Sept. 20, 2023

A health care executive with more than 30 years of leadership experience has been named the next president and CEO of Avera Health.

James Dover, who goes by Jim, most recently led Sparrow Health in Lansing, Michigan. He becomes the third CEO in Avera’s history when he begins Oct. 23.

Dover replaces Bob Sutton, who stepped down as CEO for medical reasons earlier this year.

He was selected by a search committee made up of Avera system members and representatives from the Avera Health board of directors. Sister Mary Kay Panowicz chaired the committee and in a statement said she has a deep confidence in the process and in Dover’s selection.

“For the Avera system members and the Avera board, it was paramount that we find a leader who is committed to Avera’s 125-year legacy of rural health care and our Gospel-based mission to improve the lives of those we serve,” Panowicz said. “In Jim Dover, we see an engaging and compassionate leader who will lead Avera into its next era of serving the community’s health, our dedicated employees and our outstanding medical community.”

Dover will oversee a nationally recognized health system with $3 billion in annual revenue, more than 20,000 employees, a 1,200-member medical group, 37 hospitals, 200 clinics, 40 long-term care facilities, home care and hospice. Avera’s footprint includes locations in South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. Avera is also the region’s largest provider of behavioral health services and operates Avera Health Plans.

“I am humbled and honored to lead such a remarkable organization,” Dover said in a statement. “Avera’s legacy of compassionate care is palpable, and I look forward to helping ensure its future success. It is my personal mission to make a difference in the lives of others. I look forward to meeting all the team members and providers who take care of our patients and communities on a daily basis.”

Dover became president and CEO of Sparrow Health in 2019. The regional health system in mid-Michigan is comprised of more than 120 sites of care, including a tertiary teaching and Level 1 Trauma hospital, four regional hospitals, specialty long-term acute care hospitals, a multispecialty medical group and a provider-sponsored health insurance plan.

Before working at Sparrow Health, Dover served in leadership roles for Hospital Sisters Health System in Springfield, Illinois; Daughters of Charity Health System in Los Altos Hills, California; St. Anthony North Hospital in Westminster, Colorado; and several additional health systems on the West Coast.

Dover received his bachelor’s degree of bacteriology from the University of Idaho, his master’s degree of hospital administration from University of Minnesota and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, which promotes itself as “the gold standard for board certification in health management.”

“As I embark on this next chapter, I am committed to listening, learning and being present and engaged with our employees, our physicians, our leaders and representatives of the communities we serve. I view my role as empowering our workforce, building and maintaining trusted relationships and helping our communities flourish,” Dover said.

Dover was born in California and spent half his life in rural locations in Idaho, Illinois and Washington state. He and his wife, Maria, have been married for 37 years and have four adult children.