Avera Mckennan

Programs: Avera mckennan hospital & university health centeravera mckennan promotes the health of the community by providing a variety of charitable health care services. Avera mckennan operates under the tenets of the roman catholic church and in accordance with the philosophy and values established for avera health, a sponsored ministry of the benedictine and presentation sisters. Major service lines include oncology, surgery, obstetrics, pediatrics, neonatology, emergency and trauma, critical care including eicu, radiology and diagnostic imaging, psychiatry, pulmonary, orthopedics, neurology, cardiology and gastroenterology. Transplant services include solid organ (kidney, liver, and pancreas) and bone marrow transplant. The following are specific exempt purpose achievements for avera mckennan hospital:charity and uncompensated care: avera mckennan provides necessary medical services (diagnostic and treatment) for whoever comes to us for care, regardless of their ability to pay. In fiscal year 2017, services provided to those who are unable to pay totaled $44,766,000. Eligibility for discounted or free services under the charity care policy is based on income levels. Generally, individuals earning income of up to 400% of the federal poverty income guidelines are eligible for varying levels of discounts, including full discounts for certain income levels. Application for coverage under the program may be obtained at any avera mckennan patient registration area or by calling avera mckennan patient financial services. Avera mckennan helps patients apply for any applicable government insurance programs, and offers health care services on a discounted or charitable basis to those who are uninsured or underinsured. Charity care is not capped by a budget figure - unreimbursed expenses are covered by the organization as needed, not until a budget figure is met. In addition to charity care, in the past fiscal year avera mckennan provided $260,525 in lodging, transportation and prescriptions to those in need. Accessibility to health care: avera mckennan makes medical care accessible to the entire community it serves. In 2017 avera mckennan had 22,837 hospital discharges, 122,495 patient days and 309,886 outpatient visits. Avera mckennan is a verified level ii trauma center and was the first such center in the state of south dakota. Avera mckennan's emergency department is staffed 24 hours a day with board-certified emergency specialists and provides emergency care regardless of ability to pay. Avera mckennan had 33,746 emergency department visits in fy 2017. Operating both fixed wing and helicopter medical air transports, avera mckennan's flight teams cover a large geographic area providing state-of-the-art air transport services and access to critical care, with 1,671 flights in the past year. Health care clinic: in 1992, avera mckennan established a health care clinic to provide free care for people who are uninsured or underinsured in the community. The clinic is managed by a registered nurse and staffed by registered nurses, two midlevel providers, medical residents and volunteer health care providers. The goal of the clinic is to prevent or treat patients' medical conditions before they become catastrophic. The clinic averages 450 visits per month, providing preventative care, diagnosis and treatment of illnesses and injuries, medication assistance and assistance in obtaining specialist care for patients with complex cases. The clinic also serves to train physicians, nurses and other health care students. It provides a free evening clinic one evening per month, staffed by medical students under supervision of physicians. Avera mckennan is the only health care organization to provide free services such as this in the state of south dakota. The clinic had 4,804 visits in 2017, and was operated at an annual cost of $864,046. Partnership in live well sioux falls: the city of sioux falls received a community health transformation grant from the south dakota department of health, sparking a project to improve the health and well-being of the citizens of sioux falls. Guided by the city of sioux falls health department, this ongoing project is known as live well sioux falls. It involves more than 24 community partner organizations. Among these partners are avera mckennan and the other major health care system in sioux falls, sanford health. Avera plans to work in partnership with the city of sioux falls and sanford health to address the priorities of live well sioux falls, and arrive at solutions which are collaborative in nature. Avera mckennan collaborates with live well sioux falls to promote the big squeeze, a hypertension initiative in april to promote blood pressure screening and education, with the goal of diagnosing high blood pressure. One in three american adults have high blood pressure, but only half of them have it under control, adding to the risk of stroke, heart attack and vascular disease. Residency/health professions training and internships: in 2017, avera mckennan had 90 medical residents in training at avera mckennan in internal medicine, family practice, psychiatry, geriatrics and transitional residency programs offered in partnership with the university of south dakota school of medicine. Over 1,000 students in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, physician assistant programs, medical assisting, radiology and respiratory therapy also completed clinical rotations at avera mckennan. In non-clinical areas, avera mckennan offered over 90 unpaid, paid, and nonpaid internships in 2017 in the areas of research, finance, administration, therapies, exercise science and social work. Avera mckennan is currently legally affiliated with approximately 158 institutions of higher education. Patient and community education: avera mckennan is a regional leader in offering educational programs for a variety of learners, leaders and employees. Utilizing advanced technology, many of these programs are provided electronically throughout the tri-state area. Educational sessions are offered to medical staff, employees, health care professionals, students at all levels and the general public. Utilizing avera mckennan's education center, a broad cross-section of classes involving diverse audiences are provided as a community service each year. 1. Online resources: avera mckennan offers vast free patient educational online resources on its public website on numerous health topics, with suggestions for lifestyle change, behavior modification and management for improved health. 2. To be well free education events were held on topics including orthopedics, cancer, diabetes, weight loss/healthy eating, multiple sclerosis, anxiety and acupuncture. 3. Forums: the avera behavioral health center offers free friday forums, in which school counselors and therapists are invited to presentations on children's mental health topics such as conflict cycles, reactive attachment disorder, depression and bipolar disorder in children, and teen substance use, abuse and addiction. 4. The avera behavioral health center offers free monthly educational sessions on various topics followed by discussion for adults who have been impacted by a loved one's mental illness. Topics have included grief and loss, anxiety, and parenting strategies for managing challenging behaviors. 5. Women's & children's services: avera mckennan's women's & children's services offers a number of parenting and community education opportunities, for free or at a minimal cost. In fiscal year 2017, 86 childbirth education classes were held with 480 attendees. A total of 7 parent and family education classes were held with 89 attendees. A total of 86 car seats were issued through the south dakota child safety seat distribution program. Free burn education was provided to 2,063 students during presentations in schools. 6. Daycare training: free of charge, avera mckennan offers four in-service training sessions per month to daycare providers through embe, with a total of 28 scheduled annually, and additional sessions for requested topics. Support groups: avera mckennan offers approximately 10 free support groups. They range in topic from cancer to liver disease, diabetes, bone marrow transplant, stroke and grief and loss. The organization provides free meeting space as well as speakers and leaders. Information and assistance: avera mckennan operates a 24-hour medical call center, through which patients have access to the ask-a-nurse program. Patients can call a toll-free number and talk personally with a registered nurse to ask health questions or receive general health information. In 2017, the medical call center handled 152,205 calls. Avera mckennan's web site also provides an extensive health library that consumers can access free of charge.

