Avera President and CEO Bob Sutton stepping down
After 10 years at Avera, President and CEO of the hospital system, Bob Sutton announced he will be stepping down at the end of September due to a recently diagnosed medical condition, the company announced in a release on Monday afternoon.
“While we are saddened by Bob’s impending departure from the organization, we are inspired by the humble and courageous decision he has made. We respectfully request Bob’s privacy with his condition and hold the Sutton family in prayer,” Sister Roxanne Seifert, Avera System Members Chairperson, said in the release.
Sutton served as president and CEO for five years at Avera. In those years, the hospital system opened numerous building projects and completed renovations in communities across its footprint.
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Those projects include the campuses in Gregory and Gettysburg with new hospital, clinic and long-term care facilities; the Avera Specialty Hospital in Sioux Falls; the opening of the Helmsley Center in Pierre; the opening of the state's first free-standing emergency departments and the expansion of the Avera Behavioral Health Hospital.
Sutton had previously served as Avera's Executive Vice President of Human Resources, the Regional President and CEO of Avera St. Mary's Hospital in Pierre and Senior Vice President of Community Relations.
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“During my years at Avera I have met colleagues who turned into lifelong friends. We have the finest people changing lives each day with the care and services we provide. It has been an honor to lead this rural health system. Although I am sad to step away, I know that Avera’s tremendous leadership team and the guidance of our Sponsors will ensure this ministry will be successful long into the future,” Sutton said in the release. “Thank you for your support. I am facing this time with confidence in my care team and a grateful, hopeful heart.”
The Avera Health System will begin a national search for its next leader in the coming months.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Avera's Bob Sutton, CEO and President of hospital system, to step down
