Causes: Health

Mission: Avera health 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.

Programs: Avera health delivers health care to individuals and communities through a system of nearly 330 affiliated health care facilities, which are referred to collectively as "avera. " avera, the health ministry of the benedictine and presentation sisters, serves the people of eastern south dakota and surrounding states with a wide spectrum of health services delivered through hospitals, long-term care facilities, clinics and other health programs. Avera health visionworking with its partners, avera health shall provide a quality, cost-effective health ministry, which reflects gospel values. We shall improve the health care of the people we serve through a regionally integrated network of persons and institutions. Avera valuesin caring for life, the avera community is guided by the gospel values of compassion, hospitality and stewardship. Avera is sponsored by the benedictine sisters of yankton, s. D. , and the presentation sisters of aberdeen, s. D. In accordance with its catholic mission, avera adheres to "the ethical and religious directives for catholic health care services". Avera facilities return any revenues over expenses that they receive to the people in their communities in three ways:we provide care of those who cannot afford to pay. Avera affiliates provide free or discounted health and health-related services to persons who cannot afford to pay all or part of a bill, including persons who are uninsured and low-income patients, using income-related discounts. As the number of uninsured persons grows, so does the need for charity care, or free or discounted health services provided to those who cannot afford to pay. Charity care/patient assistance at cost $22,098,628charity care/financial assistance is free or discounted health and health-related services provided to persons who cannot afford to pay all or part of a bill, including persons who are uninsured and low-income patients, using an income-related schedule. The dollar amount provided for charity care is based on the actual cost of providing that service, not the amount that would have been charged for that service. Charity care does not include bad debt. Unpaid costs of government and other programs $35,540,386 *medicaid, state children's health insurance program (schip), local and state government programs that reimburse health care providers for persons not eligible for medicaid and other government programs provide health coverage for thousands of individuals in our region. However, they generally do not reimburse hospitals and doctors for the full costs of services. In many instances, payment is based on data from previous years that doesn't accurately reflect the rapidly changing nature of health services, such as new processes, new equipment, new technologies and rising costs for supplies. *in accordance with "a guide for planning and reporting community benefit" (st. Louis: catholic health association of the united states, 2008), unpaid costs of medicare are not included in this amount. The amount of unpaid costs of medicare for the fiscal year ending june 30, 2014, was $51,036,521. Additional community benefits $40,408,260community benefits are programs or activities that provide treatment or promote health and healing as a response to identified community needs. These programs and services are not provided for marketing purposes. A community benefit must meet at least one of the following criteria: improve access to health care services; enhance health of the community; advance medical or health care knowledge; or relieve or reduce the burden of government or other community efforts. Included in this category are community health improvement services, health professions education, subsidized health services, research activities, financial and in-kind contributions, community-building and leadership activities and community-benefit-operations activities. Total $99,047,274avera operates under the premise that social and institutional wellness are best promoted through joint efforts of various religious and community-sponsored institutions. Choosing collaboration and empowerment enables us to be better stewards of our human, financial, technical and environmental resources. Our caregivers are supported by the resources and expertise of the region's largest health system. Management and other support services are provided through the avera central office, and avera's six regional centers: avera st. Luke's in aberdeen, sd; avera marshall regional medical center in marshall, mn. ; avera queen of peace in mitchell, sd; avera st. Mary's in pierre, sd; avera mckennan in sioux falls, sd; and avera sacred heart in yankton, sd. As a leading health system in the region, avera is committed to meeting the needs of communities it serves through the provision of quality health care services guided by christian values and by making a positive impact on the community. Avera health acts as the leader of the avera health ministry, serving as an overall parent to support its affiliated tax-exempt health care organizations. Through avera health, affiliates collaborate to improve the lives and health of individuals and of the communities we serve. This collaboration allows affiliates to access leading edge strategies and expertise while keeping administrative costs as low as possible. Avera health serves health care facilities that are owned by avera health as well as facilities that are owned by local communities. Through avera health, affiliates are able to share costs of management, legal and other support services among many facilities rather than each facility incurring those costs separately. Avera health provides a variety of services for the benefit of affiliates including coordinating the delivery of health care service to the region, overall strategic planning, group purchasing of supplies and services at lowest possible cost and education. Avera health also coordinates joint investments and risk-management programs for affiliates. Some of the specific ways avera health has improved the communities we serve include during the year ended june 30, 2014 are:* providing support services to nearly 330 affiliated health care facilities* providing $2,687,673 (shown on form 990, part ix, line 1) in financial support for various projects in local communities* sponsoring education programs including a gerontological care conference, nursing conference, ethics conference, parish nursing conference and more.