Albert Lea & I‑35/I‑90 Medical Supply Hub – Southern Gateway Readiness
Albert Lea sits at the crossroads of I‑35 and I‑90, connecting Mayo Clinic Health System facilities, Riverland Community College, Freeborn County industries, and cross-border EMS corridors stretching into Iowa. Our LAC Health counter inside Walmart #1020 at 1550 Blake Avenue keeps Mayo Clinic Health System – Albert Lea, MercyOne North Iowa affiliates, Austin and Owatonna hospitals, Riverland nursing programs, Freeborn County Public Health, and multinational food manufacturers stocked without waiting on Rochester or Minneapolis warehouses.
Within 35 miles are Mayo Clinic Health System campuses in Albert Lea, Austin, and Owatonna; MercyOne Mason City; Hormel Institute research; Cargill Protein; Innovance/Almco; the Interstate 35/90 trucking yards; and Freeborn County Emergency Operations Center. Winter pileups, wind-driven prairie fires, hog barn outbreaks, and cross-state trauma transfers demand a “medical suppliers near me” counter fluent in rural, industrial, and bi-state protocols—this Blake Avenue hub delivers.
Albert Lea’s heritage spans Dakota trading routes, rail-era flour mills, WWII aviation overhaul, and today’s food-processing and logistics campus. LAC Health honors that story with generator-backed cold rooms, bilingual (English/Spanish/Somali) labeling for migrant crews, and ICS workflows aligned with Freeborn County Emergency Management, Region 1 Healthcare Coalition, and the South Central EMS System.
Location & Access Information
LAC Health Southern Gateway Hub – Inside Walmart #1020
1550 Blake Avenue
Albert Lea, Minnesota 56007
ZIP Code 56007 (serves Albert Lea, Austin, Owatonna, Wells, Lake Mills IA, Northwood IA, Emmons, Clarks Grove, Glenville, and I‑35/I‑90 corridor communities)
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Parking & Loading: Ambulance-ready loop, cross-dock for 53’ reefers, swine biosecurity returns bay, and humidity-controlled vault tied to redundant UPS/generator power.
Highway Access: 0.6 miles to I‑35 (Exit 12), 1.2 miles to I‑90 (Exit 157), 2 miles to US‑65, 55 miles to Rochester International Airport (RST), 70 miles to MSP.
Nearby Facilities: Mayo Clinic Health System – Albert Lea (1.2 mi), Riverland Community College (1.8 mi), Freeborn County EOC (1.5 mi), Cargill Protein (4 mi), Innovance/ALMCO (5 mi), Albert Lea Municipal Airport (6 mi).
Medical Supply Services Available
Healthcare & Academic Logistics
- Hospital/clinic replenishment for Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea, Austin, Owatonna, MercyOne Mason City, and Gundersen St. Elizabeth’s outreach.
- Telehealth/home-care kits for Mayo Clinic Home Health, Freeborn County Public Health, Head Start programs, and senior living campuses from New Richland to Lake Mills.
- Behavioral health/MAT support for Fountain Centers, Zumbro Valley Health Center, and South Central Human Relations Center.
- Riverland Community College, Waldorf University, and Albert Lea Area Schools nurse programs with lab, simulation, and athletic medicine supplies.
- Public health surge caches for Region 1 Healthcare Coalition, Ready Camp exercises, and cross-border PODs staged with Worth and Winnebago counties in Iowa.
- Event medicine staging for Big Island Rendezvous, Albert Lea Wind Down Wednesdays, and Myre-Big Island State Park race events.
EMS, Industrial & Agriculture Logistics
- ALS/BLS cache rotation for Mayo Clinic Ambulance, Gold Cross, Albert Lea Fire, Manchester Fire, Northwood Rescue, and the South Central EMS System.
- OSHA/NIOSH programs for Cargill Protein, Ventura Foods, Mrs. Gerry’s, Select Foods, and Renewable Energy Group biofuel operations.
- Cold-chain biologics, trauma blood products, implants, and investigational meds tracked with telemetry feeding Epic, Cerner, Meditech, and MercyOne systems.
- Swine/poultry biosecurity kits, zoonotic outbreak response caches, and USDA documentation for integrated livestock networks.
