FILE - In this July 28, 2017, file photo, Ken Burns poses for a portrait during the 2017 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Beverly Hills, Calif. After spearheading an 18-hour documentary on the Vietnam War, Burns has turned to a more personal subject, one that knows him very intimately, too. Burns tackles the famed Mayo Clinic in his next film, exploring the history of the innovative Minnesota-based hospital. It’s not just cold history — he’s also a patient. “The Mayo Clinic: Faith, Hope, Science” starts with the hospital’s birth in 1883 and ends with its modern-day state-of-the-art facilities over several campuses. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

NEW YORK | After spearheading an epic, 18-hour documentary on the Vietnam War, acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns has turned to more personal subject matter — one that knows him very intimately, too.

FILE – In this July 28, 2017, file photo, Ken Burns poses for a portrait during the 2017 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Beverly Hills, Calif. After spearheading an 18-hour documentary on the Vietnam War, Burns has turned to a more personal subject, one that knows him very intimately, too. Burns tackles the famed Mayo Clinic in his next film, exploring the history of the innovative Minnesota-based hospital. It’s not just cold history — he’s also a patient. “The Mayo Clinic: Faith, Hope, Science” starts with the hospital’s birth in 1883 and ends with its modern-day state-of-the-art facilities over several campuses. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)
FILE – In this July 28, 2017, file photo, Ken Burns poses for a portrait during the 2017 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Beverly Hills, Calif. After spearheading an 18-hour documentary on the Vietnam War, Burns has turned to a more personal subject, one that knows him very intimately, too. Burns tackles the famed Mayo Clinic in his next film, exploring the history of the innovative Minnesota-based hospital. It’s not just cold history — he’s also a patient. “The Mayo Clinic: Faith, Hope, Science” starts with the hospital’s birth in 1883 and ends with its modern-day state-of-the-art facilities over several campuses. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

Burns tackles the famed Mayo Clinic in his next film, exploring the history of the innovative Rochester, Minnesota-based hospital that has been dubbed “The Miracle in a Cornfield.”

Luminaries such as the Dalai Lama — and Burns — have been treated at the hospital. The first time he went, Burns says he was immediately impressed by the level and detail of his medical care.

The result is the two-hour documentary “The Mayo Clinic: Faith, Hope, Science,” which airs Tuesday on PBS. Burns calls the hospital’s tale “a quintessentially American story.”