–80  its principal designer, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[34]: 697–698 [90][91] The General hospital features bronze entry doors designed by artist Charles Brioschi. Each 16-foot-high, 5.25-inch-thick door weighs 4,000 pounds and features ornamental panels. The doors are closed to memorialize important historical events and influential people, such as the deaths of the Mayo brothers, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and the victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.[92] The 1914 "red brick" building, a National Historic Landmark, was demolished by Mayo Clinic in the 1980s to make way for the Siebens Building (completed in 1989).[89][93] Mayo Clinic's campus has undergone expansion over the years.[94]

Other notable Mayo Clinic buildings include the Mayo Building (Rochester, Minnesota) (construction completed in 1955), Guggenheim Building (1974), Gonda Building (2001), Opus Imaging Research Building (2007), and a recent addition in 2019 – the Discovery Square building.

  • Gonda Building entrance
    Gonda Building entrance
  • Gonda Building atrium
    Gonda Building atrium
  • Patient cafeteria dome
    Patient cafeteria dome
  • Opus Imaging Research Building
    Opus Imaging Research Building
  • Guggenheim Building
    Guggenheim Building

Mayo Clinic's humanities program was founded on the belief that the arts and healing are linked.[95] Over the decades, Mayo Clinic has established an extensive art collection, including these works on display across all campuses:

Educational programs

[edit]
Main article: Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science § History

The first medical, educational programs at Mayo Clinic were developed in 1915 with the assistance of the University of Minnesota.[96][49] Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education and the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research were established in 1915.[33][97] MFMER was established as a department of the University of Minnesota with a $1.5 million donation to offer graduate programs at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.[98] The Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education is part of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, which is divided into five schools.[99][100] Those schools include Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences, Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development, and Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.[35]: 131 

In 2011, the foundation that oversees the Mayo Clinic went before the Supreme Court to argue that medical residents should remain exempt from Social Security deductions. In Mayo Foundation v. United States, the court sided with the Social Security Administration and required FICA to be deducted going forward.[101]

Current practice

[edit]

Mayo Clinic rules mandate that its CEOs must be physicians and come from within Mayo Clinic.[102] John H. Noseworthy, M.D., served as president and CEO from 2009 to 2019.[27] Under his leadership, Mayo Clinic was reorganized into a single operating company with a unified strategy and business plan, which helped the system expand.[26] This included the launch of the Destination Medical Center, a 20-year economic growth plan in Rochester.[26] During this time, annual revenue reached nearly $12 billion, and Mayo Clinic added 7,200 employees.[103]

In 2018, Mayo Clinic announced that Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., a Mayo Clinic physician for more than 30 years, would replace Noseworthy as CEO.[104] Farrugia had served as CEO of Mayo Clinic in Florida since 2015.[26] The replacement adhered to Mayo Clinic's tradition of leadership changes, where a new president or CEO is named every seven to ten years.[105] By 2018, Mayo Clinic doctors saw approximately 1.3 million patients annually.[26]

Criticism

[edit]

Opposition to the "Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act"

[edit]

In May 2023, Mayo Clinic lobbied against two statewide health care bills, the Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act (KNABA) and the Health Care Affordability Board, threatening to pull over 4 billion dollars in investments into new facilities and infrastructure in the Mayo Clinic Rochester campus unless the Affordability Board bill was scrapped and the KNABA was amended to exempt Mayo Clinic from any staffing mandates.[106][107] The KNABA required hospitals to establish committees that allowed nurses and other staff to evaluate staffing workloads in order to address a so-called "care crisis" and a shortage in hospital staff.[108] The Health Care Affordability Board would allow hospitals, doctors, and insurers to be fined for failing to lower costs or allowing costs to run out of control.[109][110] The Minnesota Nurses Association spoke out against Mayo's demands, characterizing them as "unethical" and "attempt(s) to override democracy."[111] These lobbying attempts were successful, with the mandated nurse staffing levels scrapped[112] and the Health Care Affordability Board legislation being changed from a board empowered to levy fines to a bill that "requires state health officials to review health care cost growth but gives them no authority to set targets."[109] Minnesota state senator Erin Murphy called Mayo's efforts to gut the bill "corporate hijacking" in an op-ed published in the Star Tribune.[113]

Innovation

[edit]

Mayo Clinic has adopted more than 15,000 mobile devices from Apple for patient care, including the iPad, iPad Mini, and iPhone. Mayo Clinic then created an app for these devices called Synthesis Mobile, which integrated hundreds of their health systems. More apps were developed for Mayo Clinic Care Network members to help patients see their medical records or ask clinicians for assistance.[114] In 2014, Mayo Clinic was developing an app for Apple's HealthKit to help users maintain healthy lifestyles and warn of certain health signs that require attention.[115]

The Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation was established in 2008. It has since worked on over 270 projects.[116]

