Avera St Luke's

Description

About Avera St Lukes Hospital
Avera St Lukes Hospital was established in 1901 in Aberdeen SD as a 15bed hospital by the Presentation Sisters We have grown into a regional medical center that offers a comprehensive array of medical and health services to people living in the surrounding 10 counties around Aberdeen

History

Rich History at Avera St Lukes
It was a diphtheria epidemic at the turn of the century in Aberdeen South Dakota that led to the beginning of what is now called Avera St Lukes Hospital

The Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary more commonly referred to as the Presentation Sisters were fulfilling their calling as teachers by operating a school for kindergarten through eighthgrade students in the community When the epidemic struck local physicians asked the Sisters for help They converted their classrooms to sick wards and served the community until the epidemic subsided

As a result of their response the doctors and citizens of Aberdeen asked the Sisters to establish a hospital On Oct 18 1901 St Lukes Hospital a 15bed facility was dedicated as the pioneer healthcare facility of the Presentation Sisters who would go on to establish hospitals in Mitchell and Sioux Falls SD and Miles City Mont within the next 10 years

As soon as it opened St Lukes Hospital became very busy and expanded in 1903 1907 and 1913 Then in 1926 the South Dakota Department of Health called for a considerable amount of updating of the facilities The Sisters decided that building a newer expanded facility was a better choice than revamping the old The result was a new modern St Lukes in 1928 with a capacity of 159 beds Other historic points of interest over the years include

1940s
A polio epidemic sweeps the region and St Lukes becomes the Center for the National Foundation for Polio Six iron lungs are flown in and the Presentation Sisters begin physical therapy services for the first time

1963
St Lukes Hospital becomes the focus of national and international headlines when the Fischer quintuplets were born and all survived Guards were posted to protect the family from the swarms of reporters who converged on the hospital

1972
A new South Wing is added to the 1928 building creating a new entrance with a large lobby new admissions and business office areas a new cafeteria as well as new patient rooms on the 3rd and 4th floors

1988
St Lukes consolidates with the other private hospital that was built in Aberdeen in 1968 Dakota Midland Hospital The merger changes the name of St Lukes to St Lukes Midland Regional Medical Center

1991
The hospital gets in the international spotlight again with the birth of the SchweitzerUchytil twins The twins were carried to term by their grandmother but were the biological children of her daughter and her daughters husband

1993
A new East Wing is built to provide an improved Emergency Department a larger and improved Patient Admissions area a Same Day Surgery Center and expanded surgical suites Outpatient Services Kidney Dialysis an Endoscopy Department Cardiac Rehab facilities a CardiacAngiography Lab an MRI exam room and a consolidated complete Laboratory

1994
The hospital merges with the longterm care facilities at Mother Joseph Manor in Aberdeen beginning the movement toward providing a full continuum of care

1997
Davis Court Apartments are completed adjacent to Mother Joseph Manor offering retirement living facilities with health services

1998
The medical center announces a merger with United Clinic a primary care physician clinic in Aberdeen to enhance the coordination of health care services for the future

2000
Nano Nagle Village an assisted living facility adjacent to Mother Joseph Manor is completed

The Presentation Sisters of Aberdeen and the Benedictine Sisters of Yankton join their health ministries and become cosponsors of a new organization called Avera Health St Lukes becomes Avera St Lukes cosponsored by the Presentation and Benedictine Sisters

2002
Eureka Health Care Center is added to our longterm care division

2005
Avera St Lukes Physical amp Aquatic Therapy Center opens including the regions largest warm water therapy pool

2006
Construction is completed on a new fourstory 70000squarefoot hospital addition that houses a new ICU and the BirthPlace as well as physician clinics Avera St Lukes also expanded the variety and accessibility of diagnostic imaging in the region with the construction of a freestanding imaging center A 10000squarefoot medical office building was built adjacent to the Imaging Center in Avera St Lukes Healthcare Plaza

2008
New State Street Medical Square a medical office building is completed near the hospital with Aberdeen Family Physicians as the anchor tenant

2009
The new Same Day Surgery area part of our revamped Surgery Center includes 22 same day surgery patient rooms including four flex rooms an all new and spacious postsurgery recovery area a large and comfortable waiting room plus two private familyphysician consultation rooms In phase two of our surgical remodeling project work was completed on seven operating suites each designed for special surgical procedures

TODAY
Our medical center is licensed for 133 beds and cares for nearly 6000 inpatients each year Outpatient visits have reached nearly 215000 per year

More than 1500 employees serve in Avera St Lukes hospital clinics and longterm care divisions The medicaldental staff which features more than 80 local physicians who represent 34 specialties provides outreach clinics in smaller communities in the Aberdeen region