The Mayo Clinic said Thursday that it will invest $700 million a year in capital projects over the next five years, ramping up spending after cutting back when the financial crisis hit. More than half the money will go toward projects the Rochester-based health system already has in the works, such as jump-starting a proton beam therapy program for cancer patients. But executives said they're ready to put hundreds of millions of additional dollars into new projects, many aimed at finding ways to put promising medical breakthroughs on a fast track by channeling more people, equipment, research or technology toward the effort. "We want to make sure we're focusing on the outputs that are most likely to transform the way health care is delivered," said Dr. John Noseworthy, Mayo's chief executive.

Star Tribune, by Jackie Crosby, 02/23/2012

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Tags: capital projects, Dr. John Noseworthy, Finanical, invest $700 million a year, Mayo Clinic Rochester, promising medical breakthroughs, proton beam therapy