In March 2018, Mayo Clinic and Mytonomy, a healthcare education system company, partnered to provide video content for cancer patients.[117]

In September 2019, Mayo Clinic entered into a partnership with Google for healthcare innovation and cloud computing, and Google planned to open its facility in Rochester, Minnesota, for Mayo Clinic.[118]

In January 2020, Mayo Clinic and NTT Venture Capital joined a $60 million financing for the biomedical software startup Inference.[119]

In March 2023, Mayo Clinic disclosed that they are using AI technology to write content. The AI content is used to write in plain language, choose words that are inclusive, and optimize content for search applications.[120]

Rankings

[edit]

Since 2016, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester has been ranked as the #1 overall hospital in the United States by U.S. News & World Report. Almost 5,000 hospitals were considered and ranked in 16 specialties, from cancer and heart disease to respiratory disorders and urology; 153 (just over three percent of the total) were ranked in at least one of the 16 specialties. Of the 153 hospitals ranked in one or more specialties, 20 qualified for the Honor Roll, earning high scores in at least six specialties. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, was ranked in the top 10 in all but one of 16 specialties, in the top 4 in 13 specialties, and was the #1 ranked hospital in 8 of the 12 data-driven specialties. This year, U.S. News expanded its common procedures and conditions list to 9 individual measures. Mayo was one of fewer than 70 hospitals to score High Performing in every category.[121] Additionally, Mayo was the only hospital on the 2016–2017 honor roll to receive 5 stars from CMS.[122] Every Mayo Clinic hospital received an "A" safety rating from Leapfrog in its April 2017 report.[123] In 2021–22, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, was ranked again as the #1 overall hospital in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.[8]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Mayo Clinic

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
The Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit academic medical center headquartered in , renowned for pioneering an integrated, team-based model of medical care that emphasizes collaboration among specialists to address patient needs holistically. Originating from the practice of , who settled in Rochester in 1864, the institution evolved significantly after the devastating 1889 tornado, when his sons, and , joined him to treat survivors and partnered with the Sisters of St. Francis to establish Saint Marys Hospital, which opened in 1892 and served as the foundation for the modern clinic. Today, Mayo Clinic operates major campuses in Rochester, ), and ), alongside a network of affiliated clinics and hospitals, serving over 1.3 million patients annually from more than 130 countries. It consistently ranks at the top of U.S. News & World Report's "Best Hospitals" evaluations, holding the #1 overall position in multiple specialties such as and , , and for the 2025-2026 period, reflecting its emphasis on evidence-based outcomes and in diagnostics, treatments, and procedures. The organization's defining motto, "The needs of the patient come first," underscores its commitment to multidisciplinary research—producing thousands of peer-reviewed publications yearly—and education, training thousands of medical professionals while advancing fields like and precision through dedicated institutes and platforms for data-driven discovery.

History

Founding and Early Development (1864–1889)

William Worrall Mayo, born on May 31, 1819, in , immigrated to the in 1846, initially working as a before pursuing medical training and practice in , , and Minnesota.00933-6/fulltext) In 1863, during the , Mayo was appointed examining surgeon for the Union Army draft enrollment board in , a small town with a population of about 2,500.00933-6/fulltext) He relocated his family, including his wife Louise and young sons (born 1861) and Charles Horace (born 1865), to Rochester in 1864, where he established a solo general medical practice announced in local newspapers on January 27.00933-6/fulltext) Mayo's early practice in Rochester encompassed a broad range of medical services, including , , and general care, often conducted in patients' homes or his own office due to the absence of a local . His sons, exposed to from childhood, began assisting him by prescriptions and observing procedures, fostering an early family involvement in healthcare. William James Mayo graduated from the University of Michigan in 1883 and returned to Rochester to support his father's practice, particularly after a devastating struck the town on August 21, 1883, injuring over 100 residents and highlighting the need for organized medical facilities. completed his medical degree at Chicago's in 1888, further strengthening the family's medical capabilities. The 1883 tornado catalyzed early developments toward institutional care, as Sisters of St. Francis, led by Mother Alfred Moes, proposed constructing a in Rochester if Mayo agreed to oversee its medical staff. Mayo accepted, leading to the construction of St. Mary's Hospital, which opened in the fall of 1889 with 27 beds, six nursing sisters, and the Mayo family physicians—William Worrall, , and Charles Horace—serving as the primary attendings. This marked the transition from Mayo's individual practice to a structured affiliation with a dedicated facility, laying groundwork for expanded collaborative care while adhering to emerging principles.00933-6/fulltext)

Post-Tornado Collaboration and Group Practice Formation (1889–1915)

