Avera McKennan Hospital Enters into Management Services Agreement with Simply Retail

Sioux Falls, South Dakota (PRWEB) July 30, 2007

Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center, a not-for-profit community hospital, has entered into a management services agreement with Simply Retail, the pioneering leader in health care retail. Under the terms of the agreement, Simply Retail will provide management services for Avera's retail division, which includes a Gift Shop, a Care Shop (devoted to cancer patients needs) and a General Store.

"As far as market opportunity goes, this is outstanding," noted Jennifer Grossman, Manager of Retail Services for Avera McKennan Hospital. "I think this arrangement offers a phenomenal service for the patients and their families." Ms. Grossman also highlighted the fact that it's not just patients and patient family members that derive benefit from a significant retail presence within the medical campus setting. "Employees are thrilled that the stores are here," she said, underscoring a growing trend in the field for hospitals to develop a retail presence.

"Unless they're somewhat familiar with the model, many hospital leaders don't intuitively understand that a tastefully-designed and well-researched retail system will be enthusiastically embraced by the employees as well as the patients," observed Mindy Thompson - Banko, founder and president of Simply Retail. "Not only does a major push into retail improve patient loyalty and satisfaction, it elevates employee satisfaction and retention as well," Thompson - Banko noted. "Importantly, from a revenue standpoint, the employee buy-in also guarantees that the stores will perform well right from the outset. That has been our experience in every market where we've see this model executed effectively."

"Simply Retail is the regarded pioneer of the health care retail concept, with several years experience and a nationwide client base," Grossman observed. "Even with health care retail representing one of the fastest growing movements in the industry, the need for a deep understanding of fundamental retail tenets is crucial."

"The depth of our background in retail is usually what hospitals and health systems like the most about our service offering," noted Maria Lemcke, COO for Simply Retail. "The hospital leadership team typically doesn't have much in-house expertise in this area. Furthermore, they are hard-pressed for time and resources to either acquire that skill set, or develop it from within the organization. Therefore, they like to work with experts who have been in the retail sector and who have applied that knowledge factor in the health-care realm. They are also largely unfamiliar with, yet fascinated by, the entire 'annuity feature' of a robust retail program, which adds a dimension of ongoing revenue and tremendous economic value."

Those are some of the factors that came to play with Avera McKennan and its pursuit of a retail strategy, and the decision to partner with Simply Retail. Like so many hospitals and health systems in the nation that are experiencing declining reimbursement on a daily basis, Avera executives said they were looking for innovative strategies that provided additional revenue streams as well as initiatives that increased stakeholder satisfaction. They, like many hospital executives were particularly intrigued by, and impressed with, the "cash and carry" concept of retail and the high margins that accompany health care retail operations.

"Even the physicians appreciate the convenience aspect of health care retail," Thompson - Banko noted. "They particularly appreciate our point-of-care model that enables the clinicians (nurses and other providers) to recommend close-at-hand products that are tailored to individual patient needs, but are often difficult to obtain in more generalized settings or venues. In addition this particular agreement with Avera has so many value-added components to it, including the wide array of specialized products, which also complement the point-of-care experience for the patient."

Although Simply Retail has worked with numerous hospitals and health systems in the evaluation and execution of sophisticated and successful retail strategies, the Avera management services agreement represents a relatively new approach for the firm. "We found that some of our clients wanted this full-scale management option," Thompson - Banko observed. "Even though we work very closely with all our "partners" on implementation and execution, some of our clients felt that this turn-key management option enabled them to have the best of both worlds - in-depth daily awareness and accountability of the general success of the retail stores, but not the direct operational responsibility." Grossman corroborated that assessment when she observed, "I think the industry can expect to see many more of these types of agreements in the near future."

About Simply Retail
Simply Retail was formed in 1994 and is the nation's leading provider of Health care Retail. Based in Minneapolis, Simply Retail is a retail consultancy and management company with expertise in both retail planning and implementation. Simply Retail integrates retail operations with patient care through customized Retail Systems. For more information, please contact Anni Davis, vice president of corporate communications for the firm at 612 659-8200, ext 23 or visit http://www.simplyretailinc.com

About Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center
Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota is a member of Avera Health, a regional health-care family of more than 229 facilities in the five-state region of South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. Avera McKennan consists of 490 hospital beds and extensive inpatient facilities recognized for excellence in many areas, including behavioral health, cancer care, cardiac care, emergency medicine and trauma, air ambulance services, home health and hospice programs, medical education and research, neurosciences, obstetrics, orthopedics, pediatrics, rehabilitation services, kidney transplant services and a full range of wellness services. Avera is also home to the area's only pancreas and bone marrow transplant programs. For more information, visit the web site at http://www.mckennan.org

Contact:
Anni Hodroff-Davis
Simply Retail Inc.
612 659-8200 ext. 23

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