Courage. Resilience. Hope.

Avera’s commitment to the health and safety of those we serve is stronger than ever. We’re evolving our already high standards of quality and safety as we venture forward, even during uncertain times. With compassion and dedication to caring, we can renew our spirits and our communities.

Avera is a regional health system comprised of 315 locations in 100 communities in five states across the Upper Midwest. Avera serves a population of 1 million throughout a geographical footprint of 72,000 square miles.

Avera is the health ministry of the Benedictine Sisters of Yankton, SD, and the Presentation Sisters of Aberdeen, SD.

As a health ministry rooted in the Gospel, Avera’s mission is to make a positive impact in the lives and health of persons and communities by providing quality services guided by Christian values.

Avera seeks to heal the whole person – body, mind and spirit – as we live out our three gospel values of Compassion, Hospitality and Stewardship.

A Message From Our CEO

Bob Sutton Welcome to Avera’s 2021 Annual Report. Thank you for your interest in our health ministry.

We end fiscal year 2021 in a spirit of hope. The COVID-19 vaccines have been a true gift to our nation and world. Although waves of the pandemic are ongoing, we are entering a new normal.

Every individual, every family across our world has experienced challenges. Yet it’s especially challenging for health care organizations on the front lines of fighting the pandemic. We were called upon to prevent illness among our general population by educating people about this virus. To care for the sick and dying, even when we were running short of space or the personnel to do so. To be creative and resourceful in the face of shortages. To take a leading role in vaccinations. As a result, Avera teams achieved some amazing innovations, such as virtual visits and specialized at-home care to take pressure off hospitals.

The 20,000 employees of Avera display an amazing depth of commitment to the mission of Avera as we live out our gospel values of hospitality, compassion and stewardship.

This calling is more than an attitude of care and compassion. It’s doing the right thing at the right time for each patient. In a word, this is quality, and our quality at Avera is validated by numerous awards and recognitions. In 2021 – even in the midst of a worldwide pandemic – Avera was named among the 15 Top Health Systems in the nation.

It’s been an extraordinary time spent in uncharted territory. I’m so grateful for the people of Avera who stepped forward to say “we’re going to do this” – and “we’re going to do this together.”

Now it’s time to look forward with a renewed focus, to grow and enhance our health ministry, and meet our patients where they are through innovative technology.

I am grateful to our sponsors, the Benedictine and Presentation Sisters, the senior leadership and Board of Directors who faithfully serve alongside me, as well as all the people and partners who come together to form this great organization known as Avera. Together, we impact many lives for the greater good.

Sincerely,

Bob Sutton, President and CEO

We Will Never Be the Same

Avera has been able to take so much of what we’ve learned throughout the COVID journey and apply it in other ways to improve our operations and care delivery. We’ve grown as individuals, too. We asked Avera leaders and employees to talk to their “pre-COVID” self. We asked them, what, given the chance, would you tell yourself before COVID hit. Their answers are amazing and inspiring.

MISSION

Charity Care and Community Benefit

Avera’s mission involves making a positive impact upon the communities we serve, often accomplished through providing community benefits.

As a health care ministry, Avera provides care to all who come to us, regardless of their ability to pay.

By the numbers…

Charity care/financial assistance: $24,602,601
Unpaid costs of government programs: $44,526,816
Additional community benefits: $86,900,177

Total: $156,029,594

Examples of Community Benefits

Community health services and screenings
Health professions education
Subsidized services, including Careflight, emergency services, hospice care, transplant, and more
Research
Financial and in-kind contributions
Community-building activities

Wellness of Youth and Children

It’s been said that community health is measured by the health of its children. The deep and complex issues that young people face today are troubling. We all want our children to be well – in body, mind and spirit.

Avera is taking steps toward that end by adding a four-story wing at the Avera Behavioral Health Center in Sioux Falls. This project adds much-needed services where we’ve seen gaps:

24/7 behavioral health urgent care for all ages
Residential addiction care for youth
Partial hospitalization space for youth as well as expanded space for adults
More hospitalization capacity for children and adolescents

Donors to the Avera Foundation’s Light the Way campaign are generously supporting this project. The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust is substantially boosting the project with $13 million in grant funding that includes an $8 million gift and a $5 million matching portion.

Anger, acting out, anxiety, depression and chemical dependency are being seen in children and adolescents at younger ages, and the numbers are growing.

