Avera @ Home
A home health agency in Milbank, South Dakota 57252
301 Flynn Drive, Milbank, South Dakota 57252. (605) 432-3259.
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The short answer
Record last released by CMS on Oct 21, 2026.
- 3.5of 5 quality of patient care rating
- Not rated patient survey rating
- 1 deficiencies cited in the last three years
Each figure’s source sits beside it, in its section below.
What these words mean3
- Star ratings
- CMS rates some kinds of place from 1 to 5 stars, more stars meaning better on CMS’s own measures for that kind: for a nursing home, its health inspections, staffing and quality measures. A rating is CMS’s summary of those measures; it doesn’t promise good care. Source: CMS, Care Compare and the Five-Star Quality Rating System.
- Inspection (survey)
- A visit by state inspectors, often unannounced, who check a place against the rules it must meet. For nursing homes and other places Medicare pays, CMS calls these visits surveys: a standard survey of a nursing home comes at least every 15 months, and a complaint survey whenever a complaint calls for one. Source: CMS; 42 CFR 488.308.
- Deficiency, citation, violation
- What inspectors write up when a place didn’t meet a rule: the rule, what they saw, and when. CMS calls it a deficiency; states may say citation or violation. It is the inspectors’ finding, not a court’s, and the place is usually asked for a plan to correct it. Source: CMS, statement of deficiencies (Form CMS-2567); each state’s licensing agency.
What did inspectors find?
The last inspection on record was on Dec 3, 2025: a recertification inspection.
1 deficiency cited in the last three years.
CMS, QCOR home health inspection reports. Released Oct 20, 2026. Updated monthly.
When those deficiencies happened
1 deficiency in 1 month of the last 36. Last cited Dec 2025. Most serious: Standard-level. The last 3 years, to Oct 24, 2026.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Nov | Dec | ||||||||||
| 2024 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2025 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2026 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct |
Hover or focus a month to read it.
Hearth Record drew this from the dates and levels in the source’s own records.
Each deficiency, as cited
Rule titles as CMS’s inspectors cite them, set in sentence case.
CMS, QCOR home health inspection reports. Released Oct 20, 2026. Updated monthly.
Dec 3, 2025: recertification inspection1 deficiency
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Infection Prevention
The inspectors’ words, 589 words
“Infection Prevention CFR(s): 484.70(a) Standard: Infection Prevention. The HHA must follow accepted standards of practice, including the use of standard precautions, to prevent the transmission of infections and communicable diseases. This Standard is not met as evidenced by: Based on observation, interview, and policy review, the provider failed to follow standard infection prevention practices regarding the cleaning of reusable equipment by one of one physical therapist assistant (PTA) D for one of three sampled home health patients (1) during a home visit. Findings include: Observation on 12/02/25 at 11:53 p.m., in patient 1’s house, revealed that upon arrival, he was sitting in his chair. Patient 1 had a gait belt (a waist strap used for safe mobility and transfers) around his waist, and throughout the therapy session, patient 1 walked around his home with his walker, while contracted PTA D held onto the gait belt for his safety. After the therapy session, contracted PTA D removed the gait belt from patient 1’s waist, tore open a sanitizer wipe package, removed it from that package, wiped down the metal and cloth parts of the gait belt, then rolled it up and put the belt back in her backpack. Phone interview on 12/3/25 at 12:14 p.m. with contracted PTA D revealed that she had used her personal gait belt when she worked with patient 1. She confirmed that the contracted staff did not leave gait belts in the patients’ homes. Contracted PTA D stated she used a sanitizer wipe to clean the metal piece of the gait belt used during the above observed visit, but agreed that the gait belt’s cloth was not a cleanable surface it could create an infection control risk. Phone interview on 12/3/25 at 12:17 p.m. with the contracted PTA/ manager C revealed that he confirmed the contracted staff did not leave gait belts in the patient’s home. He agreed that the cloth of the gait belts was not a cleanable surface and was an infection control risk. He stated that the contracted staff had completed an annual infection control training. Interview on 12/3/25 at 2:50 p.m. with registered nurse (RN)/agency supervisor A and senior director B regarding the use of the staff’s gait belts for provident patient care revealed that they were unaware that the contracted therapy staff were using their personal gait belts. Senior director B stated their standard infection control prevention practice was to leave gait belts in the patients’ homes for individual patients use. Review of the provider’s 12/3/25 Infection Control and Prevention Plan policy revealed: Home Health Care Infection Control and Prevention Plan: “The HHA {Home Health Agency] maintains and documents an infection control program which has as its goal the prevention and control of infections and communicable diseases. The HHA follows accepted standards of practice, including the use of standard precautions, to prevent the transmission of infections and communicable diseases.” “1. The following 6 elements apply for episodes of patient care including; Hand Hygiene; Environmental Cleaning and Disinfection; Injection and Medication Safety; Appropriate Use of Personal Protective Equipment; Minimizing Potential Exposures; and reprocessing of reusable medical equipment between each patient and when soiled.” Review of the provider’s 8/13/25 Bag and Equipment Disinfection policy revealed: Disinfection of Reusable Equipment “2. All reusable equipment will be disinfected using alcohol, soap and water, or other appropriate solution per manufacturer’s instructions.” Review of the manufacturer’s instructions revealed that the steps to clean a gait belt included to machine wash with mild detergent in warm water, then either tumble dry on low or air dry completely.”
The one inspection in the last three years
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 3, 2025 | Recertification inspection | 1 deficiency cited |
Is it certified?
- Medicare-certified home health agency since Sep 9, 1994.
- Ownership: non-profit.