The collaboration between the Mayo family physicians and the Sisters of St. Francis, initiated in the aftermath of the 1883 Rochester tornado, culminated in the opening of Saint Marys Hospital on September 30, 1889. This facility, constructed by the Sisters with 27 beds, adopted early principles and served as the primary site for the Mayos' surgical practice, with William W. Mayo as medical director and his sons, William J. Mayo and Charles H. Mayo, as the attending surgeons. The hospital's establishment formalized the partnership, enabling coordinated care that emphasized teamwork between physicians and nursing staff trained by the Sisters. By the early 1890s, William J. Mayo, having completed surgical training abroad, and Charles H. Mayo, who joined after his 1893 medical graduation, increasingly handled complex cases at Saint Marys, while their father transitioned to advisory roles. The brothers' expanded to include consultations from regional patients, fostering a model where multiple physicians collaborated on diagnoses and treatments rather than operating in isolation. This shift laid groundwork for integrated care, as the Mayos recognized the limitations of solo practice in addressing diverse medical needs. The formation of a formal group practice accelerated in the early 1900s, with the Mayos inviting specialized associates to share responsibilities and profits. In 1905, Augustus W. Stinchfield, an experienced internist, became the first non-family partner, followed by others like Henry S. Plummer, who advanced the multi-specialty approach and integrated medical records by the . This structure emphasized collective expertise, with physicians consulting across disciplines, contrasting prevailing individualistic models and enabling handling of over 1,000 major surgeries annually by 1910. In 1914, the Mayo brothers dedicated a dedicated clinic building adjacent to Saint Marys, centralizing outpatient services and accommodating growing patient volumes from across the Midwest. This supported the evolving group practice, which by 1915 included a dozen physicians focused on coordinated -centered care. That year, the brothers incorporated the Mayo Foundation for and Research, endowing it with $2 million to affiliate with the , formalizing training programs that reinforced the clinic's emphasis on advanced, collaborative .

Nonprofit Transition and National Expansion (1915–1960)

In 1915, Drs. William J. Mayo and Charles H. Mayo donated approximately $1.5 million from their personal savings to the to establish the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, creating the world's first organized graduate medical training program for physicians and aligning clinical practice with advanced education and research. This initiative formalized the integration of teaching and scholarship into the group's operations, with the foundation administered as a department of the university.62239-3/abstract) The full transition to nonprofit status occurred in 1919, when the Mayo brothers transferred ownership of all clinic assets to the newly formed Mayo Properties Association, the precursor to the modern Mayo Foundation.62239-3/abstract) Under this structure, physicians shifted from to salaried positions, with any financial surplus directed toward education, research, and subsidizing patient care rather than individual profit. This model ensured long-term institutional stability and emphasized collaborative, over proprietary interests. The nonprofit framework facilitated physical and operational expansion primarily in , drawing patients nationally as the clinic's reputation grew. By 1920, annual patient visits exceeded 60,000, reflecting increased referrals from across the due to the group's expertise in complex surgeries and diagnostics. In 1922, a new surgical pavilion at Saint Marys Hospital doubled its bed capacity to accommodate rising demand. The landmark Plummer Building, a 15-story structure designed for multispecialty diagnostics, opened in 1928, providing expanded office space and incorporating innovations like centralized records systems pioneered by Dr. Henry S. Plummer. Following the deaths of the Mayo brothers in 1939, the foundation's governance evolved under professional leadership, sustaining growth amid economic challenges. Hospital admissions for specialized services, such as rheumatology, rose from 150 in 1933 to 312 by 1939, indicative of broader recovery and program maturation. The 1955 opening of the 10-story Mayo Building further augmented facilities for outpatient care and research. Research advancements, including the 1950 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to Mayo-affiliated scientists Philip S. Hench, Edward C. Kendall, and Tadeus Reichstein for cortisone synthesis, enhanced national prominence and funding for endocrine and immunology studies. These developments solidified Mayo Clinic's role as a national referral center without establishing satellite clinics elsewhere during this era.

Modern Growth and Specialization (1960–Present)

Following the nonprofit transition, Mayo Clinic pursued infrastructural enhancements and operational scaling in . In 1986, the Clinic merged with St. Mary's Hospital and Rochester Methodist Hospital, forming an integrated medical center with total assets exceeding $1 billion, which facilitated coordinated care across clinical, research, and educational domains. This period also saw the founding of the Regional Laboratory in 1971, evolving into Mayo Clinic Laboratories, a national reference service that expanded diagnostic capabilities and generated substantial revenue through external testing. Geographic expansion accelerated in the 1980s, with the opening of the Jacksonville, Florida, campus in 1986—the first beyond Rochester—driven by philanthropic support from the Davis family and aimed at addressing regional healthcare needs while replicating the multispecialty model. The Scottsdale, Arizona, campus followed in 1987, stemming from a 1983 strategic decision to establish satellite sites in high-growth areas, enabling Mayo to treat patients from warmer climates and diversify its operational footprint. These campuses incorporated specialized facilities, such as advanced imaging and surgical suites, contributing to a tri-site structure that by the 21st century served millions annually across integrated practices. Specialization intensified through dedicated centers and research integration, with Mayo pioneering advancements like drug-eluting stents for and (FISH) techniques for genetic analysis, both developed post-1960 to address complex cardiac and oncologic conditions. The model emphasized team-based care in fields including , where residency programs evolved to train specialists in and , and transplantation, with early leadership in organ procedures. Modern facilities like the Gonda Building (2001) and Guggenheim Building underscored this focus, housing multidisciplinary clinics for rare diseases and proton beam therapy for cancers. Recent initiatives reflect sustained growth, including a 2023 announcement for Rochester campus redevelopment and a $1.9 billion in Arizona's Phoenix campus unveiled in March 2025 to enhance AI-driven diagnostics, , and amid rising patient volumes. These efforts, coupled with ongoing NIH-funded —building on the first grant in 1958—position Mayo as a leader in precision , though expansions have strained resources, prompting efficiencies in operations.

