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Avera Rural Health Institute

The Avera Rural Health Institute seeks to advance rural and community health, providing quality health care services in rural communities throughout the Upper Midwest.

The Avera Rural Health Institute embodies Avera’s mission by improving and supporting rural health care. The Institute collaborates with community leaders and other agencies to identify and address challenges that affect rural health care through educational programs, consulting, community health planning, grant writing and more. Rural health advocates serve Avera facilities to ensure that rural and underserved populations have access to health care.

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. As their health system grew, it spread across a vast rural area of 72,000 square miles in the Upper Midwest. Rural health has always been part of the Avera mission and ministry.

Rural Health Advocate

The Avera Rural Health Institute monitors rural health policy developments and advocates for changes that benefit rural communities. Through education, assessment and direction, the Institute offers communities and facilities the opportunity to make valuable efforts toward a better tomorrow. The Institute engages in strategic planning, community assessments, special projects such as Farm Safety Day Camps, and customized services to cater to the unique needs of rural communities.

For more information, contact AveraRuralHealth@avera.org.

Built for Rural Health

Avera is moving health forward with our commitment to deepen our roots in rural areas. Learn More

Grant Administration

Avera Rural Health has a team of skilled grant writers and financial analysts who can help identify potential grant opportunities to address community health needs throughout Avera's service area. The team manages and drafts grant proposals and oversees all phases of the grant's life cycle, including design, implementation, evaluation, fiscal oversight and grant compliance. With expertise in federal, state and private grant sources, Avera Rural Health has successfully secured funding for rural health providers ranging from $5,000 to $47 million.


Grant Compliance

Grant compliance is the art of following the rules and regulations set forth by the funder, ensuring that every step is taken with precision and accuracy. Compliance is one of the most essential aspects of the grant life cycle, playing a significant role in demonstrating that grant funds are utilized appropriately as intended post-award.

  • Recipients of grant funds must comply with all applicable federal statutes, regulations and policies.
  • These standards may vary from program to program and cover a wide range of aspects, including the handling of documentation, data reporting, impact assessment and progress evaluation.

Advocacy and Grants Support Key Programs

American Indian Health Initiative The Avera American Indian Health Initiative aims to promote mutual goodwill by sharing knowledge, aligning best practices, and providing resources that improve health.
Avera Research Research at Avera conducts research in a diverse range of fields, including pharmacogenomics, applied research, participation in cardiovascular and cancer clinical trials, and population health.

Improving Rural Health Care

Avera works toward a healthier future for our patients in rural communities by providing innovative health services close to home.

Telemedicine

Telemedicine connects patients to vital health care services through virtual patient care, remote patient monitoring, and real-time, interactive appointments with providers. Wherever you live across the Upper Midwest, you’re close to top-quality health care services and personal consultations with Avera medical specialists. Programs like Avera@Home’s remote patient monitoring makes a difference in the lives of our patients.

Maternal Health

Maternal health refers to the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. Each stage should be a positive experience, ensuring women and their babies reach their full potential for health and well-being. Avera is one of four recipients nationwide in 2022 to receive $4 million from the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Program (RMOMS) to help increase access to obstetrics services and improve outcomes such as pre-term labor, low birthweight, infant mortality, and care coordination.

Capital Improvement

Capital funding sources allow for investment in health care infrastructure, including the construction, renovation and expansion of rural facilities. In 2022, the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust generously donated $13 million in grant and matching funding to construct the Helmsley Behavioral Health Center to provide residential addiction care for youth, more capacity for children and adolescents, and partial hospitalization space for youth and adults.

Community Health Workers

Avera community health workers (CHWs) are frontline public health workers that create connections for diverse populations living in the Midwest by linking community and clinical sectors that work together to improve population health outcomes. CHWs have shared or deep understandings of the communities they serve, have the unique ability to bring information where it is needed the most, and they make significant differences in a wide range of groups who are considered underserved.

Educational Partners

Fostering effective and sustainable partnerships between Avera and educational partners is integral for building a culture of health and expanding opportunities for community health improvement. The Avera Rural Health Institute strives to identify grant opportunities by working with local universities and colleges to provide scholarship and workforce opportunities to students.

Population Health

Social determinants of health encompass various factors that impact individuals’ well-being and quality of life, such as access to healthy foods and clean drinking water, education, housing, social connections and transportation. As part of Avera’s mission, we work to improve these key indicators to ensure that people have a higher chance for success in making the most out of every opportunity.

How Grant Funding Makes a Difference

Read stories about how grant-funded projects are having a positive impact in the lives and health of persons and communities across the Avera footprint.