With South Dakota is facing its highest rate of hunger in a decade, some Avera Health clinics are addressing the issue through wellness pantries.
If patients are in need, they leave their doctor’s visit with a bag of groceries.
The program began last year at the Avera St. Benedict Health Center in Parkston. The leadership team wanted to do more for the center’s rural population. Lindsay Weber is President and CEO of Avera St. Benedict. She said the brainstorming turned to social determinants of health, which the CDC describes as non-medical factors that can influence health outcomes…