ADAMS — The Mayo Clinic Health System Clinic in Adams will close on May 18, Mayo officials announced Friday.

Family medicine physicians Dr. Carol Holtz and Dr. Scott Holtz have accepted new positions in the Mayo Clinic primary care practice in Rochester, according to a news release.

After evaluating the primary care access needs across the Austin and Adams area and determining the best use of limited primary care provider staff, Mayo officials said they made the difficult decision to close the clinic in Adams.

The nursing and support staff now working in Adams will transfer to Mayo Clinic Health System in Austin, officials added.

The announcement comes on the heels of a similar clinic closing in October of 2017, in LeRoy. In that case, the Mayo pharmacy remained open.

A town meeting discussing needs in Adams was held in August 2017.

Carol Holtz is a family medicine and hospice physician at Mayo Clinic Health System in Austin; Scott Holtz is a family medicine physician at the Mayo Clinic Health System clinic in Adams. The last day for this married couple in the two clinics will be May 18.

Scott Holtz is the sole provider at the Adams clinic.

With his departure, it is expected his Austin residents who have been coming to Adams to see him (making up more than half the patient base of the clinic) will seek care at the Austin clinic.

“This decision was not made lightly,”said Dr. Annie Sadosty, regional vice president for Mayo Clinic Health System – Southeast Minnesota Region. “The clinic in Adams has a long history as a vital part of the town, first served by Dr. Richard Schindler, and more recently by physician assistant Mary Fargen and Dr. Scott Holtz. I have visited Adams and met with the community; they are wonderful people, and it is painful for us to have to close the clinic we all love.

“We are working with city leaders in Adams and nearby LeRoy to determine how we can best deliver care to patients in the area. Our goal is to create together a truly sustainable care model for rural communities, using ideas such as having a nurse rotate between the towns to help patients learn and use our non-visit care options, including our 24/7 Nurse Line and Express Care Online.

We look forward to hearing from community leaders and members – what they need, what barriers to care we can help solve, and their creative ideas to build a new model of care for routine conditions, wellness promotion and medication maintenance that is available from the convenience of their own home.”

Patients will receive a letter notifying them of their options for receiving care, whether by a non-visit care option or by visiting the clinic, Urgent Care or Express Care in nearby Austin. Mayo Clinic Health System – Albert Lea and Austin is continuing to aggressively recruit primary care providers (physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants) to improve access for area patients.

Plans include hiring a “senior services” physician who would deliver and oversee the care of nursing home patients across the area and serve as the hospice medical director.

“We want to thank Drs. Carol and Scott Holtz for the many years of dedicated care they have provided to our patients in the Austin and Adams area,” said Sadosty. “We also want to thank the patients who have entrusted us with their care, and assure them that we understand the importance of quality medical care in smaller towns. We will come together to find solutions that work for individuals, families and communities.”