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:

• Video: Mayo Clinic patients on meeting with a new specialist 
• After the ICU: Advice from people who've been there 
• Video: Big medical event? A patient community talks finances 
• Video: How to stick to a medical diet when traveling for care 
• From patient to mentor: 3 inspiring Mayo Clinic stories 
• Transplant recipients share their best sun safety tips 

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:

• Reached over 100,000 members
• Introduced Mayo Clinic podcasts with Mayo experts

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!