ROCHESTER, Minn. ― Mayo Clinic and Thermo Fisher Scientific have joined forces to bring innovative solutions to patients by accelerating clinical validation, and commercialization of selected next-generation sequencing (NGS), mass spectrometry and immunology diagnostic tools. The Advanced Diagnostics Laboratory in One Discovery Square, which is part of the Destination Medical Center initiative, will be the home for this collaboration.

"By pairing cutting-edge, innovative technologies with world-class clinical and diagnostic testing knowledge, this collaboration will ensure that the promising innovations are both clinically relevant and accessible globally," says William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., chair of Mayo Clinic’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories.

The Mayo Clinic and Thermo Fisher teams are working closely to identify candidate solutions for clinical validation and global commercialization as part of the collaboration.

"We are excited to join forces with Mayo Clinic to accelerate access to precise and affordable diagnostics for patients across the globe," said Gianluca Pettiti, senior vice president and president, Specialty Diagnostics at Thermo Fisher. "The collaborative effort will leverage NGS, mass spectrometry and immunology technologies to advance hematology, oncology, allergy and autoimmunity diagnostics."

Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and Thermo Fisher, the world leader in serving science, are evaluating diagnostic solutions for multiple applications, including myeloid leukemia and therapeutic drug monitoring panels to deliver access to more precise and personalized insights for patient care.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Media contact:

• Suzanne Ferguson, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, newsbureau@mayo.edu

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In 2019, Mayo Clinic and Google announced a 10-year strategic partnership that would redefine how health care is delivered and accelerate the pace of health care innovation through digital technologies. The collaboration will combine the world-class clinical knowledge and expertise of Mayo Clinic with the industry-leading digital technology and data security expertise of Google to develop solutions for people who want medicine to deliver on the promise of scientific and technological advances.

"Part of what drew us to partner with Google was our shared cultures of collaboration," says Cris Ross, Mayo Clinic chief information officer "While the pandemic has accelerated usage of many valuable forms of remote collaboration and virtual health services, it also has caused us to truly appreciate in-person experiences and connection. We’re excited to have this physical space designed to deepen our bond and facilitate innovation, where Google engineers will work side by side with Mayo Clinic researchers, physicians, information technology staff and data scientists, to apply advanced computing techniques to health care problems."

Google will officially open the office later this year once it’s safe to do so and in accordance with state and local COVID-19 guidelines. Read more about the new space and collaboration here.

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Combining innovative Mayo Clinic labs with medical businesses and creative start-up companies will help Rochester — and benefit patients.

Outside his office in the Destination Medical Center Economic Development Agency, Chris Schad leans over a model of downtown Rochester, Minn. He traces out Discovery Square -- the 16-block area south of the main Mayo Clinic campus that is becoming an innovation and business hub.

Wiry and bespectacled, Schad points to 3-D printed models of modern medical buildings, such as the Minnesota BioBusiness Center, as well as One Discovery Square, a gleaming glass and steel four-story project with expansive common collaboration space that Mortenson, the Minnesota-based real-estate developer, is erecting.

Schad, director of business development for Discovery Square, predicts the district will ultimately be occupied by more Mayo labs and associated high-tech medical companies.

“I think just five years from now it’s going to look radically different,” he says.

The Discovery Square redevelopment district, about 30 percent of which is owned by Mayo Clinic, is envisioned to do a couple of things: First, to accommodate in some planned fashion the residential and commercial growth expected in Rochester in the next couple of decades. And second, to translate the medical and commercial innovations coming out of Mayo Clinic into commercial medical developments that benefit the Rochester economy and Mayo’s patients.

“It adds to the diversification of our economy. And it attracts investment dollars into Rochester,” says Schad. “So as an economic engine, you can take that innovation that is coming out of Mayo and spin that into companies that stay here in Rochester and grow here in Rochester.”

Discovery Square grew out of Destination Medical Center, a $5.6 billion public-private investment in downtown Rochester approved by the Legislature in 2013 to plan ahead for predicted city growth driven by the growth of Mayo Clinic.

“It’s essentially a public investment in the city of Rochester to support the growth that Rochester and the region will be seeing in the next 20 years,” says Schad. Rochester, a city of 114,000, is expected to gain up to 30,000 new jobs.

Mayo’s executive dean for research sees Discovery Square as far more than an expansion of lab space. Gregory Gores, M.D., says it’s part of a long-term vision for external cooperation.