This year Avera collaborated with the Sioux Falls School District to bring over 3,000 educators and health care providers together to explore mental wellness in children and youth, to offer tips and guidance, and to work toward solutions together at an Aug. 20 conference titled “Anxiety and Depression: Tips to Move from Avoidance to Action.”

Both through programs and collaborations, we want to provide resources so that youth and their families can experience life-changing intervention.

smiling elderly woman and young woman hugging

Community Partnerships

Avera’s mission to make a positive impact in the lives and health of persons and communities is a very broad, all-encompassing goal. While Avera makes a positive impact in terms of health and healing of the body, mind and spirit, there are aspects of our lives that go beyond health care: Our need for healthy food, clean water and decent housing. Our need for personal safety and the safety of our families. Our need for education. Our need for meaningful work. Our need for cultural expression and the arts.

And so Avera partners with more than 250 organizations that align with our mission and help us expand and enhance this mission beyond our facilities.

Examples:

Avera supports a food sovereignty program on the Rosebud Reservation provided by the Sicangu Community Development Corporation. This provides “food prescriptions” for people who take part in local farmer’s markets to learn how they can incorporate fresh produce into their meals to prevent and combat chronic conditions.
Through the Marshall, MN, YMCA, Avera funds allow children to have a $2 token each week to buy their own fruits and vegetables at the local farmer’s market. Some kids have a definite plan for how to spend their token each week while others save up for items like pumpkins in the fall.
Avera donated toward a mobile shower and laundry unit through the Union Gospel Mission in Sioux Falls, SD, to support people who don’t have ready access to these facilities. Soap and detergent are provided.

GROWTH

Avera Continuum of Care

200 Primary and Specialty Clinics

60+ medical specialties
1,200 physicians and advanced practice providers

37 Hospitals

Tertiary hospital: Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center
36 Community and Critical Access Hospitals
1,680 beds

40 Senior Living,
Assisted Living,
AND Long-Term
Care Locations

1,876 long-term care and assisted living beds
247 apartments

Avera@Home Home Care & Hospice And Home Medical Equipment

26 locations
950 average patient census

Telemedicine

40 specialty and sub-specialty virtual clinics
169,000 virtual visits (March 2020-July 2021)
ICU, Emergency, Pharmacy, Hospitalist and Behavioral Health services through Avel eCare

Avera Health Insurance

Avera Health Plans and DAKOTACARE
Covering 95,000 lives

ALSO: Occupational Health | Therapy Locations | Sports Medicine and Fitness Center | Medical Research and Clinical Trials

2021 By the Numbers

315 Locations

100+Communities

5 States

72,000 Square Mile Footprint

20,000 Employees

2,260 Volunteers

1,200 Physicians and Advanced Practice Providers

Inpatient Discharges: 41,986
Outpatient Discharges: 1,120,417
Number of Clinic Visits: 1,735,552
Total Patient Visits: 2,897,955

Avera Missouri River Health Center Exterior

Bricks and Mortar

List of top projects underway or completed in 2021

Avera Gregory Hospital new health campus, Gregory, SD: $39.4 million
Avera Family Health Center – Dawley Farm, Sioux Falls, SD: $34 million
Avera Behavioral Health Center new wing, Sioux Falls, SD: $28.5 million
Avera Missouri River Health Center, Gettysburg, SD: $12 million
Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center 2nd floor main remodel, Sioux Falls, SD: $5.6 million

Avera St. Anthony’s Hospital Emergency Department and Imaging Center, O’Neill, NE: $7.6 million
Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center remodel at Bruce Street clinic and East College Drive building, Marshall, MN, SD: $6.4 million
Avera Medical Group Windom clinic, Windom, MN: $5.4 million
Walsh Family Village Kirby Place addition, Sioux Falls, SD: $2.6 million

QUALITY

At Avera, we’re passionate about quality. Avera participates in systematic performance improvements that align with the National Strategy for Quality Improvement in Health Care priorities and goals.

Our Quality Plan aligns with the mission and vision of Avera, and considers the impact of the organization’s strategic and long-term goals.

15 Top Health Systems

Avera Health and Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center were honored to be named on IBM Watson Health’s 15 Top Health Systems and 100 Top Hospitals lists in 2021. At Avera, our clinical teams are engaged and quality is considered part of everyone’s job. Our physicians deeply understand quality and base care decisions on the best evidence. We empower staff at all levels to do what’s best for each patient – to provide the right care at the right time.

Avera Service Lines

Through Avera’s Service Line concept, physicians from across the system collaborate to identify best practices that result in consistent care, which in turn builds quality and reduces cost.

