Rochester, Minnesota is home to what world-famous medical facility?

Rochester, Minnesota, is home to the Mayo Clinic, the world-famous academic medical center founded from the medical practice of Dr. William Worrall Mayo and his sons.

William Mayo arrived in Rochester in 1863, and the Mayo family established a medical practice there in 1864. After a devastating tornado struck the city in 1883, the Mayo family worked with the Sisters of Saint Francis to create a permanent hospital. Saint Marys Hospital opened in 1889 and became a central part of the institution's development.

The Mayo brothers and their colleagues helped pioneer an integrated, team-based approach in which specialists collaborated on patient care. In 1919, the Mayo family transformed the practice into a not-for-profit organization. Rochester remains Mayo Clinic's main campus and headquarters, although the institution also operates major campuses in Arizona and Florida. A common mix-up is treating Mayo Clinic Hospital as the entire organization; the hospital is one component of the broader Mayo Clinic medical and research system.