Avera Bulletin - May 2008

Haitian Health Foundation Director Recognized

The Global Health Council recently announced that the 2008 Award for Best Practices in Global Health will be awarded to Bette Gebrian, PhD, director of public health for the Haitian Health Foundation (HHF), for her work to improve maternal and child health. The award will be presented at the Council’s 35th Annual International Conference on Global Health on May 29 in Washington, D.C. Gebrian spoke at the Avera Leadership Conference on April 19.

Gebrian has developed and implemented several health programs, including the Child Survival Project that supplies health care to, and tracks the medical status of, more than 130,000 people in more than 100 villages through Health Track, a sophisticated computer health information system. The project also provides access to medical services to approximately 70,000 others.

Another of Gebrian’s prominent initiatives is the implementation of birth spacing practices to improve health. She focuses the program around the Lactational Amenorrhea Method, promoting increased time between pregnancies while supporting the life-saving intervention of exclusive breastfeeding. As a result, more than 70 percent of women under the HHF umbrella of care breastfeed exclusively for at least six months, compared with the national average of less than 5 percent. In addition, Gebrian’s efforts helped to ensure that 76 percent of women were protected from neonatal tetanus during their last pregnancy, and 82 percent received three or more antenatal visits.

Gebrian’s program is delivered by locally trained Haitian health workers known as “Agents de Sante” (health agents), who serve 104 villages surrounding Jeremie, Haiti, and through groups that enable people to share experiences and knowledge relating to nutrition, health care and other topics that have an impact on their quality of life. Through these programs, HHF has reduced deaths due to bacterial pneumonia in children under age 5 by 50 percent, and diarrhea deaths in children have been significantly decreased. Typhoid, skin disease and parasitic infestations are among the many diseases with decreased incidence in HHF-serviced villages. Efforts also have raised complete immunization rates in these villages to 90 percent. Childhood immunization rates are at 82 percent in the United States.

Avera St. Luke’s Home Health and Avera Sacred Heart Home Care Win Awards for Excellence

Avera St. Luke’s Home Health is the recipient of the 2008 South Dakota Quality Award for Excellence in Home Care, the only agency to receive this top honor in the statewide award program. This award recognizes high performance and commitment to providing high-quality home care services, particularly in clinical areas designated important by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Avera Sacred Heart is the recipient of the 2008 Quality Award for Achievement in Home Care. The award recognizes home health agencies that have distinguished themselves through commitment to providing high-quality home care services and achievement in clinical areas.

The awards are given by the South Dakota Foundation for Medical Care, the Medicare quality improvement organization for South Dakota. The awards were presented April 17 at the South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations (SDAHO) Spring Continuing Care Conference in Pierre.

Avera St. Luke’s Cancer Program Honored

Avera St. Luke’s Cancer Program has been honored by the Commission on Cancer, receiving its Outstanding Achievement Award for 2007. The award recognizes cancer programs that strive for excellence in providing quality care to cancer patients. Nationwide, only 67 programs (approximately 15 percent) received this award as a result of all facility surveys performed in 2007.

Avera McKennan Recognized for Art Advocacy

Avera McKennan recently received a 2008 Sioux Falls Mayor’s Award for the Arts in the category of Outstanding Organizational Advocacy. The arts are a priority in Avera’s healing ministry, which cares for the whole person, body, mind and spirit.

Art collections in the Avera Behavioral Health Center and the Dougherty Hospice House are examples of how Avera McKennan promotes the arts for the benefit of the community by donating commissioned works of art and monetarily supporting programs and events that promote the arts and cultural life of the community.

South Dakota Department of Social Services Receives Funding for Three Avera Projects

The South Dakota Department of Social Services recently received funding for six grants from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, three of which will be provided in connection with Avera. They include:

• Sioux Falls School-Based Health Pilot. The proposed project will pilot a school-based health center at a public high school in Sioux Falls, S.D. By providing convenient, alternative access to non-emergent health care, this program seeks to reduce the number of Sioux Falls high school students seeking non-emergent care in area emergency rooms. A mid-level health care provider, employed by Avera McKennan, will be available to students each day of the week for four hours for primary care. The existing school nurse will fill the critical role of helping to build awareness of the services provided, triage cases and identify students in need. Funding Amount: $732,022 for a two-year period. 
• Urgent-Care Clinic Development. This project proposes to open an urgent-care clinic in Wagner, S.D., to provide services on nights and weekends, almost doubling the current available hours of non-emergency health care services in this community. Three clinic rooms will be outfitted for urgent-care needs. Additionally, a provider will be hired to cover the extended shifts. It is estimated that 1,800 visits, representing several hundred people, will be made to the urgent-care clinic. Funding Amount: $907,609 for a two-year period.
• South Dakota Telehealth Urgent-Care Clinic Project. This pilot project will allow patients to receive primary care after hours in their home clinic. Three pilot sites will be selected and will each have a nurse to facilitate needed urgent care through telehealth technology linked to an urgent-care physician located in Sioux Falls. This service will offer the additional benefit of providing local access to specialty consults, making it easier for individuals to seek timely care for management of serious chronic conditions, such as diabetes and chronic heart failure. The provision of this service will decrease inappropriate emergency room use, increase access to urgent care and result in better health outcomes for South Dakotans in rural counties. Funding Amount: $492,955 for a two-year period.

