Avera Hospitals Receive 2025 Performance Leadership Awards

Numerous Avera rural and community hospitals have earned a 2025 Performance Leadership Award for excellence.

Compiled by The Chartis Center for Rural Health, the Performance Leadership Awards recognize top quartile performance (i.e., 75th percentile or above) among rural hospitals in the three categories of quality, outcomes and/or patient perspective.

Avera hospitals receiving awards include:

• Avera Creighton Hospital, Creighton, Neb. – Quality

• Avera De Smet Memorial Hospital, De Smet, S.D. – Quality

• Avera Dells Area Hospital, Dell Rapids, S.D. – Quality and Patient Perspective

• Avera Gregory Hospital, Gregory, S.D. – Patient Perspective

• Avera Granite Falls Health Center, Granite Falls, Minn. – Quality

• Avera Hand County Memorial Hospital, Miller, S.D. – Quality, Outcomes and Patient Perspective

• Avera Holy Family Hospital, Estherville, Iowa – Quality and Patient Perspective

• Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center, Marshall, Minn. – Quality and Outcomes

• Avera Merrill Pioneer Hospital, Rock Rapids, Iowa – Quality

• Avera St. Anthony’s Hospital, O’Neill, Neb. – Quality

• Avera St. Benedict Hospital, Parkston, S.D. – Quality, Outcomes and Patient Perspective

• Avera St. Luke’s Hospital, Aberdeen, S.D. – Outcomes

• Avera St. Mary’s Hospital, Pierre, S.D. – Outcomes

• Avera Tyler Hospital, Tyler, Minn. – Quality

• Community Memorial Hospital Avera, Redfield, S.D. – Quality and Patient Perspective

• Floyd Valley Hospital, Le Mars, Iowa – Outcomes

• Freeman Regional Health Services, Freeman, S.D. – Patient Perspective

• Hegg Health Center, Rock Valley, Iowa – Quality and Patient Perspective

• Landmann-Jungman Memorial Hospital Avera, Scotland, S.D. – Quality

• Marshall County Healthcare Center Avera, Britton, S.D. – Quality and Patient Perspective

• Pipestone County Medical Center, Pipestone, Minn. – Patient Perspective

• Platte Health Center Avera, Platte, S.D. – Patient Perspective

• Regional Health Services of Howard County, Cresco, Iowa – Quality

• St. Michael’s Hospital Avera, Tyndall, S.D. – Quality

• Sioux Center Health, Sioux Center, Iowa – Quality

• Wagner Community Memorial Hospital Avera, Wagner, S.D. – Quality

“Avera excels at rural health care, and this long list of awards is wonderful validation of the high quality care that’s provided in communities across the Upper Midwest. We’re proud of the hardworking teams at these hospitals and their dedication and commitment each and every day,” said Kevin Post, DO, Chief Medical Officer of Avera Health.

The Performance Leadership Awards are based on the results of the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX®, a comprehensive and objective framework for assessing how rural hospitals are performing. INDEX benchmarks are relied upon by rural hospitals, health systems with rural footprints, hospital associations and state offices of rural health to measure performance across multiple areas impacting hospital operations and finance.

“The areas of quality, outcomes, and patient perspective are cornerstones of health care delivery across rural America, and this year’s Performance Leadership Award recipients are establishing a standard of excellence for their rural peers to follow,” said Michael Topchik, Executive Director, Chartis Center for Rural Health. “We are delighted to shine a spotlight on such strong performance and honor the achievement of these hospitals on National Rural Health Day.”