Organizational Structure and Operations

Campuses and Global Reach

Mayo Clinic maintains three principal campuses in the United States, located in Rochester, Minnesota; Jacksonville, Florida; and the Phoenix/Scottsdale area of Arizona, each integrating clinical care, research, and education under a unified multispecialty group practice model. The Rochester campus serves as the foundational and largest site, encompassing Mayo Clinic Hospital's Saint Marys Campus with 1,265 beds and 70 operating rooms, alongside the Methodist Campus featuring 794 beds and 37 operating rooms. The Jacksonville campus opened on October 3, 1986, initially with 37 physicians and 158 staff, and expanded to include a hospital in April 2008 with 304 beds and 34 operating rooms. The Arizona campus in Scottsdale commenced operations in 1987, followed by the opening of Mayo Clinic Hospital on September 12, 1998, which includes 268 licensed beds comprising 231 medical/surgical beds and 30 intensive care unit beds. Specialized programs such as the Executive Health Program are offered at these campuses in Rochester, Minnesota; Scottsdale, Arizona; and Jacksonville, Florida. Complementing these campuses, the operates a regional network of approximately 70 hospitals and 500 clinics across southern , western , and northern , extending integrated care to broader Midwestern populations. Mayo Clinic's global reach manifests primarily through partnerships rather than owned international campuses, including the Mayo Clinic Care Network, which affiliates with foreign entities such as American Hospital Dubai in the , Clinica Sant'Anna in , and Clinique de Genolier in to disseminate expertise and protocols. Additionally, Mayo Clinic Healthcare maintains a clinic in , , offering services like comprehensive health assessments to international patients. The organization supports global access via international patient services offices in locations including , ; and , ; , [El Salvador](/page/El Salvador); and , , facilitating appointments, travel, and coordination for patients from over 140 countries. Mayo Clinic also engages in consulting and collaborative ventures worldwide to aid healthcare organizations in adopting its operational models, though these emphasize knowledge transfer over direct clinical delivery abroad.

Clinical Practice and Patient Care Model

The Mayo Clinic's clinical practice model centers on an integrated multispecialty group practice that coordinates care through multidisciplinary teams of physicians, allied health professionals, and support staff. This structure, rooted in principles established by William W. Mayo, William J. Mayo, and Charles H. Mayo during the clinic's formative years, emphasizes collegial cooperation and physician-led decision-making to deliver comprehensive evaluations and treatments. Patient care operates under a unified system across campuses, enabling real-time collaboration among specialists in a single integrated environment, which reduces fragmentation and supports personalized treatment plans based on the patient's full clinical history, goals, and lifestyle factors. Unhurried examinations allow providers to listen extensively to patients, fostering trust and enabling thorough assessments that incorporate advanced diagnostic technologies. Physicians and staff are compensated on a salaried basis focused on care quality rather than service volume, aligning incentives with patient outcomes and minimizing pressures for overtreatment common in systems. Governance remains physician-directed, prioritizing clinical excellence over administrative or financial metrics, while integrating research and education to inform evidence-based practices. This model extends to specialized programs, such as transplant evaluations and stone management, where teams from , , and other disciplines jointly develop continuum-of-care strategies from initial assessment through long-term follow-up. Patients thus receive coordinated, high-value interventions, with access to over 12,000 clinical studies enhancing options for innovative therapies.

Physician Compensation

Specific salary data for neurosurgeons at the Rochester campus with 10 or more years of experience, senior, tenured, or long-term status is not publicly detailed. The average reported salary for neurosurgeons at Mayo Clinic is approximately $586,000 per year. Job postings indicate full-time base compensation for neurosurgery specialties ranges from $290,000 to $830,500, varying by experience and other factors; experienced neurosurgeons likely earn toward the higher end.

