Celebrating 10 years of Mayo Clinic Connect

Dec 16, 2021 | Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Comments (9)

This year, Mayo Clinic Connect celebrates its 10th anniversary! Let’s look back at a decade of highlights and community achievements spent connecting people. 

2011

Mayo Clinic Connect’s story started in 2011 with a simple but meaningful message, “Connect with others who have been there.” At its core, this remains the central mission of Mayo Clinic Connect. 

Beyond merely connecting and hearing “you’re not alone,” members help each other improve their health and wellbeing. They share their health journeys and coping strategies, set goals and celebrate the triumphs and encourage when there are setbacks. Together they give and get support, and are better together.

2013

By 2013, the community expanded to 22 groups. Today, members connect in over 75 Groups, related to a condition, like Epilepsy or Esophageal Cancer, a treatment, like CAR-T Cell Therapy, or shared experience, like Aging Well, Caregivers, LGBTQIA Health. See all 75 groups in the Group Directory

2014

In 2014, members were invited to take part in online webinars. Today the Events calendar includes Q&A live sessions with Mayo Clinic experts, monthly support groups facilitated by Mayo Clinic social workers, online courses, and online patient conferences on a variety of topics from dementia to myeloma, brain health to cancer and fatigue, and more.

2015

In 2015 it was time for a refresh and a new design with a focus on helping people find connections and active, patient-led discussions. 

2016

Two significant additions were made in 2016: The Volunteer Mentor Program and Expert Blogs.

Mentors are active members in the community who have first-hand experience with a health condition(s). They are patients, lay caregivers and family members who volunteer to participate regularly in the community and connect members. Mentors are knowledgeable, compassionate, helpful, and understanding. They ensure Connect is a safe, welcoming place for people to talk about their health experiences, ask questions, find support and share information. Learn more about Volunteer Mentors.

Read about Staying safe in online patient communities: The Mayo Clinic model

Hear from Mayo Clinic experts by following blogs of interest to you. Each blog provides expert-approved information and regularly updated newsfeeds. Newsfeed posts include expert opinion and answers to commonly discussed topics, latest advancements in research, patient stories, clinical trials information and much more. See the complete and growing Blog Directory.

2017

Badges help you recognize trusted community members – people who post, share, and care. You can earn badges by participating in the Connect community. Celebrate the impact you make in the lives of others. Explore your badges.

2018

As the community grew over 50,000 members, it was time to shine  the spotlight on outstanding members like you. Akin to the fireside chats, interviews with fellow Connect members help you

learn more about members you’ve connected with and maybe some you haven’t met yet. Get to know more about how they came to Connect and their experience with the community, as well as what helps bring balance to their lives and some fun facts about them like their favorite pastimes or preferences for puppies or kittens. See all the Member Spotlights

Follow the About Connect: Who, What & Why blog to see all celebrations and updates to the community, and to be notified when new member spotlights are published.

2019

With so much knowledge and expertise being shared by Mayo Clinic Connect community members, Mayo Clinic captured your top insights to create content for patients, by patients to share as videos and articles on the Mayo Clinic app.


Here are a few examples of the wisdom you’ve shared on Connect with links to the content you’ve created to help millions:

Look in your daily digest email for regularly posted discussions asking for your tips.

2020

Despite the challenges of 2020, there are successes and achievements to celebrate that underline the strength and need for an online community like Mayo Clinic Connect. 

Acting quickly, we created a group dedicated to COVID-19: It’s time to come together — virtually. As a virtual community we stayed connected and navigated the new territory of a global pandemic.

2020 was also the year we:

2021

In honor of our 10th anniversary, we made significant updates to the design and usability of the community. It’s now easier than ever to connect with people like you, discover relevant discussions, groups, blogs and events.

 

The homepage is your home base for the things you follow on Mayo Clinic Connect. You get only emails and notifications you want to get. The expanded search functionality helps you find what you’re looking for. And the improved mobile experience keeps you connected on the go. Auto-translation between English and Spanish allows for cross-lingual communication regardless of your language preference.

It’s been a great decade of connection, conversation, and helping each other with care and compassion. Thank you for being part of the Mayo Clinic Connect community. 

Recommend Mayo Clinic Connect to a friend and share our 10 year celebration post to your social networks on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram or send someone your own personal email invitation today!

Interested in more newsfeed posts like this? Go to the About Connect: Who, What & Why blog.

CONGRATULATIONS 🎉 Fantastic growth Connect! I'm proud to be associated.

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I am a breast cancer survivor.Mayo clinic connect it is helping me with the experience of the other survivors and mentors. The Q&A videos are helpful.Thank you and Happy 10's anniversary!

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Thank you I ticked to follow a number of problems. At 87 they are all pertinent to my current health. I hope Australians are accepted
Regards Bill P.

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Thank you for all you offer all of us.

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@billypil

Thank you I ticked to follow a number of problems. At 87 they are all pertinent to my current health. I hope Australians are accepted
Regards Bill P.

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Hi Bill! Of course Australians are welcome. We even offer a translation for your language from down under. Tee hee. 😅 I couldn’t resist.

So officially, let me welcome you to Mayo Connect. I’m thrilled you’re here and finding valuable information for your health issues.

Do you have any special concerns or questions?

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@loribmt
Lori, your crazier than I am.

@billypil
Benjamin Franklin once said, “Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”
I had a good friend in Australia who had heart problems. He went to his cardiologist and the doctor said I will give you a thorough check up after the holidays. My friend died within a couple days of seeing the doctor.
Glad you found us buddy,
Jake

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@jakedduck1

@loribmt
Lori, your crazier than I am.

@billypil
Benjamin Franklin once said, “Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”
I had a good friend in Australia who had heart problems. He went to his cardiologist and the doctor said I will give you a thorough check up after the holidays. My friend died within a couple days of seeing the doctor.
Glad you found us buddy,
Jake

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No wonder I didn't make any progress over all these years. I am sure I was told "Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow", but then of course we are quite relaxed over here.
Good to find you my friend.
Bill.

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@lu54

I am a breast cancer survivor.Mayo clinic connect it is helping me with the experience of the other survivors and mentors. The Q&A videos are helpful.Thank you and Happy 10's anniversary!

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Welcome @lu54, I see you have been on Connect for while and this is your first post. A big congratulations on being a survivor! Thank you for sharing your experience on Connect and how it has helped you. I also like the Q&A videos and sometimes help me with questions I have not considered. Can you share which discussion or video has helped you the most?

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@johnbishop

Welcome @lu54, I see you have been on Connect for while and this is your first post. A big congratulations on being a survivor! Thank you for sharing your experience on Connect and how it has helped you. I also like the Q&A videos and sometimes help me with questions I have not considered. Can you share which discussion or video has helped you the most?

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The discussions about Covid-19 are in center of my attention

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