My name is Angie Hanson. I am a resident of Albert Lea and the chair of the Local Organizing Committee in Save Our Hospital.

I want to reach out to the Austin community because I believe that we are in this together. The Austin hospital and Albert Lea hospital have both lost services since they were merged. Among other services, Austin lost dialysis, and Albert Lea lost urology, forcing patients in both communities to travel an extra 23 miles. In addition, both communities have dealt with longer wait times to see providers. This isn’t putting patients first!

Mayo announced in June that both hospitals would be losing even more services: the closure of Albert Lea hospital’s ICU, inpatient surgery and Baby Place, and the closure of the Austin hospital’s
inpatient behavioral health unit.

When the announcement was first made, some in Albert Lea felt that we were the losers and Austin the winners. I am sure that some Austin residents breathed a sigh of relief that you didn’t lose more. The reality is both communities deal with long wait times, loss of services and the uncertainty of what Mayo will take next. We’re in this together!

Let’s stand together for both of our communities and hospitals! In the spirit of togetherness, I would like to extend a heartfelt invitation to the Austin community to join in Save Our Hospital’s Rally for Rural Healthcare on Sept. 30th at 1pm in Central Park in Albert Lea.

We’re in this together!

Angie Hanson, Albert Lea