Avera has received a $1 million ($1,017,126) federal grant to enhance its ability to provide telemedicine services/virtual patient care and address workforce shortages at 28 rural health care sites– including those in Gettysburg, Gregory, Miller and Platte.
The Avera RURAL-UP: Solving Rural Workforce Challenges in the Upper Midwest with Virtual Patient Care program will get the dollars from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program over a three-year period (through Aug. 2027).
Avera began grant-funded virtual nursing two years ago with pilot sites at Avera St. Mary’s Hospital in Pierre and Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center in Sioux Falls. Avera RURAL-UP implements virtual nursing models that mitigate staff shortages by enabling clinical staff to provide care remotely. They support bedside nurses by managing time-consuming, non-hands-on tasks such as patient education, admissions, discharge protocols and safety surveillance, allowing bedside nurses to focus on direct patient care.
Director of Virtual Health Kris Becker says Avera has a long history in virtual services and telehealth. She says virtual nursing is one of the newest platforms and this grant will enable them to expand Avera RURAL-UP to 28 locations in South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa.
Grant funding will cover the acquisition and implementation of real-time, interactive telemedicine equipment (including Artisight Connect TV Sticks, AI-powered mobile carts, surveillance cameras and remote audio-visual communication tools) at Avera locations, primarily in rural communities.
Avera hospitals in the following communities will receive virtual nursing equipment through this grant:
- South Dakota
- De Smet
- Dell Rapids
- Flandreau
- Freeman
- Gettysburg
- Gregory
- Milbank
- Miller
- Mitchell
- Parkston
- Platte
- Redfield
- Scotland
- Tyndall
- Yankton
- Wagner
- Wessington Springs
- Minnesota
- Granite Falls
- Marshall
- Pipestone
- Tyler
- Nebraska
- Creighton
- O’Neill
- Iowa
- Estherville
- Rock Rapids
- Rock Valley
- Sibley
- Spirit Lake
“The USDA has been an amazing collaborator with Avera to provide the needed equipment for innovation at rural hospitals, which otherwise may not have the financial margin to delve into these areas,” said Rachael Sherard, Senior Vice President for Rural Health at Avera. “We are grateful to have received 23 USDA grants to fund innovative care over the past 15 years.”
Rachael Sherard.
Courtesy photo.
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