Avera Mckennan

“Gene jones jr., cindy walsh, and fred thurman have a business relationship.”

“The sole member of the organization is avera health, a nonprofit corporation organized and existing under the laws of the state of south dakota and exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code of 1986, as amended.”

“Avera health, as the sole member, has the power to appoint and remove, with or without cause, all members of the board of directors.”

“Avera health has the following rights as the member: 1) to approve the adoption, amendment or repeal of the statements of philosophy, mission and values of corporation; 2) to initiate the adoption, amendment or repeal of any provision of the articles of incorporation or bylaws of corporation, and to give final approval of any such action with respect thereto; 3) to approve and act upon the alienation of real property and precious artifacts under the canonical stewardship of the sisters of the presentation of the blessed virgin mary of aberdeen, south dakota ("presentation sisters") or the benedictine sisters of sacred heart monastery ("benedictine sisters"), pursuant to the policies established by the member; 4) to approve any plan of merger, consolidation or dissolution of the corporation, or the divestiture of a sponsored work or ministry associated with the corporation; 5) to approve the creation of new sponsored works or ministries to be conducted by or under the authority of the corporation; 6) to appoint and remove, with or without cause, the board of directors of the corporation. 7) to appoint and/or remove, with or without cause, the president and chief executive officer of the corporation. 8) to approve operating/capital budgets and strategic plans of the corporation. 9) to approve expenditures outside of operating and capital budgets exceeding defined thresholds according to policy which may be adopted from time to time by the member. 10) to approve acquisitions, sales and leases, according to policy which may be adopted from time to time by the member. 11) to establish and maintain employee benefit programs. 12) to establish and maintain insurance programs. 13) to approve major community fund drives. 14) to approve the appointment of auditors. 15) to adopt policies designed to effectuate the reserved powers of the member.”

“Avera mckennan does not have any committees with authority to act on behalf of the governing body.”

“The form 990 is reviewed by the ceo, cfo, and assistant vp of financial reporting. After the initial review, a draft is provided to the finance committee for their review. The approved return is provided to the full board prior to filing.”

“The conflict of interest policy covers board members, officers, and key employees. At each board meeting, a request is made for all board members to disclose any potential conflict of interest pertaining to any item listed on the agenda or pertaining to any potential item that could be discussed during the course of the meeting. The declaration of conflict of interest is recorded in the meeting minutes. The board makes a determination of whether there is a conflict of interest and if so, implements the procedure for evaluating the issue or transaction involved. The board member or officer with the conflict must refrain from voting. A statement of conflict of interest disclosure is made on an annual basis by officers and directors. The information is maintained in a database and a report is provided to the board.”

“The ceo is compensated by avera health system. Annually the compensation committee of avera health, which is comprised of six (6) system members appointed by the religious orders, meets with an independent consultant regarding fair market value for compensation of officers and key employees. The compensation committee approves all salaries based on comparable data and documents the basis for their decision in meeting minutes. The cfo and key employees are compensated by avera mckennan. Annually, the compensation committee of avera mckennan, which is comprised of board members, meets to review the compensation of executives and physicians. Avera mckennan compares its compensation plan to other healthcare organizations similar in size and complexity to avera mckennan on a national basis to ensure compensation is comparable. Avera mckennan utilizes multiple salary surveys and an independent compensation consultant to provide a market analysis for each executive's suggested pay or pay range. Individual salaries reflect related education and experience, as well as the scope of the duties to assure amounts paid are reasonable.”

“The organization's governing documents and conflict of interest policy are not made available to the general public. The organization's financial statements are attached to the form 990 per irs instructions and therefore available to the general public.”

“There is no written policy or procedure requiring the organization to evaluate its participation in joint venture arrangements. In the event of any such proposed transaction the board, or a committee with delegated authority, reviews all materials, valuations, and operational aspects for any proposed transaction. Such transaction would be evaluated in accordance with the exempt status of the organization and its applicable purposes. Any transaction also must be approved by the board and the member.”