Research Institutes and Programs

Mayo Clinic operates approximately 50 research centers and programs, complemented by more than 20 core resources and over 400,000 square feet of laboratory space, primarily focused on that bridges basic science discoveries to clinical applications across its , , and campuses. The Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the since 1974 and spanning all three sites, conducts multidisciplinary research into cancer prevention, detection, and treatment, enrolling thousands in clinical trials annually and supporting precision diagnostics for over 130,000 patients yearly. The Research Center, established in 1990 with ongoing funding, examines brain aging, Alzheimer's pathology, and related dementias through , studies, and longitudinal cohorts like the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, aiming to identify early diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets. The for Individualized Medicine integrates , , and other data to develop personalized treatment strategies, including pharmacogenomic testing implemented in routine care and research into rare diseases via initiatives like the Undiagnosed Diseases Network. Additional key programs encompass the Children's Research Center, addressing pediatric and ; the William J. von Liebig Transplant Center, advancing immunosuppression protocols and organ preservation techniques; and the for Tuberculosis Research, focusing on diagnostics and for . These institutes emphasize interdisciplinary collaboration, with core facilities providing expertise in areas such as advanced imaging, , and high-throughput sequencing to support hypothesis-driven investigations and large-scale .

Education and Training Programs

The Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science encompasses multiple schools dedicated to training physicians, scientists, allied health professionals, and for practitioners, with over 400 programs offered across its campuses in , , and . These initiatives emphasize integration of , , and , aligning with the institution's group practice model established in the early . Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, founded in 1972, provides the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) program, admitting approximately 94 students annually across its Rochester, Minnesota, and Scottsdale, Arizona, campuses. The curriculum features a three-phase structure focused on foundational sciences, clinical immersion, and advanced electives, with a reported 94% student satisfaction rate and 21% of graduates matching into primary care residencies. Tuition for the full-time program stands at $65,920 per year, supported by a faculty-to-student ratio of 3.1:1. The Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education administers more than 280 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited residencies and fellowships across nearly all medical and surgical specialties, training over 2,000 residents and fellows annually as part of what is described as the nation's oldest and largest such program. These postgraduate programs, available in , , and , integrate clinical rotations with research opportunities, with stipends starting at around $70,000 for first-year residents and rising to over $100,000 for advanced levels as of 2025. Complementing physician training, the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of offers Ph.D. and combined M.D.-Ph.D. programs in areas such as biochemistry, , and , preparing students for careers through mentored research and coursework. The Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences delivers over 120 allied health programs, including certificates and degrees in fields like studies, , and laboratory sciences, enrolling hundreds of students yearly across campuses. For practicing professionals, the Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development provides (CME) courses, simulations, and conferences, fulfilling accreditation requirements in specialties such as and . Specialized tracks include nurse residency programs for new graduates with less than 12 months of experience and administrative fellowships for master's-level health trainees.

Innovations and Scientific Contributions

Historical Medical Breakthroughs

The Mayo Clinic pioneered the frozen section technique in 1905, developed by pathologist Louis B. Wilson to provide rapid intraoperative tissue diagnosis. This method involved freezing surgical specimens with , cutting thin sections with a modified , and them for immediate microscopic examination, allowing surgeons like William J. Mayo to assess malignancy and margins during a single procedure rather than relying on delayed paraffin-embedded analysis. The innovation significantly reduced operative risks and repeat surgeries for cancer patients, establishing a standard still used worldwide in oncologic procedures. In , biochemist Edward C. Kendall achieved a milestone on December 25, 1914, by isolating thyroxine, the primary iodine-containing , from thyroid glands—the second pure extracted after adrenaline. This breakthrough enabled precise biochemical understanding and synthesis of thyroid replacement therapies, addressing deficiencies that cause goiter and . Kendall's subsequent work culminated in the isolation of in the 1930s, which, applied clinically by rheumatologist Philip S. Hench in 1949 for , demonstrated profound anti-inflammatory effects and earned the trio (including Tadeus Reichstein) the 1950 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The therapy marked a in managing autoimmune diseases, though initial supplies were limited due to complex extraction from animal adrenals. Mayo Clinic established the first U.S. hospital-based in 1935 under anesthesiologist John S. Lundy, storing refrigerated in surgical laboratory coolers to ensure availability for transfusions during operations. This system improved outcomes in elective and emergency surgeries by mitigating risks and standardizing blood preservation, predating widespread adoption elsewhere. Additional early contributions included Albert C. Broders' 1920 tumor grading system, which quantified based on to guide and treatment, and Russell M. Wilder's 1922 clinical validation of insulin dosing for , confirming its safety and efficacy in human trials shortly after Banting's discovery. These advancements underscored Mayo's emphasis on integrating , biochemistry, and clinical application to advance surgical precision and endocrine therapies.

