SAINT PETER AND MONTGOMERY, Minn.- The deadline arrived for six Mayo Clinic Health System campuses and an Albert Lea surgery department to close on Dec. 10, as part of an ongoing consolidation effort by Mayo on its rural campuses.

Mayo announced back in September it would be closing Mayo Health System locations in Belle Plaine, Caledonia, Montgomery, North Mankato, Saint Peter and Wells as part of an effort to focus on increasing quality and flexibility at other rural locations.

Brian Heck, city administrator for Montgomery, says the news came as no surprise as he had heard Mayo was having trouble finding medical practitioners and support staff to help run its rural locations.

It is a problem he says has been affecting many rural healthcare providers across the region.

Heck says his

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