Jan. 6, 2023

The CEOs of Avera Health and Avera McKennan became chauffeurs for a time this week as part of a systemwide effort to help employees get to work during the winter storm.

“I was honored and very grateful that the president and CEO gave me a ride to work,” said Rosley Ramirez, a sterile processing technician at Avera McKennan, as she sat next to CEO David Flicek.

Avera Health CEO Bob Sutton also was among the drivers, including taking several in to work overnight shifts Wednesday night.

Avera leveraged a call center typically used for emergency response to coordinate more than 450 rides among colleagues from Tuesday night to Thursday morning.

The system also reserved hotel rooms for employees living out of town who needed a place to stay so they could continue to work.

“Avera is such a wonderful organization. Whether it’s a tornado, pandemic, flood or major winter storm, our people always pull together to help each other,” said Lindsey Meyers, vice president of public relations, communication and digital.

So many employees volunteered to pick up people that the call center was organized to match employees with drivers in just a few hours, she said.

“We are so grateful for our dedicated employees who stayed in a hotel or at a friend’s house to ensure they could be there to care for others.”