Mayo -- "Blue Sky" (2012)

Now they know me,

Blogs want to promote me

Dr. W. W. Mayo came to Rochester, Minnesota, in 1863 to work as an examining surgeon for the local draft board.  He set up a private medical practice after the Civil War ended.  His two sons, William and Charles, joined his practice in the 1880s.

The Mayo brothers (William and Charles)

Over the years, the Mayos partnered with a number of other physicians, and their practice eventually grew into what today is the largest integrated not-for-profit medical group practice in the world, the Mayo Clinic, which today employs over 32,000 people in the Rochester area.

The Mayo Clinic spends over $500 million annually on medical research, and has operated a medical school -- the most selective in the country -- since 1972.  It is ranked as the third-best hospital overall (out of 4793 American hospitals) by U.S. News & World Report.  Out of 16 medical specialty areas, it ranks first in four, second in four others, and in the top seven in seven others.

The Mayo Clinic's main entrance

I recently flew to Minneapolis to meet my parents and drive them to Rochester for two days of appointments at Mayo's.  They have been going there for years, but it was my first visit.

The first day we were there, they had scheduled appointments at 7:50 am, 8:45, 9:45, 10:45, 12:30 pm, 1:45, 2:15, and 3:00.  (Four of those appointments were for my mother, and four were for my father.)  During the day, three more appointments were added to their schedule.  We never had time for lunch -- about 2:00, I was able to get away for a few minutes to buy a muffin, some cheese/peanut-butter crackers, and a package of almonds, which the three of us devoured between appointments.  

We had to wait for some of the doctors, but the trains generally run on time at the Mayo Clinic.  Without exception, the staff were efficient and polite, while the doctors not only impressed your with the expertise but also were good listeners who demonstrated their sincere concern for their patients' well-being.

The waiting area for blood testing
holds about 200 people

The quality of care and the calm, concerned attitude that was exhibited by every single Mayo's employee we came in contact with is remarkable given the scale of the Clinic's operations.  Last year, more than a million patients were treated by the Mayo Clinic.

We spent most of our day in either the Mayo Building (which has 20 floors) or the adjacent Gonda Building (which is 21 floors high).  The Mayo's campus also includes the 21-floor Guggenheim Building, the 19-story Plummer Building, and the 14-story Siebens Building, plus two hospitals -- Methodist (794 beds) and St. Mary's (1265 beds).  

The Mayo Clinic has a museum-quality art collection, which is used to humanize the Clinic's medical environment.

Jennifer Bartlett's "Four Houses" hangs in there main Mayo Building lobby:

The Gonda Building atrium displays a large bronze sculpture, "Man and Freedom," by Ivan Mestrovic:  

The Gonda Building, which is the Mayo Clinic's newest building, features contemporary art glass.  Blown-glass artist Dale Chihuly was commissioned to create a number of works for the building:

The Gonda Building's elevator lobbies feature ethnographic art.  Here's an ancient Roman mosaic:

And here's an Amish quilt from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania:

The below-ground "subway" that connects the Clinic's buildings and several downtown hotels features a number of modern paintings and prints, including these five large lithographs by Joan Miró:

There are also several display cases of antique china in the subway.  Here's a plate from a White House china service featuring American plants and wildlife that was commissioned by Lucy Hayes, the wife of President Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881).  It depicts an okra plant:

Mayo is an up-and-coming 18-year-old rapper from Chicago.  "Blue Sky" is from his 2012 mixtape, Dream Big, and is built on a sample from ELO's 1977 hit, "Mr. Blue Sky."  (Common used the same sample in his 2011 single titled "Blue Sky.")  Click here if you missed the 2 or 3 lines post that featured "Mr. Blue Sky." 

Click here to listen to (and download) Mayo's "Blue Sky."