“Every time Mayo has taken its science and medicine to a higher level it’s involved both innovation and collaboration. By thinking collectively, combining skills and resources, and working together we can translate better, more effective therapies into the mainstream and to more patients. We want to work with organizations in a spirit of team science to meet the unmet needs of patients everywhere.”

The key to Discovery Square’s success is attracting medical technology companies—whether spun off from Mayo discoveries or developed elsewhere—seeking close proximity to Mayo’s scientists and clinics.

“The number one question I get is what kind of access will I have to Mayo Clinic? What access to intellectual property? To key opinion leaders—physicians, researchers, surgeons?” says Schad. He says he can’t guarantee that a company in Discovery Square will be able to have a meeting with the chair of surgery, neurology, or cardiovascular medicine. “But I can ensure that they’re traveling in the same circles, put them in proximity—orchestrated serendipity,” he says. “You want to ensure that people bump into each other by giving them a compelling reason to come together in the same space.”

James Rogers, III, chair of Mayo Clinic Ventures, the unit in charge of commercializing Mayo discoveries, predicts that Discovery Square will produce “tremendous benefit” by attracting technology companies to the Mayo orbit.

“Having employees of companies not just visit our campus periodically but live and be vested in this community, coupled with the ability to collaborate across not only Mayo but with the other partners in Discovery Square, large and small, should lead to deeper and more productive relationships,” says Rogers.

The flagship of the district is One Discovery Square, a gleaming glass building of 89,000 square feet. Construction crews are finishing the space, and tenants will move in early next year.

The first are three Mayo Clinic research areas — advanced diagnostics, advanced manufacturing of regenerative products, and advanced biomedical imaging.

William Morice, M.D., Ph.D., head of Mayo Medical Labs and Mayo’s laboratory medicine and pathology, will move a portion of his organization to the new Discovery Square building to advance new diagnostic tests. One technology, for example, can examine thousands of genes in a single patient specimen. Another will translate pathology biopsy samples into digital images for easier storage, sharing, and analysis.

Moving the experimental diagnostic technology to Discovery Square provides distance from the day-to-day demands of the department, which performs more than 25 million tests a year. Mayo will also use the space to collaborate with outside groups on new medical tests. “The intent of the building, of course, is to be kind of a creative collision spot for Mayo Clinic’s existing practice and discovery with outside companies,” Dr. Morice says. “It’s good for them, too, because it creates for them a better go-to-market product.”

Also moving to One Discovery Square is Mayo’s Facility for Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing, which aims to develop therapeutic products that will encourage human cells, tissues and organs to repair themselves. The goal is to make parts of the body heal themselves and, in some cases, avoid the need for organ transplants. Among the products will be cellular-sized capsules that can carry payloads to perform biologic and chemical functions, and agents to deliver therapies into target tissues.

The move will consolidate technologies built in different labs at Mayo and help boost manufacturing quality, says cardiologist and researcher Atta Behfar, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Van Cleve Cardiac Regenerative Program and deputy director of translation for Regenerative Medicine within Mayo’s Center for Regenerative Medicine.

“Centralizing the manufacture of these next-generation biotherapies ensures that we will be offering our patients treatments developed with the highest standards.”

The Discovery Square setting also promises to enable collaboration with companies involved in similar technologies. Mayo Clinic, Dr. Behfar says, has “a keen interest in instituting industry partnerships both from the standpoint of establishing ourselves as a unique biologics manufacturing center and to gain new insights into novel approaches and novel technology that we can then in turn offer to our patients.”

Finally, Mayo radiology researcher Matthew Callstrom, M.D., Ph.D., will be moving experimental imaging technologies into the new Discovery Square building, including ultrasound research and artificial intelligence (machine learning) technology. Machine learning uses computers to analyze and interpret imaging in a way that potentially is more objective and comprehensive than scanning by the human eye. An error in measuring the size of a tumor, for example, can spell the difference in deciding whether a treatment is effective or not.

The lab will also collaborate with a researcher from Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix who works with the MRI manufacturer Philips. “The development of new technologies, whether it be an imaging platform or therapies, requires basically a clinical perspective, what the need is, where the opportunity might be, and an industry partner that can build it in a way that is sustainable,” says Dr. Callstrom. “That industry partnership is critical to being able to make those next steps.”

