Letter: Trying to get another provider is worthwhile
Published 9:32 pm Thursday, October 26, 2017
Albert Lea is a big enough town to need a hospital. We are located near both Interstate 35 and Interstate 90. Our hospital needs to stay. Mayo has already started transitioning our hospital to its Austin location. Why is it so important to take away the hospital in Albert Lea?
Since Albert Lea is located by these important interstates, a crash — in the winter especially — happening on these roads could be fatal if our hospital is gone and the patients must travel by ambulance all the way to Austin. Austin is 20 or more miles away from Albert Lea, depending on your starting point. The loss of our hospital will also hurt the small towns surrounding Albert Lea.
The citizens of Albert Lea need our hospital. The action Mayo is taking to remove the Albert Lea hospital is making many of our citizens question whether Mayo is the best provider. For me, the answer to that question is no. The Save Our Hospital group is now trying to get a provider other than Mayo to take over hospital operation. This is not an easy task, but will be very worthwhile.
Alysia Ness
Albert Lea