Contemporary Technological and Therapeutic Advances

In recent years, Mayo Clinic has advanced applications in precision , deploying Blackwell infrastructure in July 2025 to develop foundation models for pathomics, , and personalized treatments. This platform enables multimodal , including images and text, to enhance diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic customization, as outlined in a October 2025 Mayo Clinic Proceedings article on individualized . AI tools have also been integrated into cardiovascular diagnostics, such as detecting heart disease and accelerating interventions, with implementations noted as of May 2025. Mayo Clinic launched Platform_Orchestrate in October 2025, providing biopharma partners access to de-identified patient data, AI analytics, and clinical expertise to expedite novel therapies from development to deployment. Complementing this, efforts include therapy for injuries, demonstrated safe and potentially beneficial in a May 2024 study involving subacute and chronic patients. In 2024, researchers advanced applications by testing therapies in microgravity aboard the and culturing three-dimensional mini-organs, such as human intestines, to model diseases and test interventions. Therapeutic radiation innovations feature proton beam therapy with pencil beam scanning, which minimizes damage to healthy tissues compared to traditional methods. A phase 3 published October 2025 validated a hypofractionated regimen—higher doses over fewer sessions—as equally effective to conventional schedules for certain cancers, reducing patient burden. Mayo Clinic expanded its proton facilities in Rochester in September 2025 to incorporate these techniques, supporting biological dose modeling for precise targeting. These developments underscore Mayo's emphasis on data-driven, patient-centered innovations grounded in clinical trial evidence.

Rankings, Reputation, and Impact

U.S. News and Other Evaluations

In the 2024–2025 Best Hospitals rankings, in , secured the number one position overall among approximately 4,400 evaluated hospitals, based on metrics including patient outcomes, volume, and nurse staffing alongside physician peer surveys. The achieved national top rankings in 13 adult specialties, more than any other hospital, and was named to the Honor Roll for demonstrating high performance across a wide range of services. campuses in and also ranked number one in their respective states. The 2025–2026 U.S. News rankings, released in July 2025, reaffirmed Mayo Clinic Rochester's top national position, with continued leadership in multiple specialties and state dominance in and . These evaluations incorporate data from over 800 care records per hospital, emphasizing objective measures like survival rates and readmission statistics, though peer reputation surveys constitute a significant component that has drawn scrutiny for potentially reinforcing incumbency advantages among longstanding academic centers. Newsweek's 2025 World's Best Hospitals ranking, derived from global peer recommendations, patient experience surveys, and accreditation data, placed Mayo Clinic Rochester first worldwide among over 2,400 institutions, ahead of and Toronto General. In specialized assessments, Mayo Clinic topped categories including cardiac care, , , and in the U.S., reflecting strong performance in procedure-specific outcomes and innovation adoption. It was also ranked number one in 's World's Best Smart Hospitals for 2025, evaluating digital infrastructure and AI integration. Becker's Hospital Review included Mayo Clinic among America's great hospitals in its 2024 list, citing its consistent number one specialty rankings and Honor Roll status as indicators of sustained excellence in complex care delivery. These evaluations collectively underscore Mayo Clinic's empirical strengths in high-acuity treatments, though rankings vary by methodology—U.S. News prioritizes U.S.-centric outcomes, while incorporates international perspectives—and do not uniformly capture or preventive care efficacy.

Broader Influence on Healthcare Delivery

The Mayo Clinic's model of care, characterized by multispecialty integration, multidisciplinary teamwork, and a patient-centered focus, has profoundly shaped modern healthcare delivery by pioneering the group practice paradigm that prioritizes coordinated, evidence-based treatment over siloed specialist consultations. Originating in the early under the Mayo brothers, this approach emphasized specialization alongside interdisciplinary , establishing foundational practices for integrated care systems that have been adopted by hospitals and health networks nationwide. By the mid-, it influenced the development of prepaid group practices and early health maintenance organizations (HMOs), promoting efficiency and continuity in patient management through shared electronic records and team-based decision-making. In contemporary practice, the Mayo Clinic Care Network, launched in , extends this model to over 100 partner organizations across the and internationally, enabling community providers to consult Mayo specialists remotely and implement standardized protocols for complex conditions, which has demonstrably improved outcomes and reduced variability in care delivery.31186-9/fulltext) This collaborative framework has generated measurable economic and clinical impacts, such as a reported $1.1 million annual benefit for participating hospitals through enhanced referrals and expertise access, while scaling Mayo's principles—applied for over a century to optimize workflows and minimize errors—to broader networks.61897-1/fulltext) Mayo's Division of Health Care Delivery Research and Quality Academy further propagate these innovations by training external clinicians in quality improvement methodologies, including data-driven process redesign and protocols, which have been integrated into national standards and emulated by entities like the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Through global consulting services, Mayo disseminates its care model to foreign health systems, fostering adoption of multidisciplinary clinics for conditions like and , thereby influencing international benchmarks for efficient, high-value delivery. These efforts have contributed to policy discussions on reforming U.S. healthcare toward value-based models, as evidenced by Mayo's viewpoint paper advocating integrated systems as a basis for legislative changes emphasizing coordinated care over fragmented structures.