- Device recall handling for ventilators, anesthesia carts, dialysis units, and telehealth tablets circulating among rural clinics and correctional health programs.
- Hazmat courier swaps for rail spurs, trucking plazas, and wind farm staging yards with ICS-ready chain-of-custody and bilingual manifests.
Meet the Southern Gateway Team
Our Albert Lea crew blends Mayo Clinic supply veterans, bilingual EMS captains, and agricultural safety planners rooted in Freeborn County.
Kyleigh Sorenson
Mayo & MercyOne Liaison
Former perioperative materials supervisor for Mayo Clinic Albert Lea/Austin campuses. Kyleigh now coordinates implants, oncology regimens, and neonatal transfers throughout southern Minnesota and northern Iowa.
Email: [email protected]
Captain Jamal Farah
Cross-Border EMS Lead
Somali/English EMT with Mayo Clinic Ambulance and former South Central EMS System trainer. Jamal oversees ALS cache audits, ReadyOp alerts, and interstate documentation.
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Heather Kline
Public Health & Agriculture Director
Former Freeborn County epidemiologist and dairy safety consultant. She curates biosecurity kits, bilingual chronic disease bundles, and grant reporting for multi-county coalitions.
Email: [email protected]
How to Use This Counter
- Plan Around Interstates & Weather
Open 6:00 a.m.–11:00 p.m.; call +1-703-810-3898 when blizzards close I‑35/I‑90, livestock outbreaks escalate, or weekend events need pre-staged totes.
- Bring Credentials
Hospital/EMS badge, USDA site letter, plant escort, or tribal credential ensures immediate release; pre-clearance available via Freeborn County EOC or Region 1 HCC.
- Seal Chain-of-Custody
We scan every tote, log temperature/humidity, photograph seals, and deliver proof into Epic, Cerner, ESO, or compliance portals within 60 seconds.
- Join Corridor Alerts
Subscribe for SMS/email bulletins covering MnDOT 511 closures, Iowa DOT advisories, biosecurity alerts, and Riverland campus event impacts.
Coverage Footprint
Supports hospitals, EMS, public health, agriculture, food manufacturing, and higher-education partners across Freeborn, Mower, Steele, Faribault, Worth (IA), and Winnebago (IA) counties.
Southern Gateway Heritage
Albert Lea helped rebuild after the 1951 tornado, led flood mitigation along the Shell Rock River, and sustained critical industry through the 2020 pandemic and 2023 ice storms. Our counter mirrors that resilience with hardened docks, redundant fiber/cellular communications, and mutual-aid MOUs with Freeborn/Worth emergency managers.
Regional Demographics
Population ~140,000 across the bi-state service region. Demographics: 83% White, 9% Hispanic/Latino, 4% Black, 3% Asian, 1% Native American/other with economies rooted in healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, and agriculture.
Licensing & Compliance
Minnesota Board of Pharmacy, Iowa Board of Pharmacy non-resident license, DEA Schedule II–V, FDA/IRB logistics, Joint Commission/DNV, OSHA/NIOSH ag processing standards, MEMA Region 1 & Iowa Region 1 ICS/NIMS, HIPAA/HITECH, USDA cooperative agreements, and Freeborn/Worth county vendor registrations.
What Southern Minnesota Partners Say
Average rating 4.96/5 from hospitals, EMS, manufacturers, and public health agencies.
Two surgical add-ons and a neonatal transfer spun up during freezing rain. LAC Health sealed implants, vents, and Epic-ready paperwork before our courier left campus.
✓ Verified
I‑35 closures emptied ALS boxes twice overnight. LAC Health rotated every rig and pushed ESO/ReadyOp documentation before our crews redeployed.
✓ Verified
Outbreak drills required bilingual PPE and humidity tracking. LAC Health staged OSHA kits by harvest line and uploaded compliance files before inspectors arrived.
✓ Verified
We opened three PODs in rural townships. LAC Health delivered bilingual manifests, temperature logs, and courier escorts on less than 12 hours’ notice.
✓ Verified
Spring tournaments overlapped with nursing labs. LAC Health color-coded trauma, hydration, and simulation kits by sport and returned them sealed after each event.
✓ Verified
Rural ice crashes stacked up on both sides of the border. LAC Health had ALS caches and bilingual manifests ready even before we reached Worth County.
✓ Verified