The move to Discovery Square, with its mix of Mayo labs, business collaborators and university students, is “a real exciting opportunity to more rapidly develop solutions, to take things that have been discovered, that we know are promising, and then really to deliver that care to patients,” says Dr. Callstrom.

“Market forces will tell us if there is demand for a second and third building on that block, and then building on another block or another block,” says Schad.

Concentrating commercial medical development, intermixed with innovative Mayo Clinic labs, will make for a more productive campus, a more livable city, and in the long run, better patient care.

“Getting new innovation, new technologies out to the market faster or sooner is a good thing, whether its Mayo’s technology or somebody else’s technology,” says Schad. The result, he says, will be better care, lower cost, and higher value in medical care. “It’s a good thing, not only for Mayo Clinic, it’s good business. But it’s best for the patient.”

- Greg Breining, June 2018

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Mayo Research to Anchor First Building in Discovery Square

Scientists from three Mayo Clinic research areas will be the first tenants of Discovery Square, the technology centerpiece of Destination Medical Center, the economic development initiative under way in Rochester, Minnesota. Biomedical technology, advanced manufacturing of regenerative products, and advance diagnostics are the collaborative areas that will occupy 30,000 square feet over several floors of this initial building.

While early concepts of the multi-use “building DS-1” were announced earlier, this is the first public announcement of Mayo as the anchor tenant of the structure. Construction is by Mortenson, the Minnesota-based developer of the 16-block Discovery Square sub-district. Groundbreaking is set for late this fall, with occupancy targeted for 2019.

As anchor tenants, the Mayo researchers will serve as potential collaborators for other research entities that will move to Discovery Square and for subsequent tenants of the first building.

“Our research presence in Discovery Square will serve as a catalyst for ideas and projects that transform medicine and accelerate the discovery, translation and application of life-changing therapies and technologies so our patients receive exactly the care they need when it’s needed,” says Gregory Gores, M.D., executive dean of research, Mayo Clinic.

The three research areas will focus on new tests and products that will change patient care:

• Biomedical Technology
  Here, work will concentrate on developing innovative ways to apply technologies. Initially focused on ultrasound, the design of the space will enable other modalities and engineering technologies, as needed. A true science incubator, the space will enable interaction with industry partners to jointly enhance and develop new uses for biomedical devices.
• Advanced Manufacturing of Regenerative Products
  This area will focus on creating products that can be used for therapeutic treatment, particularly products for regenerative therapies. The space will enable the development and potentially the production of these new therapies.
• Advanced Diagnostics Center
  Mayo will use this space to collaborate with outside groups on new medical tests that can better diagnose disease. Scientists will use genomics and other tools to focus on conditions that don’t yet have clinical diagnostic tests and develop better tests for those that do.

The building will be owned and operated by Mortenson and be situated on land leased from Mayo Clinic. The construction will feature an open, inviting environment to enhance communications and collaboration. It will also provide areas to showcase science so visitors can experience some of the science that is happening in the building.

Background on DMC

The Destination Medical Center (DMC) is the largest public-private partnership in Minnesota history, estimated to generate 40,000 jobs over the next 20 years – making the state a global center for the highest-quality medical care. With Mayo Clinic at its heart, the DMC initiative is a catalyst to position Minnesota as the world’s premier destination for health and wellness; and Rochester as America’s City for Health. DMC will attract people, investment opportunities, and support the growth of Minnesota’s bioscience sector.

Discovery’s Edge will have further updates on the development of Discovery Square and Mayo’s research presence in coming months.

________________________________
Find more research news on Discovery's Edge.

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Deerfield, IL., Rochester, MN and South San Francisco, CA. — Baxter Ventures, the venture arm of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX), Mayo Clinic and Velocity Pharmaceutical Development, LLC (“VPD”) today announced the formation of Vitesse Biologics, LLC, (“Vitesse”). Vitesse is a unique collaboration model initiated by Baxter Ventures to focus on the development of antibody and protein-based therapeutics in the areas of immunology, hematology, and oncology. Following the spin-off of Baxter BioScience as Baxalta Incorporated, anticipated to take place by mid-2015, the Vitesse relationship will be managed by the planned venture arm, Baxalta Ventures, for the new company.

