SEPTEMBER 20, 2023:
Avera Health has chosen James “Jim” Dover to be the next President and Chief Executive Officer of one of the largest, not-for-profit rural health care systems in the Midwest. His first day with Avera will be Oct. 23, 2023.
Dover was selected by the search committee made up of Avera System Members and representatives from the Avera Health Board of Directors. Sister Mary Kay Panowicz chaired the committee. He joins Avera following Bob Sutton’s resignation early this summer due to a serious health issue. He will be Avera’s third President and CEO.
Dover will oversee a nationally recognized health system with $3 billion in annual revenue, more than 20,000 employees, a 1,200-member medical group, 37 hospitals, 200 clinics, home care, hospice and 40 long-term care facilities. Avera’s footprint includes locations in South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska.
Dover comes to Avera from Lansing, Michigan,-based Sparrow Health where he has served as President and CEO since 2019. Sparrow Health is comprised of a tertiary teaching and Level 1 Trauma hospital, four regional hospitals, specialty long-term acute care hospitals, a multispecialty medical group and a provider sponsored health insurance plan. With more than 120 sites of care, Sparrow cares for a diverse population across a mix of rural and urban geography. Prior to Sparrow Health, Dover served in leadership roles for Hospital Sisters Health System in Springfield, IL; Daughters of Charity Health System in Los Altos Hills, CA; St. Anthony North Hospital in Westminster, CO; and several additional health systems on the West Coast.
Dover received his bachelor’s degree of bacteriology from the University of Idaho, his master’s degree of hospital administration from University of Minnesota and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Avera is the region’s largest provider of behavioral health services and also operates one of the region’s top health insurance plans. As the top executive of Avera, he will provide strategic vision, operational oversight and executive leadership and direction across all aspects of the health system, including leading the Avera senior leadership team as well as interfacing with governance across the system.
Dover was born in California and spent half his life in rural locations such as Idaho, Illinois and Washington state. He and his wife, Maria, have been married 37 years. Together they are proud parents of one adult son, Patrick, and three adult daughters, Michelle, Christina and Kathryn. When not working, Dover enjoys spending time with his wife and family, participating in outdoor activities, and playing tennis.
JULY 20, 2023:
The search for the new President and CEO of Avera Health is ongoing, but the medical care provider has chosen its Chief Financial Advisor to fill the position in the interim.
Julie Lautt, who has been with Avera for 24 years, will take this role effective Aug. 5, 2023. She will continue in her current role while serving as Interim.
In April, current Avera President and CEO Bob Sutton said he will be resigning his position at the end of September (Sept. 30, 2023) because of “a recently diagnosed serious medical condition requiring an intensive treatment regimen.”
Lautt called Sutton a “tremendous strategic leader” who will be dearly missed. She says she looks forward to working with their senior leadership team to continue to ensure Avera’s mission and dedication to the communities it serves remains strong during this period of change.
Lautt was named as Avera’s senior financial steward in 2020, having previously served as Vice President of Operational Finance with Avera Health. From 1999 to 2017, she served at Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center as Controller of Managed Hospitals, Vice President and Corporate Controller and then as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
Prior to joining Avera, Lautt served in several positions including Audit Manager at Coopers & Lybrand and PricewaterhouseCoopers. She is a certified public accountant licensed in Arizona and South Dakota. She is also a Chartered Global Management Accountant and member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Lautt has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree with majors in accounting and mathematics from the University of South Dakota.
Julie and husband Jeff have six adult children.
APRIL 17, 2023:
Avera President and CEO Bob Sutton is resigning his position at the end of September (Sept. 30, 2023).
In a news release, Avera says Sutton made the decision to step down because of a recently diagnosed serious medical condition that requires an intensive treatment regimen.
During Sutton’s 10 years, five as the President and CEO, Avera has opened numerous building projects including the campuses in Gregory and Gettysburg that now include a new hospital, clinic and long-term care facilities; the Helmsley Center in Pierre, which brought radiation oncology to the region; the Avera Specialty Hospital in Sioux Falls; the opening of South Dakota’s first free-standing emergency departments; and the expansion of the Avera Behavioral Health Hospital, adding the first psychiatric urgent care to the area.
Prior to becoming the President and CEO, he served as Avera’s Executive Vice President of Human Resources. He has been with Avera since 2013 and served in roles that include Regional President and CEO of Avera St. Mary’s Hospital in Pierre and Senior Vice President of Community Relations.
Sutton says, “It has been an honor to lead this rural health system.” He thanks people for their support and says he’s “facing this time with confidence in my care team and a grateful, hopeful heart.”
Sutton is married to Lori, his wife of 32 years. They have two children.
An executive search firm is being retained and a national search will start in the coming months for the next leader of the Avera Health system.
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