History of St. Michael’s Hospital Avera and Bon Homme Family Practice Clinics Avera
St. Michael’s Hospital Avera originated in 1949 in the Dr. H. Klima home. A new hospital was constructed in 1950 through the generosity of the local community. A hospital addition and extensive remodeling were completed in 1968, which allowed the original hospital beds to be converted to nursing home beds.
St. Michael’s Hospital Avera was leased by the City of Tyndall to the Benedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery of Yankton from 1949 to 1995. The 1965 addition to the north of the original structure was formerly used as the living quarters for the sisters from Sacred Heart Monastery.
The original structure of St. Michael’s, owned by the City of Tyndall, is now leased to St. Michael’s Hospital Avera, Inc.
St. Michael’s Hospital Avera has been a Catholic institution since 1949, shortly after its beginning. The Catholic identity, initiated by the Benedictine Sisters, is now derived from a relationship with the Sioux Falls Catholic Diocese.
St. Michael’s Hospital Avera is currently a twenty-five-bed acute care hospital with swingbeds and a home health agency.
Bon Homme Family Practice Clinic Avera, a wholly-owned subsidiary of St. Michael’s Hospital Avera, operates two rural health clinics located in Tyndall and Avon. The Tyndall Clinic was built in 1964 by Robert J. Foley, and was purchased by St. Michael’s Hospital Avera, Inc., in 1991. The Avon Facility, built in 1993 by the Avon Chamber of Commerce, is now owned by the City of Avon and has been operated by Bon Homme Family Practice Clinic Avera since it was first opened in 1993.
