Jan. 9, 2025

This paid piece is sponsored by Avera Health.

As Avera builds a new six-story tower at its main campus in Sioux Falls, it is developing new spaces of excellence for women’s and children’s services.

“Women’s and children’s services are unique and distinct, yet there is a lot of synergy between the groups. As we developed a plan to update and enhance our spaces, we found innovative and creative ways to build signature spaces for both women and children,” said Dr. Ron Place, regional president and CEO of Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center.

Pediatrics at Avera has been marked by significant growth in the number of providers and specialties.

“We already have excellent pediatric care and growth in specialties at Avera – now we need the state-of-the-art space to deliver expanded options for hospital care,” said Dr. Katherine Wang, Avera neonatologist and clinical vice president of Avera’s women’s and children’s service line.

“Thankfully, the majority of children are healthy and will never need advanced hospital care. For kids who do need to be in the hospital, we have an excellent team who is ready to care for them. Most kids will need only a regular primary care provider close to home as they grow and develop, so that’s a big emphasis in our pediatric care,” Wang said.

More than 400 family practice and general pediatric providers see children age 0 to 18 throughout the Avera system. Well-child checkups are recommended every year – after those very important first two years when babies have numerous visits.

“Primary care providers have a long-term relationship with their patients and monitor developmental milestones,” Wang said. “They screen for general health and wellness, and help parents by providing guidance about immunizations and what to expect as the child grows.”

‘Kids are not tiny adults’

If specialty care is needed, the child can be seamlessly referred to the right place.

“It’s an entire system approach,” Wang said.

“The reasons a child might need specialty care are many and varied,” she said. It might be short term or long term, for conditions such as asthma, mental health, endocrine disorders such as diabetes, orthopedic conditions such as scoliosis, heart defects, blood disorders or developmental disabilities.

“Kids are not tiny adults,” Wang said. “They require care of specialists trained to deliver their distinct medical specialty in the care of children. Avera offers a growing range of pediatric specialties of cardiology, critical care, endocrinology, gastroenterology, infectious disease, neonatology, nephrology, neurology, orthopedics, psychiatry and pulmonology/sleep medicine. Pediatric critical care physicians, neonatologists and pediatric hospitalists are available around the clock for hospitalized children.”

More people are choosing Avera, said Mark Vortherms, vice president for primary care, Avera Medical Group. “We have recruited and continue to recruit multiple physicians within a given specialty to expand pediatric access. We have pediatric physicians at Avera who have been nationally recognized and trained at top institutions all across the U.S.”

‘Walking with families’

When a child needs hospitalization, Avera strives to keep them close to home whenever possible. “We’re not only caring for children, we’re caring for families, and that means keeping children close to home,” Wang said. “Mom and Dad are less worried if they’re 10 minutes away rather than two hours away.” Telemedicine technology extends specialty expertise across the miles.

Avera McKennan is a tertiary referral center for children who need specialty care, but it’s also a hometown hospital for residents of Sioux Falls.

Avera’s dedicated pediatric hospital services are now on the third level of the hospital. With the new tower addition, the pediatric unit and pediatric intensive care unit will move to the east into the new tower, on the same level. Depending on the projected needs, existing pediatric space will be reserved for pediatric growth or converted into medical/surgical beds.

The new children’s space will have lots of natural light, spaces for play, interactive nooks and crannies, and more. It will feature a two-story treehouse climbing and play area that extends up into the fourth floor, which is the neonatal intensive care unit. Decor and feel will be suitable for children of all ages, from infants and toddlers to tweens and teens.

One level above will be Avera’s expanded NICU. The new area will expand upon what Avera began developing in 2015 with family-centered suites.

“What we developed then with the support of generous donors continues to work well,” Wang said. “So our planning was easier; we are expanding and developing upon what we already have.”

The expanded NICU will have more room for twins and triplets.

“The Avera brand of care is coming alongside families and walking with them through their journey – Avera’s compassion in action,” Wang said. “Our new space will help us live this care philosophy even better.”

Population growth in Sioux Falls is one reason behind Avera’s expansion in pediatrics. With that comes overall growing demand for all health care services.

It also has been strategic. “Avera has grown in our neighborhoods with facilities like our Family Health Centers at Dawley Farm and Marion Road, so it’s natural that we are caring for more families,” Vortherms said. Advancements in medicine have brought more treatment options provided by specialists and subspecialists.

‘Taking care of the whole patient’

Avera has been the regional leader in behavioral health and psychiatry for decades. And behavioral health, including inpatient care, is a vital aspect of the pediatric care continuum.

With construction of the Helmsley Behavioral Health Center, Avera recently expanded its space for child and adolescent inpatient care at the Avera Behavioral Health Hospital with new offerings that include adolescent addiction care and partial hospitalization.

“Our behavioral health program has seen incredible growth due to the behavioral health challenges facing youth today,” Vortherms said. “Having a strong mental health program is so important in taking care of the whole patient – in pediatrics and for all ages.”

Over the past decade, Avera has formed service lines that ensure consistent and standardized care across a specialty, across the entire system.

Service lines provide physicians with the ability to share the latest care practices, develop a consistent patient experience and deliver streamlined care between locations and communities.

“With more physicians and more specialties, we are continuing to grow and serve more patients,” Wang said. “In early 2027, we will be excited to move all this expertise into a beautiful new space for hospital care that will only serve to elevate women’s and children’s care at Avera.”

Learn more about pediatrics care at Avera.