Avera Bulletin - November 2008

Avera Haiti Project Requests Assistance

Bob Voglewede, Avera senior vice president of Mission Services, is looking for a contact for litters. The villages served by the Haitian Health Foundation (HHF) need them to carry patients down mountain paths to the point where the HHF ambulance can reach them.

Bob adds that during the recent working trip, the importance of Vitamin A pills and Flintstone vitamins was reiterated. Tiny knitted caps also are in demand for newborns who live in the mountains where the nights get chilly.

Avera Begins Quality Story Catching Project

Most Avera colleagues enter the medical profession to make a difference in people’s lives and in response to a calling to heal the sick and to provide a very unique kind of service. However, the current business environment, quality and technology agendas, reimbursement issues and more divert attention from our patients.

This year’s Avera Quality Report includes a myriad of graphs and numbers as evidence of our work to improve the lives of our patients. While these achievements are important to communicate, the real proof of our quality initiatives is the stories we hear of patients who weren’t expected to live but now are back to work; the families who were given the gift of extra time with a loved one; the parents who took their daughter home even though she was born two months too early. Stories like these are why Avera colleagues chose our profession.

Theologian John Shea says, “We are the stories God tells. Our very lives are the words God speaks.” To articulate the healing ministry of Jesus as told in the Gospels and retold each day in patient care encounters is a healing activity in itself.

Do you know a story of a patient who because of the care he or she received at Avera survived against all odds? Someone who can put a face to the graphs and statistics? Let us know. To submit a story about the impact of Avera’s quality care on a patient, e-mail Clare Willrodt at clare.willrodt@avera.org. Your story need not be polished completely. Clare and the Avera Marketing staff will help you tell it.

Avera Nurses Celebrated at Sixth Avera Nursing Conference

Avera nurses from around the region were recognized at the recent Avera Nursing Conference on Nov. 6, 2008, in Sioux Falls:

• Angie McCain of Avera Queen of Peace Hospital received the Avera Nursing Distinguished Service Leader Award.
• Randy Pudwill of Avera St. Luke’s was this year’s Avera Nursing Distinguished Service Care Provider.
• Kathy Gubin of Avera St. Luke’s received this year’s Avera Nursing Innovation Award.
• Abby Small of Sunset Manor/Avera Health received one of three Avera Nursing Visionary Awards. The second went to Glenda VanRoekel of Avera McKennan Hospital. Sheryl Boogerd of Hegg Memorial Health Center Avera received the third.
• The Avera Nursing Commitment to Caring recipient was Linda Buck of Avera St. Luke’s.
• Davy Uecker of Avera Queen of Peace Hospital was this year’s Avera Nursing Clinical Quality Initiatives Award recipient.
• Katie Huff of Avera Sacred Heart received this year’s Avera Nursing Novice to Expert Award.
• Laurie Jo Johansen of Tyler Healthcare Center Avera received this year’s Avera Nursing Friend of Education Award.

Avera St. Luke’s and Two Employees Honored by American Cancer Society

Avera St. Luke’s and two of its employees recently were honored with awards from the American Cancer Society at the 2008 South Dakota Regional Leadership Summit in Sioux Falls. Avera St. Luke’s received the Corporate Crown Award – Health Promotions for the South Dakota region.

• Eileen Damgaard of the Education Department received the Sword of Hope – Health Promotions for vision and creativity that further the American Cancer Society’s mission.
• Brenda Glasford of the Business Office was recognized with the Outstanding Media Spokesperson Award for her service as the local publicity chair for the American Cancer Society and her passion for working one-on-one with representatives from Brown County media sources.

People News

• Angela Chesley is the new vice president of Patient Care Services at Avera Marshall. She brings 26 years of nursing experience, including 18 years in hospital management, to the new role.
• Birdie Childress is the new executive assistant to John Porter, Avera president and CEO. Birdie replaces Joanne Herman, who served Mr. Porter for 23 years and is now in Human Resources at Avera Sacred Heart. Joan Storer, a support specialist with Avera Health Plans, will assume Birdie’s role as administrative assistant to Jean Reed, senior vice president of Governance and Strategy.
• Ron Cork, president and CEO of Avera St. Anthony’s Hospital, is the 2008 winner of the American Hospital Association Shirley Ann Munroe Leadership Award. The award recognizes the accomplishments of small- or rural-hospital leaders who have improved health care delivery in their communities through innovative and progressive efforts.
• Todd Forkel has been named vice president of Avera St. Luke’s Clinic Division and Outreach Services. Forkel worked at Avera St. Luke’s from 1994 to 2005 and served as director of Imaging Services. Then he was an administrator at Mayo Clinic, overseeing departments that included 125 physicians. Forkel spent the last 2.5 years with Innovis Health in Fargo, N.D., as vice president of Operations for Specialty Clinics and Acute Care Services. The Innovis Health Specialty Clinics include 85 physicians. 
• Laurie Ness, director of Health Information, Compliance and Credentialing at Pipestone County Medical Center & Family Clinic Avera, recently was elected to a two-year term as mayor of Pipestone, effective Jan. 5, 2009.
• Ron Van Dyke, a physical therapist and supervisor of Avera St. Luke’s Physical and Aquatic Therapy Center in Aberdeen, has been chosen president-elect of the South Dakota Physical Therapy Association.Van Dyke also has obtained certification as an orthopedic specialist through the American Physical Therapy Association.

Medical Staff Notes

• Dr. John Barker Jr., gastroenterologist with Avera Gastroenterology Clinic in Sioux Falls, recently received the Young at Heart Award from the South Dakota Medical Association. The award is presented to a physician who has inspired young physicians as a mentor, role model and leader.