MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The Mayo Clinic is announcing today that it has raised nearly one (B) billion dollars over the past three years.

The Rochester clinic embarked on a 1-point-25 (B) billion-dollar fundraising campaign in 2005 and is going public with the effort in the hopes of raising the final amount. Mayo recruited 220 volunteers to help raise the money, including some of its physicians.

The clinic hopes to use the money to improve patient care, education and research. One particular area is genomic (juh-NOH'-mik) medicine; that's the science of screening for disease and pinpointing the proper treatment for a particular patient.

Neurologist John Noseworthy says in recent years Mayo has felt "changes in the economic environment" including the impact of rising health care costs and lower revenue.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 05-09-08 0530CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list