CANNON FALLS — Mayo Clinic opened its new hospital in Cannon Falls less than three years ago, but it just started construction on a couple new additions.
Benike Construction was named last week as the project manager and work began immediately on plans to add a complete retail pharmacy and wellness center at the 92,000-square-foot facility just off U.S. Highway 52.
The $750,000 project is being fully funded by community donations, according to Mayo spokeswoman Asia Zmuda, and is expected to be completed later this spring. The original project cost Mayo $28 million and coincided with the Minnesota Department of Transportation interchange project that cost $14.3 million and removed the final two stoplights between Rochester and the Twin Cities.
"We are working on a very tight deadline, but our goal is to be fully operational by June," said Glenn Christian, operations manager at Mayo Clinic Health System in Cannon Falls. "Our staff, patients and the community have been anxiously awaiting this project since we opened the doors to the medical center over two years ago, and we are excited to finally make it a reality."
The new pharmacy and wellness center will be on the main level of Mayo's hospital. The pharmacy will be open to patients and community members to fill prescriptions, and staffed by MCHS pharmacists and technicians.
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The wellness center will also be open to patients and non-patients, with monthly memberships available for $25 per month. That new facility will have state-of-the-art cardio and strength training equipment. The wellness center will also have a HydroMassage table — which offers massage, heat and whirlpool therapies simultaneously — available for an an additional fee.
An open house will be held once the construction project is completed so the general public can tour the new space.
The additions were first announced last fall with an optical shop, but those plans have been put on hold until further notice, according to Mayo officials.