Criticisms and Controversies

Labor Disputes and Policy Positions

In December 2017, approximately 85 (SEIU) members at Mayo Clinic Health System's Albert Lea facility, including nursing assistants and housekeepers, conducted a one-day strike protesting stalled contract negotiations and allegations of bad-faith bargaining by management. Following the strike, Mayo Clinic locked out the workers, hiring temporary replacements for up to a week and barring the 79 affected employees from returning immediately, which SEIU described as retaliatory. The dispute resolved in May 2018 with a new three-year contract after SEIU filed additional (NLRB) charges alleging retaliation against employees who participated in or spoke about the strike. Mayo Clinic has faced multiple NLRB unfair labor practice complaints in recent years, including a 2023 SEIU filing over management's response to a petition by surgical staff at Saint Marys Hospital citing safety and understaffing concerns. In 2024, the NLRB regional office found merit in SEIU allegations that Mayo Clinic Rochester unlawfully threatened employees with loss of benefits during union organizing efforts, leading to a settlement requiring Mayo to post notices affirming workers' rights under the National Labor Relations Act via physical, , and channels. Union relations have also involved decertification votes, such as the 2022 NLRB certification freeing Mankato nurses from Minnesota Nurses Association representation after rejecting union officials' challenge to the election results. Amid ongoing tensions, SEIU locals at Mayo Clinic Hospital-Saint Marys voted in 2024 and at the Methodist Campus in April 2025 (87% approval) to end decades-old voluntary no-strike clauses, restoring the right to in future negotiations to gain leverage on wages and conditions. These votes preceded ratified contracts in 2025, including at Methodist in June with annual raises of 4.5% in year two and 4% in year three, plus overall increases ranging from 16.5% to 41% for about 1,600 frontline workers at Saint Marys via . In July 2025, in Austin laid off 12 to 37 nurses following a 90-day notice, prompting SEIU accusations of union-busting tactics amid organizing drives. Mayo Clinic's vaccination policy, mandating shots for employees by late 2021, resulted in the termination of approximately 700 staff members who refused, drawing lawsuits alleging violations of religious freedoms under Title VII. In May 2024, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals revived claims by five employees fired for citing religious objections, ruling that Mayo's blanket policy requiring —even with proposed accommodations like masking and testing—failed to demonstrate undue hardship and that sincerity assessments were improperly deferred. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed suit in July 2025 against Mayo for denying a Pentecostal guard's exemption request, claiming the clinic discriminated by rejecting his sincerely held beliefs as insincere and forcing , despite his compliance with other safety protocols. On patient access policies, Attorney General announced a March 2025 settlement with Mayo Clinic over practices that created barriers to charity care, including overly restrictive eligibility criteria and documentation requirements that delayed or denied aid to low-income patients despite the clinic's nonprofit status and substantial uncompensated care reserves. The agreement mandated policy revisions to simplify applications and improve transparency, following an investigation that found systemic hurdles inconsistent with Mayo's mission.

Employee Discipline and Free Speech Issues

In March 2023, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science issued a final written warning and a two-week unpaid suspension to anesthesiology professor Michael J. Joyner for violations of its mutual respect policy and standards of unprofessional conduct, stemming from media interviews he conducted in his personal capacity. The discipline followed Joyner's June 2022 New York Times interview, in which he stated that testosterone has a "dramatic" physiological impact on athletic performance, particularly in discussions of transgender participation in women's sports, and a subsequent CNN appearance where he critiqued institutional pressures on medical discourse. Mayo Clinic administrators cited Joyner's "problematic" phrasing, including idiomatic expressions interpreted as dismissive, and alleged disrespect toward colleagues as grounds for the action, while instructing him to limit future media discussions to pre-approved topics. Free speech advocacy groups, including the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and the Academic Freedom Alliance, condemned the suspension as a gag order that undermined Mayo's own Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom Policy, which pledges support for faculty to "express opinions" and engage in "free discussion" on professional matters without institutional retaliation, provided it aligns with professional responsibilities. Joyner, a researcher known for work on human performance and critiques of medical over-intervention, argued the discipline constituted retaliation for views challenging prevailing institutional consensus on topics like hormone therapies and exercise science. Mayo Clinic maintained that as a private employer, it retains discretion to enforce conduct standards protecting its brand and collegial environment, and that Joyner's history of prior disciplinary issues justified the response. On November 13, 2023, Joyner filed a civil lawsuit in Minnesota state court against Mayo Clinic, alleging breach of contract under its academic freedom policy, retaliation, and defamation, seeking rescission of the discipline and damages. In July 2024, the court dismissed Joyner's freestanding free speech claim, citing Mayo's status as a private entity not bound by the First Amendment, but allowed breach of contract and retaliation claims to proceed against the clinic and two administrators. Subsequent pretrial rulings in 2025 partially granted summary judgment to Mayo on certain motions while advancing three of Joyner's five claims toward trial, with a hearing held on September 30, 2025, as the case continues. Mayo Clinic's broader employee policies emphasize professional conduct in public communications, including guidelines requiring accuracy, honesty, and avoidance of unprofessional language that could harm the institution's reputation. While no other major public cases of for off-duty speech have been widely documented, external pressures have arisen, such as a September 2025 threat by U.S. Rep. to withhold federal funding unless Mayo addressed alleged offensive posts by employees mocking conservative commentator following his assassination; Mayo reaffirmed its policies but confirmed no immediate terminations in response.

