PIERRE — Avera St. Mary’s Hospital and other major Avera Hospitals in South Dakota have been named among the Top 100 Rural and Community Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals in the county. Other Avera hospitals joining the Top 100 are Scared Heart in Yankton; St Luke’s in Aberdeen and Queen of Peace in Mitchell. Queen of Piece also is on the Top 20 list from the National Rural Health Association. Avera’s Hand County Memorial Hospital was selected a Top 100 Critical Access Hospital. On the list with Hand County Memorial are Avera partner hospitals in Redfield and Pipestone, Minnesota. The Top 20 Critical Access Hospital list will be announced in a few months. The Chartis Rural Hospital Performance Index is used to assess rural hospital performance in a variety of areas impacting hospital operations and finance. Avera president Bob Sutton says Avera is proud of the high quality care their hospitals provide South Dakota.
