"Avera St. Luke's Hospital was established in 1901 in Aberdeen, SD, as a 15-bed hospital by the Presentation Sisters. We have grown into a regional medical center that offers a comprehensive array of medical and health services to people living in the surrounding 10 counties around Aberdeen. In addition to our 139-bed hospital, we provide services through Avera Mother Joseph Manor Retirement Community in Aberdeen and Avera Eureka Health Care Center in our long-term care division, and through our clinic division . Avera St. Luke's employs nearly 1,400 employees in our hospital, long-term care, and clinic divisions. A medical/dental staff of more than 80 local physicians represents 34 different specialties for the area's citizens. More than 250 volunteers, who help in many ways, are an integral part of the success of the medical center. In addition to offering total patient care, Avera St. Luke's has developed special services not available elsewhere in the region. Another proud tradition at Avera St. Luke's is our reputation for having state-of-the-art technology to support the expertise of our medical and hospital staff, including our new BirthPlace and Intensive Care Unit. Through a growing telecommunications network, we offer video teleconferencing for educational and medical purposes. We also extend our mission in the region through mobile outreach programs. We are committed to meeting the health care needs of the residents of northeastern South Dakota and southeastern North Dakota." From www.averastlukes.org, accessed 08/06/2009.