Avera St. Mary’s Hospital and Countryside Hospice Support and Memory Center are partnering to provide lodging accommodations for patients traveling to Pierre for cancer treatment.
Avera St. Mary’s purchased the Benedictine Sisters’ residence on the 400 block of South Crow Street. One side of the residence will be converted into Countryside’s administrative office and Memory Center. The other side will become a patient guest house, named the St. Benedict Guest House, managed by Countryside.
President and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Mikel Holland says the number of people coming to Avera St. Mary’s is nearly double the amount of patients initially estimated when they set out to build the Helmsley Center.
The St. Benedict Guest House will offer six private bedrooms and bathrooms as well as a communal kitchen, dining room, living room and laundry. Avera and Countryside anticipate the guest house to open in fall 2019.
Benedictine Sisters Mona Kirwan, Adel Sautner and Sandra Meek who currently live in the house. In a joint statement, they said the Benedictine Sisters established St. Mary’s hospital in 1899 when health care was identified as a need. 120 years later, they’re delighted to leave a legacy that continues the sisters’ original mission to meet the needs of the community. The Sisters will return to the Mother of God Monastery in Watertown.
Countryside offers area cancer patients cancer support services, including travel and lodging funds. Radiation-based cancer treatment is often a daily treatment and can take several weeks to complete.
