Avera Medical Group Brookings and Brookings Health System form Professional Services Agreement

Avera Medical Group Brookings has received status as a provider-based clinic, after working collaboratively to complete a Professional Services Agreement with Brookings Health System. The provider-based status and agreement are effective Jan. 1, 2014.

Provider-Based Clinic is a Medicare status for hospitals and clinics that provide integrated services and meet specific Medicare conditions of participation. The status allows for enhanced reimbursement to better recover operating costs.

By working together, the clinic and hospital will integrate services, resulting in fewer duplications of services. “The financial benefits we realize through this agreement will enhance physician recruitment and potential updates in facilities, including both remodeling and new construction,” said David Flicek, Chief Administrative Officer for Avera Medical Group.

“This change allows us to partner on many levels with Brookings Health System to best serve our patients and community. It will lead to patient care that is more seamless and streamlined,” said Mary Derby, Clinic Administrator for Avera Medical Group Brookings. Patients will not experience any interruption in services, or notice any change in the high level of quality care already provided in Brookings. All staff of both the clinic and hospital will remain employees of their respective organizations.

Integration of health care providers is an important component of health care reform. “The model and delivery of health care are quickly changing; forming this relationship with Avera Medical Group Brookings will strategically position our organizations to better serve our patients and community as we respond to reform initiatives,” said Jason Merkley, President and CEO of Brookings Health System.

“Avera Medical Group Brookings is proud to serve the community by providing quality health care. We believe this designation will strengthen an already strong relationship with Brookings Health System and will ultimately improve the patient experience,” Flicek said.

About Brookings Health System

Brookings Health System, located in Brookings, South Dakota, includes a 49-bed hospital, the 79-bed The Neighborhoods at Brookview nursing home, Brookhaven Estates senior living apartments, Yorkshire Eye Clinic, Arlington Medical Center and White Medical Clinic. It is a non-profit, city-owned facility that offers the community a full range of inpatient, outpatient, surgical and extended care services. The emergency room is staffed 24 hours a day and provides around the clock patient needs ranging from minor injuries to life threatening crises. For more information about the services offered at Brookings Health System, please call (605) 696-9000 or visit us on the Web at brookingshealth.org.

About Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center

Avera McKennan is part of an integrated delivery network that includes Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center in Sioux Falls, S.D., as well as 115 locations in more than 50 communities in four states. Our ministry, our people and our superior value distinguish Avera. We carry on the health care legacy of the Benedictine and Presentation Sisters, delivering care in an environment guided by our values of compassion, hospitality and stewardship. Avera McKennan is a member of Avera Health, a network which has over 13,000 employees and physicians, serving more than 300 locations and 100 communities in a five-state region. Inpatient, outpatient and clinic visits totaled nearly 2.5 million in the last year, a number equal to more than twice the population of the Avera service area. For more information about Avera McKennan, see our website at www.AveraMcKennan.org.