Avera Health

Last updated
Avera Health
TypeNon-Profit
Industry Healthcare
Founded1897
Headquarters Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA
Key people
Bob Sutton, President & CEO
Website www.avera.org

Avera Health is a regional health system based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States, comprising more than 300 locations in 100 communities throughout South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and North Dakota. [1] Avera serves a geographical footprint of more than 72,000 square miles and 86 counties, and a population of nearly 1 million. [1]

Contents

As a fully integrated health system, Avera Health includes Avera Medical Group, which is composed of physicians and advanced practice providers who serve patients at nearly 200 secure locations [2] across the five-state region. [3]

Throughout the region, Avera Health offers care in 60 distinct specialties, including behavioral health, cardiology, oncology, orthopedics, brain and spine, neurosurgery, digestive disease, bariatrics, dermatology, endocrinology and diabetes, ophthalmology, pulmonology and sleep medicine, pain management, neonatology, pediatrics, rheumatology, women’s specialties and more. [4]

In addition to care, Avera Health Plans was created in 1999 to offer affordable health insurance and a large network of providers. [5] Today, Avera Health Plans serves individuals, families, and employer groups in South Dakota and Iowa and is the third largest health plan in the state of South Dakota.

With more than 16,000 employees and physicians, Avera is South Dakota’s largest private employer. The name Avera is derived from a Latin term meaning “to be well.”

History

Avera came into existence when two orders of religious women—the Benedictine Sisters of Yankton, South Dakota, [6] and the Presentation Sisters of Aberdeen, South Dakota [7] —merged their Catholic health care systems into a single entity.

These two religious orders serve as Avera’s sponsors; that is, their association with Avera gives it the status of officially being a work of the Catholic Church.

Services

Avera eCARE

Avera has provided virtual care that dates back to 1993. [8] eCARE uses interactive video and technology to connect with outlying sites through a virtual hospital based in Sioux Falls. [8] eCARE partners with hospitals to provide increased access to specialists through:

Avera eCARE was sold to Aquiline Capital Partners in the fourth quarter of 2021 and rebranded as Avel eCare. [14]

Avera Careflight

Avera health has operated an air ambulance since May 1986. [15]

Research, genomics and genetics

Avera’s genomics team involves multiple professionals locally and internationally. Working primarily with breast and gynecologic cancer patients, this team uses genetic analysis to recommend therapies targeted to fight an individual tumor. [16] The Avera Institute for Human Genetics offers personalized medicine for pain management, [17] behavioral health [18] and more, plus DNA analysis as part of the world’s largest twin study, the Netherlands Twins Register (NTR). [19] The Avera Research Institute is conducts clinical trials, [20] [21] cancer registries for breast [22] and thyroid tumors, oncology research nurses, and investigator initiated studies.

Since 2011, Avera has been part of an international trial based in Salzburg, Austria, testing a protocol for women age 41 and over with early stage breast cancer that delivers electron-based intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) at the time of lumpectomy [23] followed by three weeks of external beam radiation therapy, shortening follow-up external beam radiation therapy by three weeks. A new protocol is testing one-time IORT treatment for patients age 60 and over, eliminating the need for additional radiation.

Solid organ and bone marrow transplant

Avera is home to the region’s longest standing kidney transplant program, established in 1993, [24] in addition to pancreas and liver transplant. In 1996, Avera began the region’s only Bone Marrow Transplant program,[ citation needed ] providing both allogeneic and autologous stem cell transplantation.

Clinics and centers

Through its 300 locations, Avera contains various facilities:

Locations

The Avera Central Office is based in Sioux Falls, S.D., with six regional centers:

Other Locations

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MD Anderson Cancer Center</span> Hospital in Texas, United States of America

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is a comprehensive cancer center in Houston, Texas. It is the largest cancer center in the U.S. and one of the original three comprehensive cancer centers in the country. It is both a degree-granting academic institution and a cancer treatment and research center located at the Texas Medical Center in Houston. It is affiliated with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. According to Newsweek, MD Anderson Cancer Center is considered the best hospital in the world for oncology and related cancer treatment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proton therapy</span> Medical Procedure

