About Us
Avera Rural Health Institute
A century of care…a vision for the future
Read the latest Grant Opportunities Newsletter
The Avera Rural Health Institute is an expression of a century-old commitment by the Benedictine and Presentation Sisters to offer high-quality health services to the people who live on the farms and in the small towns of the midwest.
The Avera Rural Health Institute’s focus is to collaborate with community leaders and other agencies to find solutions to problems that affect rural health care. Through educational programs, community health planning, consulting, economic development, leadership development, grant writing and resource identification, the Institute serves communities throughout the region. The Institute also serves as an advocate for public policies and programs that increase access to health services and promote health and safety for rural residents.
Programs and Services
- Education and Conferences
Programs on a wide variety of topics are available through the Avera Rural Health Institute. The Institute will assist community leaders to identify the appropriate speaker or facilitator to address specific topics or needs. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, economic development, technology innovations, health care trends, developing local leadership, new government health care programs and governing board responsibilities. The Institute sponsors a bi-annual Fall conference that brings national leaders in rural health care to our region.
- Community Assessments and Planning
The Avera Rural Health Institute staff can assist local leaders with community health assessments that identify needs, strengths and resources—information that is critical for effective planning. The staff helps leaders determine data gaps, set priorities, and determine the feasibility and possible impact of potential intervention strategies or programs. The assessment information can be used for grant writing or other resource-seeking activities. The process includes developing measurable goals and a plan for achieving them.
- Grant Writing
The Avera Rural Health Institute’s grant writers can help communities identify possible grant opportunities as well as coordinate and write proposals. The Institute has wide experience with federal, state and private grant sources, and has secured grants for rural health providers in amounts as small as $5,000 or as large as $14.5 million. The Institute can coordinate the efforts of several grant applicants if it appears that a group approach will have a greater funding success. The Institute can also assist communities in program management or evaluation once a grant has been awarded.
- Advocacy
Through membership in the National Rural Health Association and in cooperation with the Avera Center for Public Policy, the Avera Rural Health Institute monitors rural health policy developments and promotes legislation that will benefit rural communities.
- Farm Safety Day Camps
The Avera Rural Health Institute, in cooperation with South Dakota Cares, Inc. and the South Dakota State University Cooperative Extension Services, annually sponsors dozens of farm safety day camps in communities throughout the region. More than 19,000 children ages 5 to 15 have attended the SOFY (Save Our Farm Youth) day camps since the program began in 1995.
- Customized services
In addition to the programs and services listed here, the Avera Rural Health Institute is open to helping rural community leaders with other projects. The Institute’s vision is to remain flexible enough to respond to particular needs at a particular time and place, and the Institute staff welcomes the opportunity to help rural leaders find the resources they need.
We welcome your questions about the Avera Rural Health Institute.
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