The story of Minnesota: Medical Alley and DMC

Patient access. Innovation. Economic growth. 

If you’ve ever heard Shaye Mandle of Medical Alley Association speak, the story he shares sounds remarkably like the story of DMC. That’s because he is telling the story of Minnesota, and as home to Mayo Clinic, Rochester has long been the cornerstone of conversations related to medicine in the state and throughout the nation.

“Mayo Clinic has been one of the most important members of [the Association] since it was founded in 1984,” says Mandle, Medical Alley’s president and CEO. “They are the number one, gold standard for clinical excellence in this country.”

According to Mandle, Mayo Clinic is in a position to drive the direction of healthcare, not just in Rochester but around the world. “The realization of DMC will not only provide Mayo with a stronger platform by which to compete for patients and recruit and retain talent,” he says, “it will benefit the whole Medical Alley region.” (Click here to view a map of Medical Alley members and their areas of specialty.)

From small startups like Ambient Clinical Analytics to the state’s largest employer, Mayo Clinic, local health care visionaries at all levels are solidifying Minnesota’s spot on the map by developing better, faster, and more affordable health care innovations.

Working collaboratively to minimize the “distance” between Minnesota’s two metropolitan health care hubs will only further blur the line between Destination Medical Center and Minnesota’s Medical Alley.

In fact, Mandle says Medical Alley would like to enhance its presence in America’s City for Health. “We’ve had discussions about how to put someone in Rochester to work more closely with the DMC team,” Mandle reports. And while no specific plans have yet been developed as a result of those discussions, the suggestion that expanding Medical Alley beyond the metro demonstrates the value they place on the DMC initiative and the future of Rochester.

“Minnesota is a destination for talent, clinical excellence, and healthcare expertise,” Mandle says. “Together, we need to continue to explore ways to work together. There are real growth opportunities throughout Minnesota.”