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Guest column by Martha Jones Sichko

When an emergency strikes, every second counts — and in Freeborn County, too many people are left waiting. One patient in excruciating pain needed urgent surgery after a hernia wrapped around his colon. With no ambulance available for five hours, his wife and daughter had no choice but to drive him 95 miles to Mayo Clinic Health System in Red Wing. In another case, a patient requiring cardiology care waited 12 hours in the ER due to a lack of available beds in Austin, followed by another five hours for an ambulance to transport the patient to Rochester.

These incidents are not isolated. Too often, the Mayo Clinic leadership (not its local emergency medical team) fails to meet the needs of its patients.

Despite Sumit Bhagra, M.D., acknowledging ambulance and care delays to commissioners in 2024, the issues persist at Mayo. An April request for an endocrinologist landed a September slot in Austin — not in Albert Lea, where endocrinology had previously been located, signaling more dismantling of outpatient services.

Interfacility transfers are still a challenge. However, the 2025 legislation includes $27.5 million over two years for emergency medical services (EMS). The funding addresses ambulance staffing and training, a rural uncompensated care payment pool, and an ambulance operating deficit grant program. Whether the bill helps Freeborn County is unknown.

Unfortunately, the provider service area law remains unchanged, leaving data access, timely service and local control still unresolved. Why? Mayo seeks unchecked power to avoid accountability and maintain its near monopoly, thereby sidelining local governments and leaving decisions that favor Mayo and not patients.

Mayo’s leadership should emulate local EMS staff who collaborate with the fire department. Instead, the health provider withholds critical emergency data — call volumes, peak times and staffing— prioritizing control over transparency.

Mayo has the financial resources to improve its ambulance services, as reported by Becker’s Healthcare Review, which states that Mayo generated a record $19.8 billion in revenue, up from $17.9 billion in 2023. Mayo’s second-largest revenue source, labeled “other,” generated $1.45 billion — money that could help alleviate the rural health care crisis they created.

While Mayo spends $5 billion on ego-driven buildings, Southern Minnesota is hurting.

Mayo is misusing local EMS volunteers in towns like Ellendale and Freeborn by repeatedly requesting their help, only to cancel at the last minute, wasting volunteers’ time and ability to serve. Additionally, Mayo cancels hospital-to-hospital transfers to retain revenue, bypassing mutual aid agreements.

Freeborn County Commissioner Dawn Kaasa, who also serves on the Southeastern Minnesota Emergency Service Board, recognizes the ongoing challenges in emergency care, including facility consolidations and transport delays. By gaining access to Mayo data, both boards could collaborate to address critical issues.

Kaasa also acknowledged that the county’s public health director, Sue Yost, was wrong to dismiss concerns about ambulance issues when Yost stated, “That doesn’t involve us. We can’t do anything.”

Yost’s dismissiveness to critical issues highlights leadership deficiency. While counties may not directly operate EMS, they must ensure an infrastructure that meets public health needs, as outlined in Minnesota Statutes 144E.06 and 145A. These laws also grant cities and counties the authority to adopt ordinances that protect public health and safety.

According to the Freeborn County finance manager, Yost has a taxpayer-funded budget of $4,084,549 with 36 employees. Yet, for 18 months, public health has not produced concrete deliverables that improve the county’s priorities of access to timely care and transportation.

At the very least, public health should address the problems residents face, such as knowing which medical specialties and services are available or not in Freeborn County, regardless of the provider.

Regarding the commissioners’ request for a letter from Mayo to address access and the fact that more medical specialties are relocating to Austin, it has been eight months, and Yost has yet to review or discuss this document with the public access team, leaving issues unaddressed and commissioners uninformed.

If public health is the job — help the public with health services. Yost’s inability to take meaningful action has left the community without vital improvements and neglected gaps. Equally, Mayo’s disregard for patients is evident, as their community engagement director has ignored every public health access meeting this year.

Mayo and public health leaders should conduct a transparent needs assessment, share actionable data with local authorities, and design solutions to improve timelines for ambulances and appointments — a start to restoring trust.

Citizens can urge legislators and local officials to prioritize healthcare. Patients facing delays should report issues to Mayo’s Patient Experience at 1-800-844-0036.

Additionally, contact the Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals to ensure quality care. Their complaint office is 1-800-994-6610.

Albert Lea resident Martha J. Sichko is an advocate for seniors, fighting for affordable, accessible health care.