rural critical access hospitalsavera mckennan owns or leases rural critical access hospitals in flandreau, gregory, dell rapids, milbank and miller (hand county), s. D. As such, they operate as a department of avera mckennan. The hospitals in flandreau, gregory and hand county serve medically underserved counties. In addition to the following exempt purpose achievements, rural hospitals participate in many of the above as part of avera mckennan. Among services offered by rural hospitals are radiology and imaging, colonoscopy and endoscopy, therapy and rehabilitation, 24-hour emergency care, chemotherapy, orthopedics, cardiovascular testing and care, obstetrics, surgery, and dialysis. Charity and uncompensated care: as part of avera mckennan, these facilities provide necessary medical services (diagnostic and treatment) for whomever comes to us for care, regardless of their ability to pay. In fiscal year 2017, charity and uncompensated care provided by rural hospitals totaled $1,278,000. Accessibility to health care: avera mckennan regional hospitals make medical care accessible to the entire community they serve regardless of a patient's ability to pay. In 2017, rural hospitals had 1,786 discharges, 7,528 patient days and 75,224 outpatient visits. Each of the hospitals provides 24-hour emergency care with eemergency services through avera mckennan. Eicu services are also available at these hospitals, providing access to critical care medicine near home and lessening the need for transport. There is no additional billing to patients. Telemedicine consults are also offered at rural locations in a number of medical specialties.

clinicsavera mckennan provides clinical care, secondary and primary, in 91 owned/joint venture clinics in south dakota, northwest iowa, southwest minnesota and northeastern nebraska. In addition to the following exempt purpose achievements, clinics participate in many of the above as part of avera mckennan. Clinic visits in 2017 totaled 1,107,015. Clinics provide primary care and urgent care, and among specialties are cardiology; dermatology; endocrinology; gastroenterology; hematology; hepatology; infectious disease; internal medicine; neonatology; nephrology; neurology and neurosurgery; ob/gyn; oncology; ophthalmology; orthopedics; pain management; pediatrics; psychiatry; pulmonology; sports medicine; surgery; and vascular services. Charity and uncompensated care: as part of avera mckennan, clinics provide necessary medical services (diagnostic and treatment) for whoever comes to us for care, regardless of their ability to pay. In fiscal year 2017, charity and uncompensated care provided by clinics totaled $464,000. Accessibility to health care: in addition to regular clinic hours, avera mcgreevy clinic provides urgent care, seeing patients on a walk-in basis at two locations during the evening hours on weekdays, and throughout the daytime hours on saturdays and sundays. This provides greater accessibility without having to rely on emergency room care. In addition, through our averanow clinics, avera offers convenient, affordable clinic care in partnership with local hyvee pharmacies.

other program servicesavera mckennan also provides long-term care, retail services, home infusion, research, fitness center, regional lab and mobile services. Medical research: as a research institution, avera mckennan draws physicians who are committed to seeking new treatments and preventive measures. In 2017, the avera research institute participated in over 90 clinical trials and registries, involving cancer, alzheimer's disease, behavioral health, diabetes and more. The avera research institute also continues ongoing applied research in the area of developing a novel photochemical tissue-bonding technology that has vascular, ophthalmologic and dermatological applications. Through its genetics lab, avera mckennan is studying clinical applications of personalized medicine through pharmacogenomics in areas of pain management, behavioral health, cardiovascular health, internal medicine, and cancer. In fiscal year 2017, avera mckennan operated the avera research institute at a loss of $8,439,163.