Baxter Media Contact: Kellie Hotz, (224) 948-5353, media@baxter.com

Baxter Investor Contact: Mary Kay Ladone, (224) 948-3371

Mayo Clinic Media Contact: Brian Kilen, (507) 284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu

Velocity Media Contact: Leslie Loven, (415) 509-5110,  leslie@vpd.net

The collaboration model, which represents a new method of drug development, was designed to incent each partner to advance promising therapies quickly through the development process. Each partner will provide its recognized expertise to enhance the target selection, target optimization, expression and product development process. Baxter BioScience will provide global commercialization, antibody and protein development and manufacturing capabilities; Mayo Clinic researchers will execute the early stage clinical trials; VPD will be responsible for target identification, selection of early stage drug candidates and will lead the design and execution of pre-clinical and clinical protocols.

“Delivering innovative treatments to address unmet patient needs is at the very core of everything we do and drives our ongoing R&D focus,” said Ludwig N. Hantson, Ph.D., president of Baxter BioScience. “By creating Vitesse, our business is executing on a new concept in early stage R&D by leveraging the expertise of industry-leading partners to accelerate the identification and development of novel biologic treatments that could eventually contribute to unmet patient needs while enhancing the Baxalta commercial portfolio.”

Vitesse will develop treatments in the fields of hematology, oncology and immunology, which aligns strongly with Baxter BioScience’s therapeutic focus. This innovative model enables Baxter to serve as a hands-on partner in the pursuit of innovative treatments, as Baxter BioScience will be involved in the early-stages of development for all products identified by Vitesse and has an exclusive option to acquire each such product following the completion of the applicable Phase I trials.

“We are excited about the possibilities for this new collaboration, and particularly for this new model for early stage drug development,” said Greg Gores, M.D., executive dean for research at Mayo Clinic. “Our goal is to identify new, useful therapeutics to address the unmet needs o four patients."

David Collier, M.D., CEO of VPD, said, “We are fortunate to have world-class partners in this project. We believe that the combination of the development and manufacturing expertise offered by Baxter BioScience and the clinical capabilities of Mayo Clinic, working in conjunction with our team at VPD, will produce a series of very promising new therapeutics developed in a more rapid and cost-efficient manner.”

With research as a key priority of the Destination Medical Center (DMC) initiative, Mayo Clinic is building upon the clinical and research infrastructure further accelerating Mayo Clinic’s ability to conduct some of the most important medical research, eventually to translate these discoveries into therapies for patients from across the globe.

About Vitesse Biologics, LLC
Vitesse Biologics, LLC, a Delaware Corporation based in South San Francisco, CA, develops antibody and protein-based therapeutics in the areas of immunology, hematology, and oncology.

About Baxter International Inc.
Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures and markets products that save and sustain the lives of people with hemophilia, immune disorders, cancer, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma and other chronic and acute medical conditions. As a global, diversified healthcare company, Baxter applies a unique combination of expertise in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to create products that advance patient care worldwide.

Baxter Ventures identifies companies with promising technologies, products and therapies, and provides them with the capital and expertise needed to drive successful innovation.

About Baxter BioScience
Baxter BioScience is a leading provider of therapeutic treatments that save, sustain and improve the lives of people with rare conditions, chronic diseases or limited treatment options. Supported by advanced technical and manufacturing expertise, Baxter BioScience has a broad pipeline built on a legacy of innovation in bleeding disorders and immunology and is expanding to address emerging opportunities in technology platforms such as gene therapy and biosimilars. By mid-2015, Baxter expects to establish the BioScience business as a separate, publicly traded, innovation-oriented biopharmaceutical company named Baxalta Incorporated.

About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to medical research and education, and providing expert, whole-person care to everyone who needs healing. For more information, visit http://mayocl.in/1ohJTMS, or https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/.

About Velocity Pharmaceutical Development, LLC
Velocity Pharmaceutical Development, LLC (VPD) is a pharmaceutical development organization dedicated to rapidly advancing promising drug candidates to clinical proof of concept using a highly virtual management model. VPD seeks to acquire promising drug candidates, generally within a year of their entering human clinical trials or after initial human clinical data have been generated. VPD then manages a development program for each drug candidate intended to generate convincing human proof of concept data (generally by conducting a phase 2 clinical trial). Following successful human proof of concept, VPD then seeks a large pharmaceutical company acquirer for each program. VPD is staffed by a seasoned team of clinical drug developers with expertise identifying attractive drug candidates, target markets, and designing and managing outsourced clinical trials. This expert team manages multiple single asset companies to remove the costly overhead and misaligned incentives present in traditional biotechnology company structures. VPD believes this new capital-efficient model will yield attractive new drugs to treat patients with significant unmet clinical needs. The company is located in South San Francisco, California. More information is available at www.vpd.net.

