MITCHELL, SD (Mitchell Now) —Numerous Avera rural and community hospitals have earned a 2025 Performance Leadership Award for excellence.

Numerous Avera hospitals across the Upper Midwest have received 2025 Performance Leadership Awards from the Chartis Center for Rural Health. The awards recognize rural hospitals ranking in the top quartile nationally for quality, outcomes and patient perspective, according to Avera Health.

Awarded hospitals include:

  • South Dakota: Avera De Smet Memorial Hospital; Avera Dells Area Hospital; Avera Gregory Hospital; Avera Hand County Memorial Hospital; Avera St. Benedict Hospital; Avera St. Luke’s Hospital; Avera St. Mary’s Hospital; Community Memorial Hospital Avera (Redfield); Freeman Regional Health Services; Landmann-Jungman Memorial Hospital Avera; Marshall County Healthcare Center Avera; Platte Health Center Avera; St. Michael’s Hospital Avera; Wagner Community Memorial Hospital Avera

  • Minnesota: Avera Granite Falls Health Center; Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center; Avera Tyler Hospital; Pipestone County Medical Center

  • Iowa: Avera Holy Family Hospital; Avera Merrill Pioneer Hospital; Floyd Valley Hospital; Hegg Health Center; Regional Health Services of Howard County; Sioux Center Health

  • Nebraska: Avera Creighton Hospital; Avera St. Anthony’s Hospital

Kevin Post, DO, Chief Medical Officer of Avera Health, said the recognition highlights the system’s commitment to rural care. “This long list of awards is wonderful validation of the high quality care that’s provided in communities across the Upper Midwest,” he said.

The Performance Leadership Awards are based on the results of the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX®, a comprehensive and objective framework for assessing how rural hospitals are performing. INDEX benchmarks are relied upon by rural hospitals, health systems with rural footprints, hospital associations and state offices of rural health to measure performance across multiple areas impacting hospital operations and finance.

“The areas of quality, outcomes, and patient perspective are cornerstones of health care delivery across rural America, and this year’s Performance Leadership Award recipients are establishing a standard of excellence for their rural peers to follow,” said Michael Topchik, Executive Director, Chartis Center for Rural Health. “We are delighted to shine a spotlight on such strong performance and honor the achievement of these hospitals on National Rural Health Day.”

For more information about Avera, visit www.Avera.org/RuralHealth.