I want to extend my sincerest gratitude to the staff at Seasons Hospice House. The staff was…read morecompassionate, perceptive, and understanding to not only the needs of my grandmother but our family as a whole. The hospice house was a beautiful and calm environment that gave my gram and our family so much peace in her final days. While the experience of losing my gram was heartbreaking it was also filled with comfort thanks to the amazing staff. They were well versed in the complexities of this time and provided direct, compassionate education to help family members understand the dying process. I highly recommend utilizing this facility for loved ones during the final chapter of their lives.

From the owner: Seasons Hospice provides compassionate care and comfort to individuals at the end of life through…read moresuch services as nursing care, physician oversight, massage therapy and music therapy, spiritual support, social worker assistance, grief support for loved ones, volunteer services such as pet therapy, veteran to veteran visits and patient companionship.

When choosing a Hospice provider, you do have a choice, although like all other aspects of…read morehealthcare in Rochester, the options are monopolized by the big conglomerate in town. Since my mother has always been under the care of Mayo physicians, and since she was in Methodist Hospital under the palliative service, we chose Mayo Hospice. It is disappointing to say that Mayo Hospice was as much of a disappointment as the Mayo cardiologists that missed my mother aortic aneurysm and caused her to end up in Hospices care. As a physician, I know the constraints applied by government funded health insurance. But I was unprepared for the unwillingness of Mayo Hospice to care enough for a patient's desire to continue to try to live as long as possible given their terminal diagnosis. We were told we were not giving my mother dignity in her death because we did not want her to die from an infection. We had to wait a week to get a stool culture to diagnose a Clostridium Difficile infection with diarrhea. We were told we could not pay out of pocket for treatments because they would not allow that type of care. Unless you want nurses that will at every turn recommend sedation medication for your loved one even when they are not in pain, and as long as you want to hasten their transition from this life. I would look to Promedica Hospice.

Had a kidney transplant May 2013. I stayed at GOL for a month post transplant. I truly cannot find…read morethe words to express how wonderful this place was. People were so friendly and went out of their way to help I'm anyway possible. Amazing place to heal after a major surgery such as an organ transplant. I'm now back for a check up at Mayo and staying at GOL again. Wouldn't think of staying anywhere else. Plus the price is very very reasonable especially when you need to stay long term.

When you mention Rochester to most folks, they think Rochester, NY. It's the home of Wegmans…read moreflagship store, Eastman Kodak Museum, and so much more. It wasn't until I moved down to Rochester, MN that I got to know more about this city. During this period, the two biggest employers were Mayo Clinic and IBM. The former is still this city's largest employer to date. I found it weird at the time, with a population of just over 80,000, that Rochester was deemed a city with a fairly small airport. Well, I figured out why Rochester International Airport (RST) was deemed an international one. You had, and probably still do to this day, folks flying in for medical appointments and stay at or near Mayo Clinic for them. I could hear large planes fly in, including that of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush. It was both interesting and exciting as a Canadian working stateside. It was cool to be living in a city with Mayo Clinic ranked the number one hospital in the U.S. When I was employed at IBM, I had the option of getting health care from one of two systems. I oddly don't remember the second one, but it was cool opting for health care at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit American academic medical centre that integrates health care, education, and research. Its headquarters location is in downtown Rochester, which is the original and largest campus. It also has campuses in Phoenix, AZ; Jacksonville, FL; and London in the United Kingdom. William Worrall Mayo was the founder of Mayo Clinic where his practice was. He had two sons who also followed in his steps and practised medicine in Rochester. The Mayo Clinic occupies a rather large chunk of the downtown area. It has over thirty buildings by now, which includes the St. Marys Campus. Some key buildings are the following: - Mayo Building and Gonda Building are where the majority of doctors' offices and examinations rooms are, and some testing areas. - Mayo Clinic Hospital, Methodist Campus, is one of two Mayo Clinic hospitals in Rochester. - Mayo Clinic Hospital, Saint Marys Campus, is the second hospital on the Rochester campus. - Mayo Eugenio Litta Children's Hospital is the main pediatric care facility in Rochester. The hospital serves infants, children, and teenagers with the highest quality of medical care. When I lived in Rochester, my late friend stayed at Mayo for a procedure. My officemate and I visited her after work. As Canadians, we were mesmerized at how huge and organized Mayo was back then. We found our friend and spent some time visiting her before we left her to rest up. My late friend was diagnosed with Leukemia a few years ago and was admitted to Mayo before she went with hospice care. There was peace of mind knowing that her doctors and nurses did everything that they could for her. At her funeral, staff at Mayo had a recording of her heartbeat and it was integrated into a song that was played during the service. It was moving and touching that this hospital would share a bit of her with all of us. I only used this system a handful of times during my stay in Rochester. My doctor was professional and great. I did physiotherapy, which helped get my mobility back. There are many hotel options for folks coming down here if they do have medical appointments. There are also many eateries and shopping nearby. Parking does require that you shell out. If you park a bit further, you can get cheaper parking. It's an impressive campus, both as a visitor and a patient. The fact that it's in Rochester is still cool to me to this day. (27)

I am very pleased with Mayo Clinic Hospital. I had 2 major surgeries in 4 months. Both were 100%…read moresuccessful. Every one of the staff members from the surgeon to the custodian was great. I now have a better understanding of why they are the #1 hospital in the world.

The ACS Hope Lodge is an incredible place. Patients at the Mayo clinic who are receiving treatment…read moreat least 3 time a week can stay there for free, with a caretaker. The volunteers and other patients are very sweet, warm and supportive. Each bedroom has 2 beds and a private handicapped bathroom. You have a TV in your room and they have a large selection of DVDs and VHS to choose from. They also have games, pool tables, puzzles and other things to keep you busy. They have events during the week, like magic shows and raffle drawings. The potluck is very popular. The kitchens are large and each patient gets a shelf in the fridge and freezer for their food, as well as a locked pantry. The patient gets to park for free, but any additional vehicles will have to pay for parking at the lot across the street. Mayo Clinic is like a 1 minute walk away, which is awesome. I never expected to be in this situation and the Hope lodge has really been like a silver lining. The positive and support from the other patients has been very heartwarming.