This release includes forward-looking statements concerning Vitesse, a new business collaboration between Baxter BioScience, the Mayo Clinic and VPD, as well as the planned spin-off of Baxalta, including expectations with regard to the business prospects of the collaboration. The statements are based on assumptions about many important factors, including the following, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements: the ability to successfully separate the businesses on the terms or timeline currently contemplated, if at all, and achieve the intended results; a material adverse change in either the biopharmaceutical or the medical products businesses; satisfaction of regulatory and other requirements; actions of regulatory bodies and other governmental authorities; clinical trial results; changes in laws and regulations; product quality, manufacturing or supply issues; patient safety issues; and other risks identified in Baxalta's Form 10 and Baxter's most recent filing on Form 10-K and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings, all of which are available on Baxter's website. Baxter does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.

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ROCHESTER, Minn.  –  The City of Rochester today announced the proposed acquisition of the historic Chateau Theatre located in Peace Plaza in downtown Rochester. The city will discuss executing a purchase agreement for the 88-year-old theatre at its April 6 City Council meeting.

“This a tremendous opportunity for us to preserve this iconic element of Rochester’s history and invest in our future,” said Mayor Ardell Brede, “Thanks to the generosity of Mayo Clinic, we are now able to meet the purchase price of six-million dollars.”

Journalists: Sound bites and b-roll from the event are in the downloads.

The City will fund the purchase of the building through $5.5 million of internal borrowing, along with a $500,000 gift from Mayo Clinic.

“Our gift demonstrates Mayo’s commitment to this community while fulfilling the vision for one of Destination Medical Center’s first areas of focus, its ‘Heart of the City’ district,” said John Noseworthy, M.D. President & CEO, Mayo Clinic. “This is the right thing to do as a community partner and demonstrates Mayo’s commitment to preservation of our community’s historic assets and the Destination Medical Center (DMC) initiative.”

The entire news release can be found here: Chateau Purchase News Release.

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ROCHESTER, Minn. — Delos®, the Pioneer of Wellness Real Estate™, and the Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation today announced their agreement to design, build and operate the newly formed WELL Living Lab — a multidisciplinary lab that will be uniquely focused on the interaction between health, wellness and the built environment. Set to debut in April 2015 adjacent to Mayo Clinic’s Rochester campus in downtown Rochester, the WELL Living Lab will be the first lab exclusively committed to research, development and testing of both new and existing innovations designed to improve the health and well-being of individuals as they live and work within built environments.

An open-innovation ecosystem for healthy living, the WELL Living Lab will simulate realistic living and working environments, including homes, offices, schools, communities and hotels in order to test, monitor and identify the efficacy of wellness-based interventions. The lab will incorporate state-of-the-art technology and unique design elements that will create a dynamic, versatile and highly adaptable environment, allowing for a wide range of simulated real-world conditions. Delos® and Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation will co-govern the lab, which will be staffed by Mayo Clinic personnel, along with members of the Delos® team.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Duska Anastasijevic, Mayo Clinic, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu
Callie Shumaker, Delos, 646-654-3438, cshumaker@nikecomm.com

“The new WELL Living Lab provides us with an unparalleled opportunity to work with one of the world’s leading medical institutions to drive new, groundbreaking research in the fields of health and well-being,” says Delos® founder Paul Scialla. “As an engine for discovering and introducing health and wellness innovations to the industry, the lab will be a sought-after resource for companies all over the world to bring their ideas, products and technologies to be tested and researched.”

The lab will utilize the WELL Building Standard^® as the foundation for testing, research and development pertaining to the improvement of health and wellness through evidence-based interventions. Pioneered by Delos® in 2012, administered by the International WELL Building Institute and third-party certified through the Green Building Certification Institute, the WELL Building Standard is informed by seven categories — Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Fitness, Comfort and Mind.

“Delos® has a remarkable vision of how environments can help people optimize their health and well-being. We are excited to partner with Delos® in extending our capacity to create health for people where they live and work,” says Douglas Wood, M.D., a Mayo Clinic cardiologist and medical director, Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation.

Upon completion, the WELL Living Lab will work on a diverse range of activities including case studies and projects that include product and technology evaluations, testing, development and improvement, as well as sponsored research and protocol testing.

