Rural community showing grain elevator, silos and railroad tracks.

Rural Health

Rural health is who we are at Avera. It’s in our DNA. Learn more about our commitment to delivering quality health care in rural locations across the Upper Midwest.

Built for Rural Health Care

Avera’s integrated health system is designed for the delivery of rural health care, with locations in more than 100 communities. By addressing and overcoming rural health disparities, we build better access to quality health services for all patients. More than 1,200 employed providers offer 60 medical specialties from audiology to wound care. The majority of our 37 hospitals serve rural communities, so patients can experience quality care, close to home. Home care, long-term care, research, wellness offerings and health insurance are all connected to each other, all working collaboratively.

Strength of the Avera System

Avera has collaborated over the years to develop strong programs like Careflight air transport and telemedicine that support rural health. Through continued innovation, we're extending our workforce and improving access to care with emerging programs like virtual nursing, remote monitoring of patients and more.

Avera designs rural hospitals and primary care clinics to care for most of the health needs people encounter throughout their lifetime, from prenatal care and delivery to illnesses, chronic conditions and injuries. Rural teams are supported by the strength of the Avera system in many ways, including:

  • Telemedicine, supporting emergency care, ICU, hospital care, pharmacy and long-term care
  • Specialty virtual visits and telehealth consults in cancer, hematology, neurology and stroke care, obstetrics and neonatology
  • Outreach in a variety of specialties including cancer, orthopedics, heart, general surgery and more

When needed, patients can be referred or transported to hospitals with additional levels of care including regional hospitals and Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center in Sioux Falls. Whether the need is a complex cancer case or advanced kidney disease requiring transplant, anyone — regardless of their ZIP code — can get the high level of care they need at Avera.

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Bridging the Gap in Rural Health Care

Avera is working toward a healthier future for our patients in rural communities by delivering key services.

Behavioral Health

Behavioral health is a pressing need across the nation. The rural landscape of the Upper Midwest is no exception. Avera has taken steps to expand access to behavioral health services.

From weather to fluctuating prices, agriculture can be stressful. Anyone who is personally struggling in a farm or rural setting, or has a loved one who is, can call the Farm and Rural Stress Hotline. This 24/7 hotline is answered by a mental health professional who can connect you to care options in your community. Call the Farm and Rural Stress Hotline at 800-691-4336.

Research

Avera extends the benefits of research to patients regardless of whether they live in a city, rural community, or on a farm or ranch. Avera’s robust cancer research and clinical trials program ensures patients have access to the latest developments in cancer care. Thanks to efforts to expand access to clinical trials across the Avera system, more people at more sites can receive the most cutting-edge options while staying closer to home.

Avera Research Institute offers innovative research initiatives that reach into underserved areas including rural locations to improve health outcomes for the populations we serve including moms and babies.

Cancer Care

Cancer impacts people of all walks of life, including those living on farms or ranches and in rural communities. Avera Cancer Institute is one institute with six regional centers and 27 outreach locations so people facing cancer can get the vital diagnosis and treatment they need as close to home as possible. Avera cancer clinical trials extend to rural locations as well as urban.

Avera opened the Helmsley Center opened in Pierre, SD in 2018, providing radiation oncology services for the first time at a west-river location. Housed on the campus of Avera St. Mary’s Hospital, the Helmsley Center was made possible by $10 million in funding from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust and $2.5 million from generous donors.

Avera Rural Health Institute

The Avera Rural Health Institute collaborates with community leaders and other agencies to find solutions to challenges that affect rural health care through educational programs, consulting, community health planning, grant writing and more. This includes monitoring rural health policy developments and advocating for changes that will benefit rural communities, strategic planning, community assessments and special projects.

Spotlight on Rural Health

  • Virtual Health: Avera leverages advanced technology including virtual nursing, virtual clinic visits, remote patient monitoring and telemedicine to enhance access to care across our vast 72,000-square-mile footprint.
  • 24/7 Emergency Care: A vital component of high-quality rural care delivery is a well-staffed and well-equipped emergency room. Avera offers nearly 40 emergency rooms across our system.
  • Core to Our Mission: When the Benedictine and Presentation Sisters came to Dakota Territory, they were asked to start rural hospitals to support diphtheria and influenza epidemics of that time. Rural health has always been part of the Avera mission and ministry.
Rural Health
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Rural Health
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Rural Health Excellence

Numerous Avera community hospitals, critical access hospitals and long-term care centers are among the top in the nation. Learn More

Work in Rural Health Care

When future health care professionals train in rural locations, they often fall in love with the rural lifestyle, the opportunity to build lasting relationships with patients and families, and the exciting challenges of rural care delivery. Rural health care becomes their passion; could it be yours too?

Avera also encourages students interested in rural health care with grant funds, hands-on training and supportive learning experiences. Hear firsthand from an Avera rural nurse on her journey growing and practicing her skills in South Dakota.

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Visit Avera for Rural Health Needs

Avera is an integrated system, with locations in more than 100 communities. We welcome you to visit an Avera location near you.

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Rural Health Stories

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