Emergency & Trauma Services

During a medical emergency, depend on Avera to respond quickly with expert care. Through our regional network of emergency departments serving South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa, you get prompt access to lifesaving services close to home.

Find an Emergency Room

Should I Choose Emergency Care or Urgent Care?

Seek emergency medical attention when you experience or suspect a condition that threatens a life, a limb or an organ, including:

• Bleeding that’s not controllable
• Broken bones
• Chest pain
• Heart emergencies, including heart attack and cardiac arrest
• Major allergic reactions
• Poisoning
• Serious burns
• Severe breathing problems
• Stroke
• Traumatic injuries, especially head injuries

For minor injuries or illness, choose urgent care, also called after-hours care—an alternative to the emergency department. Learn more about the difference between after-hours care and emergency care.

Trauma Centers

In the event of a traumatic injury, trust Avera to treat life-threatening injuries. Each Avera hospital holds one of the following trauma center designations:

• Level II trauma center – Delivers 24-hour immediate coverage by general surgeons, as well as coverage in orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, radiology and critical care
• Level III trauma center – Provides 24-hour immediate coverage by emergency medicine physicians and swiftly makes general surgeons and anesthesiologists available
• Level IV trauma center – Offers advanced trauma life support, trauma nurses and physicians, and may provide surgery and critical care
• Trauma receiving hospital – Receives patients 24 hours a day and treats or stabilizes them before transport to another hospital

View your local Avera hospital’s location profile to see the level of trauma care expertise that’s available near you.

Critical Care & Intensive Care

If you’re admitted to the hospital with a serious condition, you’ll appreciate Avera’s potentially lifesaving critical care and intensive care units (ICUs) designed to improve your outcome. Our telemedicine technology gives you additional support by linking your local critical care team to Avera health care professionals, who monitor your situation 24/7 and help ensure you get timely medical services.

Telehealth Emergency Technology

You get the fastest possible access to the expertise of medical specialists thanks to our telemedicine emergency technology. At one of our 120 telehealth emergency sites across a 10-state region, high-definition video and audio connects your local medical team with experts at Avera’s virtual hospital—which means you can stay in your local community and get the advanced care you need.

Careflight Air Ambulances

In a medical emergency, one of Avera’s swift Careflight air ambulances could help save your or your loved one’s life. These helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft provide onboard intensive care while quickly transporting you to the nearest hospital that can treat your condition.

Highly Qualified Emergency Staff

Throughout your experience, you can rest assured that you’ll be in the skilled hands of Avera’s emergency medical professionals. Our extensive network of more than 900 emergency care providers includes:

• Physicians who are board-certified in emergency medicine
• Doctors, midlevel providers and nurses trained in advanced trauma life support, advanced cardiac life support, pediatric advanced life support and neonatal advanced life support
• Nurses with trauma nursing core course certification