Founded in 2007, Delos® has pioneered the concept of Wellness Real Estate™, merging human and environmental sustainability to create homes, offices, schools and other built environments that optimize residents’ health and enhance their quality of life. Delos® has spent over five years researching, developing and collaborating with leading medical institutions and researchers, architects, engineers and wellness thought-leaders to create groundbreaking healthy designs, features and technologies that passively deliver medical interventions through the built environment. Some of Delos®’ recently completed projects include CBRE’s new Global Headquarters in downtown Los Angeles, Calif., which was completed in November 2013 and designed with more than 50 health and wellness features, and 66 East 11th Street, which is a six-unit condominium building in New York City’s Greenwich Village and the world’s first wellness residences.

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About Delos®
As the pioneer of Wellness Real Estate™, Delos® is transforming our homes, offices, schools, and other indoor environments by placing health and wellness at the center of design and construction decisions. Delos® helps create spaces that actively contribute to human health, performance and wellbeing by marrying the best innovations in technology, health, science, and real estate. The Delos® platform includes programming, consulting, research, and an array of innovative, built-in amenities that research suggests may improve occupant well-being. More information on Delos® is available at www.delosliving.com.

About Mayo Clinic
Recognizing 150 years of serving humanity in 2014, Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit 150years.mayoclinic.org, http://www.mayoclinic.org and newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Duska Anastasijevic, Mayo Clinic, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu
Callie Shumaker, Delos, 646-654-3438, cshumaker@nikecomm.com

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ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Destination Medical Center Economic Development Agency (EDA) has selected the subconsultant team which will assist with the planning of the DMC Development Plan. The team includes:

• Master Planner – EE&K, a Perkins Eastman Company
• Infrastructure Planner – Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc.
• Transportation Planner – Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates
• Market Analysis and Economic-Fiscal Consultant – AECOM

“This world-class team of planners brings a broad base of experience with projects globally, nationally and throughout the state of Minnesota,” says Lisa Clarke, interim executive director, Destination Medical Center Economic Development Agency.

The subconsultants were evaluated based on the selection process approved by the Destination Medical Center Corporation (DMCC). Selections were made based on the experience of the firm, capabilities of the team proposed, knowledge of the market, and strength of their response to the request for proposal among other factors.
Consideration was also given to the firm’s experience with, and capacity to coordinate with, the City of Rochester’s current comprehensive plan effort. Consultants were shortlisted by the EDA and were qualified by the DMCC Board of Directors in January 2014. “Our goal for Destination Medical Center is to create a place of extraordinary quality and value, one that builds upon the DNA of Rochester so that new development is an organic evolution and interpretation of the city's culture and character.” - Peter Cavaluzzi FAIA, EEK Design Principal.

All of the firms have a broad portfolio of national and regional experience. Transportation Planner – Nelson Nygaard – was a part of the team that completed the Rochester Downtown Master Plan.  Infrastructure Planner – Kimley Horn and Market Analysis and Economic-Fiscal Consultant – AECOM – have offices in Minneapolis. Kimley Horn is in the process of opening an office in downtown Rochester.

The subconsultants will work with DMCC, the City of Rochester, Olmsted County, EDA staff, Hammes Company, the EDA’s project manager, and other consultants to advance the DMC Development Plan over the next year. A series of public forums will be held during the DMC Development Plan process to provide updates and gather input from the public as the plan progresses. The final plan will go through a formal 60-day review process in the City of Rochester and will be approved by the City Council prior to being adopted by the DMCC board.

The first public forum to introduce the consultant team will be held on Tuesday, April 22 2014 at 7:00 p.m. at the Mayo Civic Center in the Grand Ballroom. A copy of the news release can be found here: DMC Selects Subconsultant Team.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Karl Oestreich, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, Email:newsbureau@mayo.edu

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ROCHESTER, Minn. — Feb. 26, 2014 — As Mayo Clinic recognizes its Sesquicentennial year, the not-for-profit organization reached a record 63 million people in 2013. The strong performance was bolstered by successful implementation of new care delivery models — such as the Mayo Clinic Care Network — that provide knowledge to patients, physicians and consumers in traditional and new ways.

“Expanding our reach is not a new goal for us,” says John Noseworthy, M.D., Mayo Clinic president and CEO. “In fact, as we consider our history, growth has been a constant for 150 years.”

