At midway point, Avera women’s, children’s addition to hold new improvements

Avera McKennan is offering a first look at new features coming to its women’s and children’s tower as the construction project hits its halfway mark.

The six-story addition on the main campus in central Sioux Falls now will be connected to the existing hospital via a skywalk scheduled to be placed next week.

Dr. Ron Place, regional president and CEO of Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center, said the connection was always a hope and ended up fitting in the project’s $245 million budget, which also includes the new Pavilion 2 building for gastroenterology at Avera on Louise.

“Most of our specialty OB, maternal fetal medicine and high-risk OB and subspecialty pediatricians are in Plaza One, so this skywalk will be a connection between high-risk OB, inpatient pediatrics and the NICU, so it all blends together,” he said.

The new tower itself is designed to complement the existing architecture on the campus, while creating a highly visible “front door” for Avera McKennan easily seen off of Cliff Avenue.

Inside, the lobby is surrounded by glass similar to Avera Specialty Hospital and the Avera Prairie Center.

“We like the tall ceilings. We like the light,” Place said. “Land and sky is the theme here.”

The layout of the tower is:

• Fourth level: Neonatal intensive care.
• Third level: Pediatric hospital care and pediatric intensive care.
• Second level: Shell space for future growth in surgery.
• First level: Postpartum care.
• Ground level: Labor, delivery and antepartum.
• Lobby level: Gathering and education space.

Inside the lobby, the Presentation and Benedictine sisters will have a heritage wall, reflecting how caring for women and children was core to the mission that brought them to Dakota Territory from Europe.

“The mission of our health system has stayed the same — how we take care of women and children has changed, but the mission will continue to be how do we take care of women and children and those that love them,” Place said. “That’s the foundation of the American family, and it all comes together in this project.”

Design features are chosen intentionally to support the needs of patients, he added.

“You’ll also see a covered entrance at the lobby level from the south parking, so we’ll have dedicated parking and the ability to get into the building that way,” Place said. “The top of the garage is our helipad, so for moms in distress we can take care of them.”

Oversized labor and delivery and postpartum rooms are designed with extra storage and subtle technology, including lighting that can be concealed for more serenity.

There also are two low-risk birthing suites, reflecting a growing number of families who choose that approach.

“All beds are extra-wide because kids like to crawl in bed with mom and the new baby, so we have enormous beds in labor and delivery and postpartum to encourage that to happen,” Place said. “The whole goal of health care is to provide all the technology and tools and everything you need when you need it but not have it scare people by being present all the time.”

The NICU, which serves the entire Avera system, will continue its current design as rooms are added but bring in more capacity for twins and triplets because the system is seeing more multiple births and the goal is to room them together when possible.

The system is seeing growing demand for pediatric care and has gained market share, Place added.

“Our roots are in women and children’s, and the ability to continue to perform our mission is the most important thing,” he said. “The fact that it’s drawn market share implies to us we’re doing it in a way that resonates with people.”

There also will be some unique amenities in the new tower.

A two-story children’s play area dubbed “the treehouse” will include climbing and soft-play features along with stairs that change color when used. It’s available to both patients and visiting children and will be complemented by activity rooms designed for different ages.

“It’s the exact opposite of a hospital,” Place said. “A fun play area, whimsical, and it’s specifically designed so we don’t have to tell children ‘no, don’t do that.’”

The postpartum level also connects to a large patio for new moms to spend time outdoors.

Many of the amenities are supported by a broader $50 million Avera Foundation fundraising campaign, and while the target hasn’t been hit yet, “we’ve had a lot of success in the community,” Place said.

The new tower broke ground last October following the demolition of the old Plaza 3. It’s on track to open in early 2027.

In the meantime, several services that were located in the old building have been moved, along with other changes on the main campus.

The new Plaza 3 is the former Orthopedic Institute building near 23rd Street and Seventh Avenue. It’s now home to administration and is being converted to house transplant, nephrology and pulmonology. Eventually, administration will move to the lobby level of the new tower, and the Plaza 3 space will be backfilled with clinical uses.

In total, Avera McKennan will gain about 150 beds, bringing its authorized level from 650 to 800.

It can’t happen soon enough because “we’re full every day,” Place said.

That’s why former administrative space within the hospital already has been converted to 49 in-patient beds.

Additional space will be renovated in the area currently used for postpartum care to create more adult beds, and the existing pediatrics area will become “swing space” to be used as needed for children or adults.

Dialysis now is located off the main campus in the former Fiserv building in southwest Sioux Falls, where capacity has increased from 24 to 37 chairs.

“The thing I really appreciate is … a block and a half away on Louise is the (Sioux Area Metro) transfer center, an enclosed bus stop for dialysis patients,” Place said. “That’s a selling point for why I was OK with buying the building.”

It’s also symbolic of his broader approach to designing the new main campus: Services where patients will come and go will be located more on the perimeter, while in-patient care happens in the center.

“We’re markedly increasing our capacity,” Place said. “We’re trading a building of 50,000 square feet for one with 220,000 square feet.”

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