The 38th annual Avera Race Against Cancer on Saturday, May 9, drew 8,636 participants and raised more than $950,000 through events in cities across the Avera footprint, including Sioux Falls, Aberdeen, Mitchell, Pierre and Yankton, SD and Marshall, MN.

Sanford Health in Minot has expanded its family medicine team with two new familiar faces at the Sanford Northwest Clinic.

From infants to seniors, hearing loss affects people of all ages. However, despite being relatively common—and increasing in frequency in the United States and worldwide—hearing loss routinely goes undetected and unaddressed. This is the situation Yankton Medical Clinic audiologists are hoping to change this May, which is National Speech-Language-Hearing Month.

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S. affecting one in five people according to the American Academy of Dermatology.

Prairie Lakes Healthcare System (PLHS) supports the community with a wide range of events and support groups. For more details and to register for an event, please visit prairielakes.com/calendar.

May 10-16, which overlaps Mother’s Day, is recognized as National Women’s Health Week. This year, the federal Office of Women’s Health and North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS) are promoting the theme: “Prevention, Innovation, and Impact: A New Era in Women’s Health,” and focusing attention on prevention and early detection of women’s health issues, chronic diseases and science-based care.

A new student organization at the University of South Dakota is already making a big impact just eight weeks after its launch.

Get ready to kick off this year’s Rural Health Leaders Conference with a truly unforgettable perspective. Opening keynote speaker Jon Carmichael brings a story that’s as breathtaking as it is inspiring – capturing a once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse from 39,000 feet by daring to think beyond limits. His electrifying message will challenge conference attendees to embrace bold ideas, navigate uncertainty, and seize the defining moments that shape the future.

New American Heart Association Presidential Advisory outlines contributors to and consequences of the current health care affordability crisis, proposes five guiding principles for action by lawmakers and policymakers

Sanford Health, the nation’s leading rural nonprofit health system dedicated to transforming the health care experience, and North Memorial Health, a nonprofit health system based in the Twin Cities focused on empowering patients to achieve their best health, have signed a definitive agreement to come together as a single nonprofit health system – advancing their shared commitment to improving health, ensuring long-term financial sustainability and broadening access to care throughout the region.nd Worthington.

Mary Lanning Healthcare received reaccreditation recently by the Joint Commission as a Certified Primary Stroke Center. The MLH Stroke Program has been accredited since 2011.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center has formally established the Office for the Advancement of Military Medicine (OMM), a new institutional office that will facilitate UNMC’s military medicine, biodefense and civilian-military health integration programming and work to develop new initiatives in this space.

CHI Health St. Francis invites the community to its FREE Summer Safety Spectacular from 5 to 7 pm on Thursday, May 21 in the hospital’s parking lot. 

University of Minnesota leaders and faculty, state officials, clinic staff and patient board members will break ground today on a new Community-University Health Care Center building. Twice the size of the current clinic, the new, advanced facility will expand patient access, enhance care delivery and strengthen the University’s health professional training programs. 

When it comes to patient safety, CHI Health St. Elizabeth has achieved the highest Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group. As an “A” rated hospital, this means the team at St. Elizabeth sets the standard for excellence in patient care, being recognized for their ability to protect patients from medical errors, accidents, injuries, and infections.

Dakota Vascular is expanding access to specialized vascular care through a new outreach partnership with UnityPoint Health - Fort Dodge. Beginning in June, this collaboration will provide expanded physician coverage to broaden access and scope of vascular services available.  

The fourth annual Swing Training event returns to Suite Shots on Wednesday, May 13, from 2:30 to 6 p.m.  Swing Training is Sanford Health Fargo’s official kickoff event to the sixth annual Roger Maris All-Star Week.

Platte Valley Medical Clinic has been recognized with the Murj CARE (Cardiology Achievement and Recognition of Excellence) Award, a national honor celebrating outstanding performance in the management of Cardiovascular Implantable Electronic Devices (CIEDs).

The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has made a $3.2 million grant to the Civica Foundation to fund the Civica Rural Hospital Program, a new initiative to significantly expand access to essential generic medicines for rural and critical access hospitals across nine states.

Eight Sanford Health hospital locations across four states have been recognized for their dedication to heart patients by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) in the ACC advertising insert in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report “Best Hospitals” Guidebook.

CHI Health Good Samaritan and CHI Health St. Francis have both received an “A” Hospital Safety Grade rating from The Leapfrog Group. An “A” rated hospital sets the standard for excellence and safety in patient care, being recognized for their ability to protect patients from medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections.

Looking for a change in your family medicine practice? Join a faculty with wide-ranging and diverse interests that have come together to teach more than 350 graduates, two-thirds of whom enter rural practice!

This week, Avera celebrates all employees who work within its 315 sites of care, including clinics, hospitals, senior living centers and more.

First recognized as the inaugural recipient of the Marion D. and Theodore H. Koefoot, Jr., M.D. Outstanding Preceptor in Rural Family Medicine Award in 2006, Ehresman has once again been honored in 2026, two decades later, for his continued dedication to mentoring the next generation of physicians.

SDAHO’s LifeCircle website offers a rich collection of on-demand education designed to support hospice, palliative care, advance care planning, and more. With pre-recorded webinars  and education available dating back to 2009, it’s a convenient one-stop resource for members seeking timely, practical learning. LifeCircle’s on-demand webinars are available at no cost to members, though registration is required.

Throughout 2026, the South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations (SDAHO) is celebrating 100 years of impact. We’re marking this centennial by sharing the stories and historical milestones that define the association and health care in South Dakota. We recently wrapped up our 26th Annual Post-Acute Partners in Care Conference major event, but only a small chapter in our storied 100-year history, that will go down as one of the biggest milestones in our 100-year story.

The South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations HRET is pleased to announce that the first live hospital and EMS service with the new interfacility platform (Ryde Central) is Mobridge Regional Hospital and Clinics.

Orthopedic Institute (OI) today announced that James T. Brunz, MD, an interventional spine and pain physician, has been designated an Intracept® Center of Excellence physician. This distinction is awarded to a select group of physicians nationwide who demonstrate advanced expertise, clinical experience, and a commitment to best practices in the treatment of chronic vertebrogenic low back pain.

Nearly one in five Americans lives with a mental health condition, yet myths and misinformation continue to shape how people seek — or avoid — care. During Mental Health Awareness Month in May, University of Minnesota experts are setting the record straight with evidence-based research, new treatments and workforce innovations that are changing how mental health conditions are understood and treated.

The South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations (SDAHO) is pleased to announce that Clinical Improvement Consultant Loretta Bryan, BSN, RN, CPHQ, will be presenting at the upcoming annual Yankton Area Mental Wellness Conference taking place June 3–4, 2026. This year’s conference is titled, “Honoring Growth: Advancing Mental Health for All” and will be held at the Yankton High School.