Stronger relationships between physicians, within and across specialties, result in better transitions of care, improving outcomes and creating a better care experience for patients.

Virtual Visits

Very quickly after the start of COVID, Avera began offering virtual visits so that care could continue in the midst of cancellations and closures to keep patients and employees safe. Virtual visits ramped up from around 100 a month to a peak of 1,200 per day. Since the beginning of COVID, Avera providers have provided over 169,000 virtual visits in a number of specialties. Patients enjoy virtual visits because they are convenient, quick and safe, and 68% of patients surveyed would like to see virtual visits continue. For many Avera providers, virtual visits have become part of their typical day in the clinic..

Healthy Weight

Healthy weight is vital to preventive medicine. According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), obesity is associated with the leading causes of death including diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer. It also contributes to behavioral health conditions including anxiety and depression.

The Avera Medical Group Primary Care Service Line developed Healthy Weight with Avera, an order providers can click in the AveraChart electronic medical record. Patients can benefit from health coaches who match patients with an effective program.

A Healthy Weight booklet covers goal-setting, four simplified goals for weight management, healthy food recommendations, portion sizing, exercise tips and more. Anyone can download this booklet at Avera.org/healthy-weight.

National Recognition

Top care and top quality: that’s what people can expect from Avera, and our quality is verified by national recognition. In 2021, Avera was named among the nation’s 15 Top Health Systems by IBM Watson Health. Avera McKennan was named in the 100 Top Hospitals.

Other key awards and recognitions:

Five Avera hospitals have been named 5-star facilities by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS): Avera McKennan, Avera St. Luke’s Hospital, Avera Queen of Peace, Avera Heart Hospital and Avera Sacred Heart Hospital. Ten long-term care centers are 5-star facilities.

Additional Recognition

Several Avera hospitals ranked among the top 100 and top 20 rural hospitals nationwide.
Avera earned the highest level of recognition as a Level 10 “Most Wired” health care organization from the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) in its 2020 program. The recognition marks the 21st time Avera was included in the survey as a top performer.

Other Avera awards across the system

Browse Major 2021 News Stories

Avera Health Announces Acquisition of Avera eCare by Aquiline Capital Partners

Avera Health announces the acquisition of its telemedicine services, Avera eCare, by Aquiline Capital Partners, Aquiline will execute the carve-out of Avera eCare and rename the company Avel eCare.

July 28, 2021
Avera Breaks Ground on Family Health Center at Dawley Farm

A new Avera Medical Group Family Health Center in the Dawley Farm development in eastern Sioux Falls will provide a wide range of medical services including emergency care.

June 17, 2021
Avera Expands the Reach of Its Health Care Workers Stress Hotline

Avera is expanding its free Health Care Workers Stress Hotline to include any health care professional in South Dakota seeking help for anxiety, depression or other impacts caused by COVID-19 and life events.

June 2, 2021
Avera Gregory Breaks Ground on New Health Campus

A new health campus on 12 acres of land east of Gregory will integrate a 17-bed hospital, 30-bed long-term care center and a clinic inside space totaling over 88,000 square feet.

April 23, 2021
Avera Observes One Year of COVID-19

March 11, 2021, marks one year since COVID-19 was recognized as a global pandemic. Avera leaders reflect on this milestone and note innovations.

March 8, 2021
Avera Missouri River Health Center Prepares to Open New Facility

A 21,800 square-foot facility in Gettysburg, SD, incorporates a seven-bed hospital, clinic, emergency department, surgical suite, radiology and imaging and therapy gym.

December 7, 2020
As Midwest Cases Surge, Avera Reduces COVID-19 Hospitalizations Through Home Care

Avera Health brought together elements of home care, telehealth and a 24-hour hotline to reduce hospitalizations due to COVID-19, even as cases are surging across the Midwest.

November 17, 2020
Newly Constructed Avera Medical Group Windom Clinic Opens

The new clinical space for Access Health Windom and Avera Medical Group Windom will welcome patients Oct. 12.

October 12, 2020
Avera Expands Access to Clinical Trials in Cancer Care

Avera is expanding its cancer research so that more people at more sites, including Pierre, S.D., can receive the most cutting-edge options in cancer care closer to home.

August 4, 2020

Avera is a health ministry rooted in the Gospel. Our mission is to make a positive impact in the lives and health of persons and communities by providing quality services guided by Christian values.

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