Albert Lea Healthcare Coalition holds groundbreaking at new clinic

The Albert Lea Healthcare Coalition is celebrating the success of the grass-roots movement to take control of local healthcare options by announcing a groundbreaking celebration for the new MercyOne Clinic, held Thursday, Jan. 14, at 10:30 a.m.
The groundbreaking took place at 2440 Bridge Ave., Albert Lea, Minn. The location is the former Herberger’s location in the Northbridge Mall and where MercyOne will open their doors upon completion and receive new patients.
“Never have I been so proud to be from Albert Lea,” commented Brad Arends, President of the Albert Lea Healthcare Coalition. “The doubters said this could never be done, but our citizens and business community kept this effort alive for over three years with their voice and pocketbooks. With courage we boldly stood up and said, ‘We need affordable services, here.’ We have maneuvered hurdles and creatively unlocked the key to community-centric, high quality healthcare for Albert Lea and our surrounding area. We have proven to ourselves and others across the country that with passion, dedication and collaboration a community can control the healthcare services offered to its citizens. I’m honored to be a member of this group. Today the Coalition is blazing forward with this project for the benefit of our community, and is committed to being a good corporate citizen now and long into the future.”
“2020 was a year filled with challenges,” said Rod Schlader, president, MercyOne North Iowa. “While challenges can cause delays, our commitment to this project and to the community of Albert Lea remains strong. We are excited to continue our momentum toward opening MercyOne Albert Lea Family Medicine.”
The new MercyOne clinic location is owned by ALHC and is leased to the provider for the sole purpose of providing patient care services. MercyOne will provide a primary care clinic with visiting specialists. There are future plans for an outpatient surgery center and potentially other services dependent upon patient needs and provider capability.
Other specialty healthcare businesses will have locations inside the building as well. Some of these specialty healthcare services include physical therapy and audiology, just to name a few.
The groundbreaking was a ‘drive-in’ event. The first 100 people who entered the event in their vehicles received appreciation gifts from ALHC and MercyOne. Included in these gifts were mugs with treats, popcorn, and t-shirts.
This groundbreaking is a culmination of three and a half years of standing firm for what the people wanted. The citizens of Albert Lea, Freeborn County, and the surrounding communities came together to fight for continued healthcare options for the 55,000 residents residing in Freeborn County and the surrounding service area. Celebrate with us by attending the groundbreaking.
Albert Lea Healthcare Coalition has been organized for the sole purpose of providing high quality affordable healthcare to the citizens of Albert Lea and the surrounding communities. This objective includes the promotion of healthcare market competition, the expansion of access to essential healthcare services, and the improvement of healthcare outcomes for the residents of Albert Lea, Freeborn County, and the surrounding communities. ALHC volunteer trustees are community focused, operate with integrity, are respectful and transparent, and are collaborative. This collaborative focus has seen ALHC partner with MercyOne North Iowa for clinic services.
MercyOne North Iowa is the largest healthcare system in Iowa, operating across 14 counties in North Iowa, and managing eight rural primary care hospitals. They offer ambulatory care through MercyOne Family Care Medicine Clinics, home health, hospice, a regional referral laboratory, regional rehabilitation and diagnostic technology services, pharmacies, an emergency services network and a variety of other healthcare services. They operate under agreements between Trinity Health and Commonspirit Health, which are two of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health systems.