In 1983, Mayo treated 200,000 unique patients a year. In 2011, Mayo reached just over 20 million people a year and only two years later, in 2013, Mayo Clinic reached 63 million people. The numbers reflect:

• 1.2 million unique patients who come to Mayo Clinic from every state and 135 countries
• 4.1 million unique diagnostic tests through Mayo Medical Laboratories (MML) in more than 130 countries
• 7 million patients through Mayo Clinic Care Network
• 7.4 million people through Mayo’s social media channels
• 43.5 million people through products and services from Mayo’s Global Business Solutions (including online sources)

“The strong commitment of our entire organization has allowed us to respond successfully to unprecedented change in health care,” Dr. Noseworthy says. “We have changed the very definition of Mayo Clinic and stayed true to our core mission and values.”

The Mayo Clinic Care Network is a centerpiece of Mayo Clinic’s evolved health care delivery model. The network, launched in September 2011, now includes 25 members. The Mayo Clinic Care Network is a network of like-minded organizations which share a common commitment to improving the delivery of health care in their communities through high-quality, data-driven, evidence-based medical care. The network recognizes that people prefer to get their health care close to home. The main goal of the network is to help people gain the benefits of Mayo Clinic expertise without having to travel to a Mayo Clinic facility. Altru Health System, Grand Forks, ND was the first to join Mayo Clinic Care Network on September 14, 2011. WellStar Health System in Atlanta is the newest member. WellStar serves a population of more than 1.4 million residents in five counties and is the largest not-for-profit health system in Georgia with 13,000 employees.

Mayo Clinic continues to invest in systems, processes and clinical research to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its care delivery model. For example:

• Through innovative and collaborative efforts by Mayo employees, new patient appointments at Mayo Clinic in Rochester increased by 15-percent in 2013. Since the initiative began in 2012, Mayo’s waitlists have decreased substantially.
• One of Mayo’s most important information technology investments is the move toward a single electronic medical record (EMR) across all campuses. Creating and implementing a single EMR will be one of Mayo’s largest IT investments in both time and money and will better serve patients wherever they receive care across Mayo Clinic.

Outside organizations recognized Mayo for high quality health care delivery in 2013. These groups include U.S. News & World Report: America’s Best Hospitals Honor Roll, University Health System Consortium Leadership Award (Top 10), Leapfrog Top Hospitals, Leapfrog Hospital Safety Score (Grade A), Consumer Reports Safety Score (Score >60) and American Nurses Credentialing Center
(Magnet Status).

For the last 150 years, research has been central to Mayo Clinic’s mission. “Mayo’s research shield is integral to our ability to bring the latest advances in medicine to patients,” Dr. Noseworthy says. “It’s why patients come to Mayo — because they want to know that they are getting the best, most up-to-date care.”

Mayo’s three hybrid centers — the Center for Regenerative Medicine, the Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery and the Center for Individualized Medicine — conduct cutting edge research and drastically reduce the time to bring new discoveries to patients and to the world. For example, Optum Labs, Mayo Clinic’s strategic research alliance with Optum Health, through The Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery is an innovative collaborative that analyzes data to answer the toughest questions in health care. Optum Labs recently announced that a number of leading health care organizations are joining Optum Labs, including the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, Pfizer and Tufts Medical Center, among others. Optum Labs has more than 20 major research initiatives currently underway or awaiting publication, including several that are likely candidates for clinical translation projects.

“One of Optum’s greatest tools is its access to the world’s largest and most robust health care clinical outcomes and claims databases, which includes “de-identified” claims data on more than 150 million patients that can be linked with clinical outcomes of 30 million electronic health records,” Dr. Noseworthy says. “The database will lead to unprecedented leaps in understanding what works in health care. The technology allows analysts to turn around queries in a matter of seconds which previously took two to four weeks.”

In 2013, Mayo’s total budget for education and research programs was $912 million; Mayo Clinic contributed nearly $489 million of that total. Mayo research programs received nearly $368 million in external funding in 2013.

Entrepreneurship
“Mayo’s research goes well beyond our walls,” Dr. Noseworthy remarks. “By diffusing and commercializing Mayo’s research and innovation, we are changing the practice of medicine globally. “Mayo Clinic Ventures brings together the ingenuity and expertise of Mayo Clinic staff with the entrepreneurial spirit of business. Between 1986 and 2012, Mayo Clinic Ventures:

• Licensed over 2,000 technologies and we have issued over 1,400 patents.
• Participated in 85 start-up companies
• Returned $300 million to Mayo Clinic from Mayo licensed technology
• Touched 25 million lives through Mayo licensed technology

Quality and Efficiency
Mayo Clinic has slowed full-time employee growth and redeployed our resources to the highest priorities. “Achieving operational excellence was a major focus this last year,” Dr. Noseworthy notes. “In 2013, nearly 60,000 staff members worked differently – leveraging our culture, increasing quality and efficiency and driving down expenses.”