- No For hospices, home health agencies, hospitals and dialysis facilities, CMS writes deficiencies at two levels. Standard is the usual one; condition-level is the more serious, when a problem is serious enough that the provider doesn’t meet a whole condition of taking part in Medicare. Source: CMS, State Operations Manual. deficiency on record in the last three years.
CMS, Home Health Care Agencies. Released Oct 21, 2026. Updated quarterly.
CMS, QCOR home health inspection reports. Released Oct 20, 2026. Updated monthly.
Has anything been proven against it?
- CMS doesn’t publish fines or other penalties for home health agencies, so none are shown.
- 0 deficiencies cited in the last three years came from inspections that included a complaint investigation.
CMS, QCOR home health inspection reports. Released Oct 20, 2026. Updated monthly.
Who does the caring?
- Offers nursing care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, medical social services and home health aide services.
- CMS doesn’t publish staffing levels for home health agencies.
CMS, Home Health Care Agencies. Released Oct 21, 2026. Updated quarterly.
Who owns it?
- Avera Health runs it.
- 17 owners or officers are people: Nathan Brand (corporate officer, 0%); Curtis John Hohman (corporate director); Nanci J Vanpeursem (corporate director); Jessica R Karges (managing employee (on the payroll)); Chad R Thury (corporate director); Debra Ann Kolecka (corporate director); Lucille F Welbig (corporate director); Debra Ann Streier (corporate director); Timothy Dougherty (corporate director); Sandra Diane Dieleman (corporate officer); Sandra Diane Dieleman (corporate director); Gerald Beninga (corporate director); Carla A Van Dyke (managing employee (on the payroll)); Matthew Gerhardt Winkelbauer (corporate director); Douglas R Ekeren (corporate director); Doris M Derynck (corporate director); Karen Gallagher (corporate director).
- No private-equity firm among the owners CMS lists.
- No real-estate investment trust among the owners CMS lists.
CMS, Home Health Agency All Owners and Home Health Agency Enrollments. Released Sep 29, 2026. Updated quarterly.
How do patients fare?
- CMS rates its quality of patient care 3.5 of 5.
- CMS gives no CMS rates some kinds of place from 1 to 5 stars, more stars meaning better on CMS’s own measures for that kind: for a nursing home, its health inspections, staffing and quality measures. A rating is CMS’s summary of those measures; it doesn’t promise good care. Source: CMS, Care Compare and the Five-Star Quality Rating System.: “Fewer than 70 patients completed the survey.”
- CMS compares it with the national rate: discharged to the community, the same; potentially preventable hospital stays, the same; potentially preventable readmissions after discharge, the same.
CMS, Home Health Care Agencies and Home Health Patient Survey. Released Oct 21, 2026. Updated quarterly.
| Measure | Rating |
|---|---|
| Quality of patient care ratingCMS star rating, 1 to 5 in half stars | 3.5 of 5 |
| Patient survey ratingCMS star rating from its survey of the agency’s patients, 1 to 5 | Not rated |
| Discharged to the communityCMS’s risk-adjusted rate, compared with the national rate | 90.50% (same as the national rate) |
| Potentially preventable hospital staysCMS’s risk-adjusted rate, compared with the national rate | 11.88% (same as the national rate) |
| Potentially preventable readmissions after dischargeCMS’s risk-adjusted rate, compared with the national rate | 4.39% (same as the national rate) |
How does it compare nearby?
- Of the 2 agencies CMS’s data show serving patients in ZIP code 57252, where this agency’s office is, 2 have a quality of patient care rating; the middle one is 3.25 of 5, and this one is rated 3.5 of 5.
CMS, Home Health ZIP Codes and Home Health Care Agencies. Released Oct 21, 2026. Updated quarterly.
| Place | Quality rating |
|---|---|
| Avera @ Home This home health agency | 3.5 |
| Prairie Lakes Home Health | 3 |
What the record doesn’t say
- CMS doesn’t publish fines or other penalties for home health agencies, so none are shown.
- Only complaints that led to a citation appear; complaints that didn’t aren’t published.
- QCOR says some of its home health reports are accurate or available only through May 19, 2021, because of a systems migration.
- Many home health agencies are inspected by a private accrediting organisation instead of the state, and QCOR’s home health file doesn’t appear to include those inspections: no inspection on record here doesn’t mean none took place.
Sources
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Home Health Care Agencies (6jpm-sxkc).
Released Oct 21, 2026 and checked Oct 24, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Home Health Patient Survey (ccn4-8vby).
Released Oct 21, 2026 and checked Oct 24, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, QCOR home health inspection reports (HHA_2567s_2018_to_2026YTD.xlsx).
Released Oct 20, 2026 and checked Oct 24, 2026. Updated monthly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Home Health Agency All Owners (fc009b2d-7846-44b1-b4a1-692f0c143879).
Released Sep 29, 2026 and checked Oct 24, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Home Health Agency Enrollments (15f64ab4-3172-4a27-b589-ebd67a6d28aa).
Released Sep 29, 2026 and checked Oct 24, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Home Health ZIP Codes (m5eg-upu5).
Released Oct 21, 2026 and checked Oct 24, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
If you believe something here is wrong, a correction starts with the agency whose record this copies: CMS. CMS’s own record is on Care Compare. If Hearth Record copied something wrongly, it will fix it and log the correction publicly, with its date: how corrections work.
This copy of the record was made on Oct 24, 2026.
From the agency
The public record above comes first. Anything the agency adds will appear here, below it, and say who wrote it.
Replies
None. Replies aren’t open yet. When they open, the agency will be able to answer any finding for free, and the reply will show beside that finding, unedited and dated.
Paid listing
None. Paid listings aren’t open yet. When they open, anything paid for will say “Paid by the agency”, and paying will never change a finding, a rating or the order of results.