Avera Health Plans Hosts Open House

Avera Health Plans hosted a successful open house and ribbon cutting on May 1 to showcase their new office. A crowd estimated at 200 was present to share in the celebration.

Avera Health Plans occupies approximately 11,500 square feet of office space and is poised for future growth. Today, Avera Health Plans provides health care insurance benefits for more than 50,000 members in group, individual and Medicare product lines.

Avera McKennan Plans New Cancer Institute

The new Avera Cancer Institute, a 217,000-square-foot, $90-million building, will offer the latest technology and provide an integrated cancer treatment facility to help patients overcome the nation’s second-leading cause of death. The facility also will be home to an eight-operating-room, state-of-the-art outpatient surgical center. The ground breaking is planned for May 19. The new Avera Cancer Institute is expected to open in the fall of 2010.

Cancer cases are projected to increase by 23 percent this decade, reaching 1.6 million cases nationwide in 2010. In South Dakota, 4,000 new cases are diagnosed every year, and Avera McKennan has seen a 24-percent increase in cancer service since 2002. Meanwhile, the care and treatment of cancer patients is undergoing tremendous change, fueled by this increased incidence of cancer due to an aging population and important advances in early detection.

Patients and their families will find not only the best evidence-based treatments, latest technology and comforts, but also the largest holistic or integrative medicine program in the region featuring prayer, meditation, yoga, acupuncture, massage, healing touch, aromatherapy and music therapy, and diet and nutrition counseling. Integrative medicine is seen by patients and practitioners alike as an important aspect of cancer care. In fact, 70 percent of cancer patients today are using complementary or integrative medicine.

The Avera Cancer Institute is striving for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)® certification by the U.S. Green Building Council and currently is registered as a LEED project. LEED design incorporates aspects of energy and water conservation, as well as use of carefully selected sustainable and green materials (laminates, paints, glues, flooring) and a commitment to local building materials including granite from Big Stone City and brick from North Dakota. The landscaping includes natural prairie grasses requiring little or no maintenance or water and a rooftop garden.

Avera System-Wide Marketing Initiatives Receive Prestigious National Healthcare Advertising Awards

The Avera brand campaign newspaper advertising series promoting Avera eICU®CARE, cardiac care, heart care and surgery at Avera was awarded a Gold in its category at the 25th Annual Healthcare Advertising Awards. The television cancer care commercial, “Stay Close,” received a Silver. The awards were granted from a field of more than 4,400 entries. The Healthcare Advertising Awards are the primary award for the industry.

Avera McKennan Looking for Big Losers

Challenging people to LOSE BIG, Avera McKennan is initiating the first ever Avera McKennan Community Weight Loss Challenge at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 17, at Falls Park in Sioux Falls. The free kickoff event is open to the public and features a warm-up and presentation by NBC’s “The Biggest Loser: Season Three” Finalist Amy Hildreth.

The Weight Loss Challenge will be similar to NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” in that teams of two-to-eight people will compete in losing the highest percentage of their weight. Teams can be couples, coworkers, neighbors, friends or family members; age 18 or older. The challenge continues for 12 weeks, ending in August. Participation is free-of-charge, with prizes for the most weight loss.

Challenge rules, forms for team registration and weight loss, and a weekly team leader board will be available at www.AveraMcKennanChallenge.org. The site will show percentages of team weight loss week-to-week, as well as helpful information on fitness, nutrition, peer activities, and even mental health aspects of the emotional side of eating. Also through this site, teams can stay informed about seminars or events that reinforce healthy life choices and free community resources, such as the Sioux Falls Parks system.

Avera Leaders in Ministry Program Cohort Named

The 2008-2009 Avera Leaders in Ministry cohort includes from Avera Health Plans: Pam Lewis, director of Sales and Marketing; from Avera Health: Chris Specht, director of Risk Management; from Avera St. Luke’s: K.C. DeBoer, vice president of Operations; and Geoff Durst, chief financial officer; from Avera Holy Family Health: Bill Bumgarner, chief executive officer; from Avera Queen of Peace: Risë Waldera, director of Physician Support Services; and Rochelle Reider, director ICU/Medical/Swing Bed; from Avera St. Anthony’s: Diane Morgan, manager of Kidney Dialysis; from Avera St. Benedict Health Center: Gale Walker, chief executive officer; from Hegg Memorial Health Center Avera: Glenn Zevenbergen, administrator and chief executive officer; from Avera McKennan: Mark Vortherms, regional administrator of Clinic Operations; Dave Flicek, senior vice president of Avera Medical Group; Ron Farr, senior vice president of Finance; and Sr. Mary Thomas, senior vice president of Mission; from Avera Sacred Heart: Kathy Quinlivan, director of Medical Information Systems; and Tim Schwasigner, director of Patient Accounts.

The Avera Leaders in Ministry Program is a nine-month program to assist leaders in deepening personal spirituality and to equip them to foster spirituality across the organization. Designed to integrate theological education and spiritual formation, the program has a strong focus on both understanding the Catholic tradition and fostering the diverse gifts of each participant’s own spiritual tradition.