Research Funding and Conflict-of-Interest Concerns

Mayo Clinic's research funding encompasses internal contributions, philanthropic donations through entities like the Mayo Clinic Foundation, federal grants, and partnerships with private industry. Annual research expenditures exceed $660 million, supporting over 3,000 full-time personnel and more than 5,000 active studies. In fiscal year 2023, the institution received approximately $189 million in () research project grants, alongside substantial awards in areas such as aging ($63.17 million) and cardiovascular diseases. External funding also includes contracts from pharmaceutical and firms for clinical trials and product development, though precise percentages from industry sources are not publicly detailed. To address potential conflicts, Mayo Clinic enforces institutional policies requiring disclosure of financial interests in NIH-funded , by a Review Board, and limits on equity holdings in research-related entities to 5% or less. These measures aim to mitigate risks in collaborations, such as those with biopharma companies for trial execution via platforms like Mayo Clinic Platform_Orchestrate. Institutional conflicts are evaluated when financial interests of the organization or officials could influence objectivity. Concerns persist regarding in industry-sponsored studies, which Mayo Clinic researchers have highlighted in peer-reviewed analyses. These trials face challenges from selective disclosure and design favoring sponsor interests, with empirical patterns showing higher rates of positive outcomes compared to non-industry funding. A 2025 collaboration with Dairy Management Inc., providing up to $500,000 for dairy's cardiovascular effects research and promotional outreach, drew criticism for inherent conflicts, as trade groups historically influence results to align with commercial goals; experts recommended avoiding such partnerships to preserve , though Mayo asserted adherence to ethical protocols without sponsor input on outputs. Amid declining government support, Mayo has accelerated spinout ventures and commercialization, potentially amplifying financial ties to industry outcomes. While policies provide safeguards, the causal incentives of sponsorship—where continuation or may depend on favorable —underscore ongoing of whether institutional mechanisms fully counteract systemic biases observed in funded .

COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate and Religious Accommodation Disputes

In September 2021, Mayo Clinic implemented a mandatory vaccination policy for all staff, requiring full vaccination or completion of a declination process by September 17, 2021, with allowances for medical and religious exemptions under . The policy extended deadlines into early 2022, culminating in the termination of approximately 700 employees on January 4, 2022, who had not complied by the January 3 deadline, including those whose exemption requests were denied or unprocessed. While Mayo Clinic approved numerous religious exemptions—prompting internal communications acknowledging their validity for many employees—denials for others sparked allegations of inadequate accommodation under Title VII of the , which prohibits and requires employers to reasonably accommodate sincerely held beliefs unless it causes undue hardship. Legal challenges emerged from employees citing Christian or Pentecostal beliefs opposing , often rooted in objections to the use of fetal cell lines in development or testing. In Ringhofer v. Mayo Clinic (8th Cir. 2024), five paramedics sought religious exemptions, which Mayo denied, leading to three firings for refusal and two terminations for declining weekly after partial accommodations; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated for Mayo, ruling that genuine factual disputes existed over the sincerity of beliefs and undue hardship claims, allowing the case to proceed to . Similarly, in November 2021, security guard Jeremy requested exemption citing his Pentecostal faith's opposition to , which Mayo denied on , 2021, for failing to meet criteria, resulting in his termination; the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued Mayo in July 2025, alleging violation of federal anti-discrimination by failing to engage in interactive process or provide , such as testing or masking alternatives. These disputes highlighted tensions between imperatives—Mayo arguing exemptions posed risks in a high-exposure environment—and employees' rights to accommodations without retaliation. The EEOC emphasized that Title VII protections apply even during pandemics, requiring individualized assessments rather than blanket denials, while Mayo defended its policy as necessary to maintain operational continuity amid staffing shortages and infection risks. Additional lawsuits, including class actions over the 2021 mandate, alleged in exemption processing, with some employees claiming internal biases influenced denials despite consistent religious objections. Outcomes remain pending in several cases, underscoring broader debates on balancing institutional mandates with federal protections for religious conscience in healthcare settings.

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