May 15, 2007

Avera Launches New Marketing Campaign

Attendees at the Avera Management Conference on May 7-10, 2007, and employees at special forums on May 10-12, viewed the inaugural launch of Avera’s new marketing campaign and Look no further tagline. The work is the product of more than a year of research and planning and includes print, television, outdoor and other collateral material.

A key emphasis of Look no further is the value that consumers say they place on Avera’s unique model, which works to partner with physicians and communities to meet local needs and provide quality health care, close to home throughout the region – a unique feature that sharply distinguishes the Avera brand. Look no further also gives voice to Avera’s system strength, complete offering of specialty care, technological sophistication clinical excellence, and industry leadership. In essence, Avera has it all; consumers, employees and partners need not look anywhere else.

Images used in the campaign are at once distinct and differentiating, thought-provoking, attention-grabbing and highly relatable on a human level. The viewer is drawn in by the initial image and then convinced of Avera’s value through proof points.

Many employees viewed the new campaign at special showings arranged throughout the region. Others participated via teleconference or by logging onto averanet, where the video produced for the launch that features Avera President and CEO John Porter and the first four television commercials of the campaign can be seen for a limited time. A special edition All of Us describes the campaign in further detail.

The campaign serves as a rallying cry for employees and partners who may be surprised at the scope and significance of Avera’s accomplishments. Avera employees consistently rate the organization above national norms for other health care organizations in all employee satisfaction indicators. Avera employees celebrate that they need Look no futher for job satisfaction.

The more than 650 attendees at the Avera Management Conference highly endorsed the campaign. They also gave high marks to motivational speakers Russell Wright and Frank McGuire.

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Sr. Joan Reichelt, Avera senior vice president of Culture, gave this reflection on Look no further:

God speaks to us in mysterious ways. We aren’t always paying attention or listening, and so we miss the message. I believe God has been speaking to us at Avera for some months now with a “reminder” message.

We know change in life is inevitable, and everything that grows and is living experiences change. Months ago, leadership at Avera began looking at how the public perceived us, what we were telling them about ourselves, how we were doing that and indeed, how we perceived ourselves.  We engaged a marketing firm from Milwaukee , and after extensive research and study, a new marketing campaign was developed – even a new tagline.

And that’s the hidden message I believe God is telling us. Yes, it is presented as an external word to our public: Avera is close to you, there for you and responsive to your needs. But it has an internal meaning for all of us. We claim God to be our hope, our salvation, our strength and our shield. That is true. God says to us, “I am your hope.” Avera, look no further. “I am your salvation and your strength.” Avera, look no further. “I have been your guide and your leader for more than 100 years.” Avera, look no further. “I will be with you always because you are carrying out my ministry.” Avera, look no further. “I love you.” Avera, look no further.

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Avera colleagues are encouraged to e-mail their feedback on the new marketing campaign and tagline to allofus@avera.org.

Avera Foundations Rally Disaster Assistance

Tornadoes and heavy rains fell across the Avera region recently leaving disaster in their wake. Property damage is extensive and many people in flooded areas are holding their breath to see if basements will collapse once the water recedes.

If you can make a financial contribution of $25, $50, $100, $500 or any size, direct your gift to relief efforts based in communities experiencing these hardships. The Avera Foundation will match the first $15,000.

Bring your check to your local Avera foundation office or send it along with a note that it is for local disaster assistance. Your gift and your prayers are very important.

Please call 605-322-4750 or email jerry.soholt@avera.org if you have any questions

Maertens Accepts CEO Position at Avera Marshall

Mary Maertens, interim CEO of Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center, recently accepted the CEO position there. She has worked at Avera Marshall since 1988 in a variety of roles including staff nurse, assistant head nurse, director of home health, vice president for home health services and network development. She hold’s a master’s degree in health care administration from the University of Minnesota and has a current nursing home administrator license. She has been involved in physician recruitment efforts, planning for a behavioral health center, organizational strategic planning, joint venture planning and forming partnerships with key stakeholder groups in the region. She is an active member of the Marshall community.

“I am grateful for this opportunity to lead Avera Marshall in building upon our successes and serving the health care needs of our region,” said Mary. “I am committed to our vision of providing comprehensive services, updated technology, customer service excellence and partnerships with primary and specialty care physicians.”

2008 Haiti Dates Slated

Avera Senior Vice President of Mission Services Bob Voglewede recently announced dates for Avera’s two working visits to the Haitian Health Foundation in Jeremie, Haiti. The first visit is May 17-25, 2008, and the second is Oct., 18-26, 2008. Those interested in learning more about the visits can call Bob at the Avera Health Central Office, (605)322-4708, or e-mail him at bob.voglewede@avera.org

Avera McKennan Named to Solucient 100 Top Hospitals

Evanston, Ill.-based health care information firm Solucient named Avera McKennan to its 100 Top Hospitals® National Benchmarks for Success – 2006 list. The award recognizes hospitals that have achieved excellence in clinical outcomes, patient safety, financial performance, efficiency and patient volume growth.

By combining the last two year’s publicly available data sets and empirical, time-tested methodologies, the 100 Top Hospitals® program objectively identifies the highest performers in the nation. The study benchmarks the industry's management and clinical outcomes to help hospital boards and executives ask the right questions about organizational performance and assess the effectiveness of their own strategies and execution.

The 100 Top Hospitals® have higher survival rates, keep more patients complication-free and attract more patients. It is estimated that if all Medicare inpatients received the same level of care as those in the 100 Top Hospitals winners:

• More than 100,000 additional patients would survive each year
• More than 114,000 patient complications would be avoided annually
• Expenses would decline by an aggregate $10.9 billion a year
• The average patient stay would decrease by more than half a day

If the same standards were applied to all inpatients, the impact would be even greater.

The 100 Top Hospital award winners also:

• Can use positive reporting to report successes to their communities
• Reward their employees with better pay
• Have better patient safety, saving lives and dollars

State and National Leaders Visit Wessington Springs

Several state and national health care officials recently toured the health care campus in Wessington Springs. Sandra Durick, assistant director of the South Dakota Office of Rural Health was joined by Steve Hirsch, public health analyst for the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy; Karen Beckman, senior public health analyst for the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy; and Rachael Sherard, executive director of the Avera Rural Health Institute. Kayleen Lee, CEO of Avera Weskota Memorial Medical Center and Weskota Manor Avera; Tom Dean, MD, chief of staff; and Janet Kolousek, office manager of Horizon Health Care, Inc., hosted a tour of the health care campus.  Lee said, “It is truly an honor to host these dignitaries in Wessington Springs at our health care complex.”

Avera Community Benefit Work Featured in USA Today Advertisement

Avera’s community benefit work is getting national attention in a  full-page ad created by the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA) that appears in the May 8 issue of USA Today. The ad announces that CHA-member hospitals across the country have provided community benefit programs and services valued at a remarkable $5.7 billion! The ad brings well-deserved attention to the fine work of Catholic hospitals in their efforts to improve the health status of the communities they serve. Similar ads will be appearing in two Capitol Hill publications, Roll Call and Congress Daily AM, and in the Catholic newspaper, Our Sunday Visitor. To view the ad, go to www.chausa.org.