“Information and assistance: avera mckennan operates a 24-hour medical call center, through which patients have access to the ask-a-nurse program. Patients can call a toll-free number and talk personally with a registered nurse to ask health questions or receive general health information. In 2014, the medical call center handled 131,053 calls. Avera mckennan's web site also provides an extensive health library that consumers can access free of charge. Interpreter service: avera mckennan employs two full-time spanish interpreters in-house, and their services are offered to patients free of charge. In addition, in cooperation with external agencies, avera mckennan is able to handle 210 different languages and dialects through phone, video remote interpreting and other means. Interpretation services are available for patients when they are at avera mckennan in person, or when they call by phone. All the above services are provided at no cost to the patient. Prenatal and delivery care: because early and regular prenatal care is important to prevent premature birth, avera mckennan collaborates in a community effort to provide obstetrics care for women who do not qualify for medicaid, but cannot afford health insurance. The program offers prenatal care, and hospital labor and delivery serves for a low fee of $1,000. Women receive care whether they can cover any or all of the fee. Care is provided primarily by first-year family practice residents, supervised by experienced physicians. Through this program in 2014, avera mckennan assisted with 77 births and provided 756 prenatal and post-partum visits. Transport to transplant: avera mckennan developed the transport to transplant project, which removes transportation barriers for patients from rural areas which may prevent them from completing the evaluation and testing needed for kidney and/or pancreas transplant. A van funded through a grant from the avera mckennan foundation is used to transport patients who demonstrate a financial need. Patients are brought to the avera transplant institute for a condensed multi-day evaluation with all testing and visits completed in less than one week. Ultimately, the project results in improved morbidity and mortality, as kidney transplant doubles patient survival as compared to remaining on dialysis. Avera family wellness: this program combines positive activities like violin lessons with family coaching at no charge for children in early childhood programs in the sioux falls school district. The goal is to prevent or lessen the effects of behavioral health conditions on children and families by fostering a positive environment. Over 450 students and their families are enrolled. The walsh family village: this hospitality house complex adjacent to the avera mckennan campus provides a home away from home for patients and their families who come for care at avera mckennan from outside of sioux falls. The project was funded by donations and is operated by avera mckennan. Eleven guest rooms are available. Avera mckennan also donates use of a building in the complex for a ronald mcdonald house for families of pediatric patients. If they can afford it, guests are charged a low fee of $55 per night. Guests are not turned away due to inability to pay the fee. Employees regularly donate non-perishable food items to stock a food pantry for guests. In fy2014, the walsh family village served 6,988 guests, staying in 4,015 nightly rooms a 90 percent occupancy. Avera mckennan provides a subsidy of approximately $192,000 per year to operate the hospitality complex. Prevention and support of substance use disorder: avera mckennan is a partner with face it together sioux falls, a nonprofit organization which serves as the local face and voice for recovery from addiction through its recovery support services, advocacy and awareness programs. Avera has been a partner with face it together since its inception, and in a recent awareness campaign. Community connection”

“Medical fees: program service expenses 9,707,645. Management and general expenses 166,678. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 9,874,323. Ffs other: program service expenses 47,772,595. Management and general expenses 54,982,928. Fundraising expenses 2,596. Total expenses 102,758,119.”

“The issue price includes the filing organization's share of the entire bond issue, which was issued to avera health on behalf of the avera obligated group. The avera obligated group consists of avera health, avera mckennan, avera st. Luke's, avera queen of peace, avera sacred heart, avera st. Mary's and avera marshall. In accordance with irs instructions, information related to the tax exempt bond reporting is being reported on avera health's tax return (ein 46-0422673).”

“Equity transfers, net 2,334,050. Other changes in unrestricted net assets 101,538.”

“The audit committee of avera health, the parent organization of avera mckennan, selects the auditor and reviews the audited financial statements for avera mckennan. Also, the finance committee at avera mckennan takes responsibility for reviewing the audited financial statements.”