August 21

1883: A tornado touches down in Rochester, Minnesota. In 1863, William Worrall Mayo came to the area as part of his service as an examining surgeon for the draft board during the US Civil War. He liked the region and brought his family out the next year. After the War, Mayo opened his private practice in Rochester and became a leading figure in local governance. His two sons grew up in Rochester, went back east to get medical training. Both were away on this day when a massive tornado touched down and destroyed one-third of the town. There were at least 37 dead and more than 200 injured. The Mayo family escaped harm as did the Sisters of Saint Francis, led by Mother Alfred Moes.

The sisters were trained as teachers, but were immediately drafted into helping the wounded. After the crisis passed, Moes came to Mayo to ask about establishing a hospital in Rochester and he agreed, although by the time Saint Marys Hospital opened in 1889, Mayo was 70 years old and worked as a consulting physician. By then, both of his sons had completed their medical training and were on staff at the new hospital. Mayo considered Augustus Stinchfield to be the best doctor in the area and asked him to join the family practice. Stinchfield did and so WW Mayo was able to retire at the age of 73 in 1892. The new hospital grew with the early partners profit sharing.

WW Mayo died in 1911 and by 1919 the remaining founders created the Mayo Properties Association and their private practice became a not-for-profit entity. As their practice grew, they needed more space and new additions were added with the “Red” building going up in 1914 and the Mayo Institute for Experimental Medicine built in 1922. The Plummer building was added in 1927, the Mayo Clinic building went up in 1954, and the Gonda building opened in 2002. Each new building also incorporated new medical technologies as they became available.

Today, the Mayo Clinic has a presence in three large US areas: Rochester, Minnesota, Jacksonville, Florida, and Phoenix, Arizona. At their main campus in Minnesota, they have over 34,000 employees and about 6,000 at the other two sites. They own and operate the Mayo Clinic Health System which has over 70 hospitals and clinics across Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Georgia with another 17,000 employees. The Mayo Clinic sees over 1.3 million patients per year from all over the US who come for the specialized medical care offered. They are noted for their research, education, and innovative medical care. In 2016-17, the Mayo Clinic, Rochester was voted as the number one hospital in the US by the US News & World Report. There were nearly 5,000 facilities also judged.

Physical symptoms, emotions, social pressure, conditioned thinking, lack of awareness, and other factors influence behaviors. To lose weight, you need to target those underlying factors, not just what you eat or do. – Mayo Clinic, Mayo Clinic Diet

Learn to relax. – Mayo Clinic, Mayo Clinic Diet

Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, involves a wearing away of the tough, lubricated cartilage that normally cushions the ends of the bones in your joints. – Mayo Clinic, Mayo Clinic on Arthritis

What is diabetes? The term diabetes refers to a group of diseases that affect the way your body uses blood glucose, commonly called blood sugar. – Mayo Clinic, Mayo Clinic Essential Book of Diabetes: How to Prevent, Control, and Live Well with Diabetes