Innovation at Mayo

In 2010 Mayo Clinic was one of the most highly respected medical institutions in the world. It was known for innovative treatments for complex diseases, and it was consistently ranked at the top of lists of the country’s best hospitals.

Mayo's original clinic occupied more than 30 buildings on a large campus in the heart of downtown Rochester, Minnesota. Mayo Clinic also had major campuses in Arizona and Florida and a system of smaller clinics throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. The clinic employed 57,000 people, including 4,000 physicians, and it treated about 500,000 patients each year. In 2008 it posted revenues of over $7 billion.

From its earliest years, Mayo Clinic sought out innovations in all aspects of health care, from medical discoveries to new methods of delivery and service. In the early 1900s, the Mayo brothers and their colleagues founded the first integrated group practice of medicine and invented the first system of patient medical records. They studied innovative surgical techniques and developed new nursing procedures. They built aesthetically pleasing structures that promoted the health of the whole person. Over the years they and their successors developed one of the most trusted brands in American business.