Quality initiatives continue to be significant part of Mayo’s “working differently” culture. There are more than 400 official department/division quality improvement projects in place with hundreds more projects are happening in individual work areas.

“To build the workforce of the future, we continue to foster a diverse, inclusive environment,” Dr. Noseworthy points out. In 2013, for example, Mayo had a record number of academic promotions for women: 46 were promoted to associate professor and 16 were promoted to full professor.

In 2014, Mayo Clinic reduced the rate of its fee increases, despite growing costs associated with new technology and administrative requirements and continues a consistent downward trend across Mayo Clinic — even with challenges such as increasing downward pressure on reimbursement for our care combined with changing consumer demand across the nation for elective medical services.

Destination Care
Mayo Clinic’s 2013 mission-advancing financial performance allows Mayo to strengthen its destination medical center practice and deliver expertise to patients and physicians in new ways. For example:

• Mayo continues several building projects that will serve patients for generations to come. Ongoing building projects include the expansion and modernization of Mayo Clinic Hospital – Rochester, Saint Mary’s Campus, the new Mayo Clinic Health System hospital in Cannon Falls, and Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center Healthy Living Program and Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center.
• Community development projects are key to the expansions — The Destination Medical Center in Rochester is one example and Arizona Biomedical Corridor is an Arizona example. These fortify and strengthen Mayo Clinic’s leadership position as a regional, national and international destination for specialized/complex care.

2013 Mayo Clinic Financial Highlights
Mayo also reported a solid 2013 financial performance as it works to strengthen its destination medical center practice and deliver expertise to patients and physicians in new ways.

• Mayo Clinic’s overall financial performance was favorable to plan in 2013 and better than 2012.
• Mayo Clinic finished 2013 with $612 million in income from current activities — or net operating income, which translates to an operating margin of 6.5 percent and aligns with the clinic’s long-term objectives. Mayo Clinic targets a 4 to 6 percent annual operating margin to support its research and education activities, fund salary increases, invest in the pension fund, and provide a source of capital for investing in the future.
• Revenues grew by 6 percent to $9.4 billion; expenses grew by 4.3 percent to $8.8 billion.
• Mayo Clinic’s portfolio realized an annualized investment return of 14.5 percent, which is above benchmarks. A portion of this return supports research, education and operations — nearly $170 million in 2013.
• Mayo Clinic’s pension plan is fully funded. Mayo Clinic contributed $260 million to its pension plan in 2013. Mayo Clinic has contributed $1.1 billion to its pension plan over the past three years. Securing Mayo Clinic’s pension fund is a priority and underscores Mayo’s commitment to its staff.
• Benefactors, primarily grateful patients, contributed $399 million to fund Mayo Clinic programs in practice, education and research.

Click here to access audio from today's news briefing.

Click here for Transcript of Audio News Briefing 2013 Performance Report.

For a copy of Mayo Clinic's 2013 Consolidated Financial Report, please click here.

For more details on Mayo Clinic operational highlights, please click here.

Journalists:  Soundbites from Dr. John Noseworthy and Jeff Bolton are available in the downloads section.

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About Mayo Clinic
Recognizing 150 years of serving humanity in 2014, Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit 150years.mayoclinic.org, http://www.mayoclinic.org/ and newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org.

MEDIA CONTACT: Karl Oestreich, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post Mayo Clinic Reports Strong Performance in 2013, Reaching More Than 63 Million People appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

In a continued effort to provide greater efficiency in caring for our patients, improve patient safety and offer advanced services to inpatient areas, Mayo Clinic will add on five floors to the Mary Brigh East Building and renovate the third floor of the Domitilla Building at Saint Marys Hospital.  

Amy Williams, M.D., medical director of hospital operations, says, “Patient safety is of the utmost concern in the hospital setting, and this project will meet the needs of the patient by creating a safe and welcoming environment that is patient and family focused.”

Click here for news release.

Journalists: B-roll of the Mayo Clinic Saint Marys campus is available in the downloads.

The post Mayo Clinic Planning Expansion and Renovation Projects appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.