Nov. 3, 2020

It wasn’t the first year leaders at Avera likely envisioned when they opened Avera Specialty Hospital one year ago, but the new facility on the Avera on Louise Health Campus delivered in unexpected big ways.

The five-story specialty hospital and connected three-story Avera Medical Group building, comprising 260,000 square feet, were part of the largest building project to date in Avera history. The first patients were seen there Oct. 29, 2019.

The hospital and connected medical building offer specialty care that includes orthopedics, gastroenterology, urogynecology, rheumatology and internal medicine.

“The Avera Specialty Hospital has proven to be exactly what we planned – a consumer-friendly, easy-to-access, modern and technologically advanced health care facility. We’re meeting people where they are with specialty services that are in high demand,” Dave Flicek, president and CEO of Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center, said in a statement.

“We’re tremendously pleased that patients are well-satisfied with amazing care as we help many people to improve their quality of life.”

The specialty hospital had been open for about five months when clinic visits and planned surgeries began to be postponed in late March in the interest of preserving valuable personal protective equipment in the face of the emerging COVID-19 pandemic.

“We continued doing urgent and emergent cases, but our regular volumes were down to a minimum,” said Chad Bare, assistant vice president of the Avera on Louise Health Campus.

As Avera planned for a predicted spring/summer surge of cases, cancer and rehab services were temporarily moved to the Avera Specialty Hospital from the main Avera McKennan campus. When the predicted surge was lower than expected and Avera was fully stocked with PPE, those services moved back to the Avera McKennan campus, and Avera Specialty Hospital services began to reopen.

“June was our busiest month since our opening, and volumes have been very consistent since then,” Bare said. “We continue to add volume in these specialties and are very much in a growth mode as we move forward in our second year on the Avera on Louise campus.”

Patient feedback has included how easy the location is to find, its easy access to Interstate 229 and ample parking, along with the convenience of having clinic and surgical care in the same location.

“We’ve heard nothing but good things from both patients and providers,” Bare said. “Physicians and staff had significant input in the design of the facility, with features that enhance the patient experience and create a streamlined flow of care. It’s a busy place but seems incredibly calm and quiet from the patient’s vantage point.”

Eight operating rooms are equipped with new technology, including an orthopedic robot and GPS-guided shoulder replacement system for greater precision and accuracy. The operating rooms also have fully integrated surgical suites with 4K video for precision viewing during surgical procedures, as well as videoconferencing capabilities.

“The Avera Specialty Hospital is for me a dream come true,” said Dr. Jonathan Buchanan, an orthopedics specialist with Avera Orthopedics.

“When I was hired, I looked out over this empty cornfield and the recruiter said, ‘There will be a specialty hospital right over there.’ I wasn’t sure I believed it. Since it has been built, however, there has been such a wonderful feeling of healing and health in this space. So many people who have come here seeking relief from pain and suffering have come out smiling. I am happy to be a small part of that.”

The Avera on Louise Health Campus is also home to the Avera Addiction Care Center and Avera Human Performance Center.