Avera, the health ministry of the Benedictine and Presentation Sisters, serves the people of eastern South Dakota and surrounding states with hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and other health services at more than 100 locations. Caregivers are supported by the resources and expertise of the region's largest health system. Management and other support services are provided through the Avera Central Office in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and its four largest hospitals, or regional centers: Avera St. Luke's in Aberdeen, SD; Avera Queen of Peace in Mitchell, SD; Avera McKennan in Sioux Falls, SD; and Avera Sacred Heart in Yankton, SD. "Benedictine Sisters first came to South Dakota from Maryville, Missouri at the invitation of Bishop Martin Marty, OSB to work in the new Dakota Territory and start a new foundation. They homesteaded in Zell, South Dakota, and then took over the bishop’s house and school in Yankton. Their rich health-care tradition began in 1897 when Bishop Thomas O’Gorman asked them to convert their academy and orphanage into Sacred Heart Hospital in response to the need for a clean, quiet place for the sick and injured."
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