In medicine, proton therapy, or proton radiotherapy, is a type of particle therapy that uses a beam of protons to irradiate diseased tissue, most often to treat cancer. The chief advantage of proton therapy over other types of external beam radiotherapy is that the dose of protons is deposited over a narrow range of depth; hence in minimal entry, exit, or scattered radiation dose to healthy nearby tissues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute</span> Hospital in Florida, United States

Houston Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute is a nonprofit cancer treatment and research center located in Tampa, Florida. Established in 1981 by the Florida Legislature, the hospital opened in October 1986 on the University of South Florida's campus. Moffitt is one of two National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers based in Florida. In 2021, U.S. News & World Report ranked Moffitt Cancer Center as a top 30 cancer hospital in the United States.

The Miss South Dakota Teen USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of South Dakota in the Miss Teen USA pageant and the name of the title held by that winner.

Mitch Krebs was the co-anchor of the 6:00pm and 10:00pm news at KSFY-TV in Sioux Falls, South Dakota until February 1, 2007. He is married to former South Dakota Secretary of State Shantel Krebs (R).

Loyola Medicine, also known as Loyola University Health System, is a quaternary-care system with a 61-acre (25 ha) main medical center campus in the western suburbs of Chicago, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The medical center campus is located in Maywood, 13 miles (21 km) west of the Chicago Loop and 8 miles (13 km) east of Oak Brook. The heart of the medical center campus is the Loyola University Medical Center. Also on campus are the Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center Loyola Outpatient Center, Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine and Loyola Oral Health Center as well as the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, Center for Translational Research and Education, and the Loyola Center for Fitness.

Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System(SRHS) is one of South Carolina's largest healthcare systems. SRHS draws patients primarily from the areas of Spartanburg, Cherokee, Union, and Greenville counties, located in the Piedmont region of South Carolina, and Rutherford and Polk counties, located in western North Carolina. Spartanburg General Hospital was organized under the authority of the South Carolina General Assembly in 1917 and officially became the Spartanburg Regional Health Services District, Inc., a political subdivision of the State of South Carolina, by the charter granted by the secretary of state of South Carolina on May 1, 1995. 

Banner Health is a non-profit health system in the United States, based in Phoenix, Arizona. It operates 30 hospitals and several specialized facilities across 6 states. The health system is the largest employer in Arizona and one of the largest in the United States with over 50,000 employees.

Scott Donald Munsterman is a former mayor of Brookings, South Dakota. Munsterman sought the Republican nomination for governor of South Dakota in the South Dakota gubernatorial election in 2010. In a Republican primary election on June 8, 2010, Munsterman came in second to Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard. Munsterman received 17.6% or 14,733 of the 83,832 ballots cast, approximately one third of the 50% received by Daugaard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treatment of cancer</span> Overview of various treatment possibilities for cancer

Cancer can be treated by surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, targeted therapy and synthetic lethality, most commonly as a series of separate treatments. The choice of therapy depends upon the location and grade of the tumor and the stage of the disease, as well as the general state of the patient. Cancer genome sequencing helps in determining which cancer the patient exactly has for determining the best therapy for the cancer. A number of experimental cancer treatments are also under development. Under current estimates, two in five people will have cancer at some point in their lifetime.

Augusta University Health is an academic health center that manages the clinical operations associated with Augusta University. It is a health care network that offers primary, specialty and sub-specialty care in the Augusta, Georgia area and throughout the Southeastern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gujarat Cancer Research Institute</span> Hospital in Gujarat, India

Gujarat Cancer & Research Institute (GCRI) is a state owned cancer research institute in Gujarat, India. It was established in 1972. It is one of the 25 government funded Regional Cancer Centres in India.

The Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine is a cancer treatment, research and education institution with six locations in the St. Louis area. Siteman is the only cancer center in Missouri and within 240 miles of St. Louis to be designated a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Siteman is also the only area member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, a nonprofit alliance of 32 cancer centers dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of cancer care.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King Fahad Specialist Hospital Dammam</span> Hospital in Eastern Region, Saudi Arabia

King Fahad Specialist Hospital-Dammam (KFSHD) is a hospital in the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seattle Cancer Care Alliance</span> Cancer treatment and research center in Seattle, U.S.

Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) is a cancer treatment and research center in Seattle, Washington. Established in 1998, this nonprofit provides clinical oncology care for patients treated at its three partner organizations: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Children's and UW Medicine. Together, these four institutions form the Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Westchester Hospital</span> Hospital in New York, United States

Northern Westchester Hospital (NWH), now known as Northwell Health, is a not-for-profit, 245-bed, all-private-room facility in Mount Kisco, New York. Founded in 1916, it serves residents of Northern Westchester, Putnam County and southern Dutchess County, as well as parts of Fairfield County, Connecticut.

Vassar Brothers Medical Center (VBMC) (formerly Vassar Brothers Hospital) is a 350-bed not-for-profit hospital overlooking the Hudson River in Poughkeepsie, New York. It is part of the Nuvance Health healthcare network and is the major medical center in Dutchess County, New York.

References

  1. 1 2 "About Avera Health". www.avera.org. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  2. ↑ "Improving Hospital Security with ID Badges". IDWholesaler.com. Plasco ID. Archived from the original on 27 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  3. ↑ Rodak, Sabrina. "100 Integrated Health Systems to Know". www.beckershospitalreview.com. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
  4. ↑ "CareerMD | Avera Medical Group Snapshot". www.careermd.com. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
  5. ↑ "Avera Health Plans - South Dakota Health Insurance Plans from Avera Health Plans". www.ehealthinsurance.com. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
  6. ↑ "Our History". Yankton Benedictines Sacred Heart Ministry. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  7. ↑ "History". Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  8. 1 2 Schwan, Jodi. "Avera's inadvertent innovation". Argus Leader. Gannett. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  9. ↑ Tomsic, Michael (14 April 2015). "Hospitals Monitor ICU Patients Virtually, From Many Miles Away". WFAE 90.7. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  10. ↑ Iverson, Jake. "Avera Medical Minute AMcK: eCare telemedicine receives(sic) federal focus". KSFY. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  11. ↑ "Avera Receives Grant To Expand Rural Telemedicine". Yankton Press & Dakotan. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  12. ↑ Page, Douglas. "2011 Most Wired Innovator Awards". Hospital & Health Networks. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  13. ↑ "Avera eCARE Celebrates Milestone Anniversaries". Midwest Medical Edition. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  14. ↑ "Avera Health Announces Acquisition of Avera eCare by Aquiline Capital Partners". www.avera.org. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  15. ↑ Miranda Paige. "Avera Medical Minute: Careflight celebrates 35 years". www.dakotanewsnow.com. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
  16. ↑ Iverson, Jake. "Avera Medical Minute AMcK: genomic sequencing for help in treating cancer". KSFY.
  17. ↑ Walker, Jon. "Avera Health to start matching pain killers with genetics". Argus Leader. Gannett. Retrieved 26 August 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  18. ↑ Jake, Iverson. "Avera Medical Minute AMcK: Personalized medicine for behavioral health patients". KSFY. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  19. ↑ Schwan, Jodi. "Avera's international research partnership grows". Argus Leader. Gannett. Retrieved 26 August 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  20. ↑ "Exemestane with or without Entinostat in Treating Patients with Recurrent Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer That is Locally Advanced or Metastatic". National Cancer Institute.
  21. ↑ "Tamoxifen Citrate, Letrozole, Anastrozole, or Exemestane with or without Chemotherapy in Treating Patients with Invasive RxPONDER Breast Cancer". National Cancer Institute.
  22. ↑ "Breast Cancer Registry". Northern Great Plains Oncology. Archived from the original on 9 October 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  23. ↑ Iverson, Jake. "Avera Medical Minute: IntraOperative Electron Radiation Therapy". KSFY. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  24. ↑ Walker, Jon. "Landmark transplant reflects surgical leap". Argus Leader.[ permanent dead link ]
  25. ↑ Brookings. "Access Health – Brookings & Avera Medical Group Brookings - Brookings, SD". www.avera.org. Archived from the original on 2020-11-26. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.