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Jessica Morrell, a Canton native who graduated from �ձ�av��Ƶ with a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1999, has had an impressive career trajectory. From working as a nurse in the U.S. Air Force to opening her own clinic, Morrell is passionate about aiding others.

Tera Gross didn’t enter school with the thought of becoming a leader. She just wanted to help people. But the positive example of her nurse manager in Gross’s first job after graduating from �ձ�av��Ƶ in 2001 changed her trajectory. Today, Gross is the chief nursing officer for Mayo Clinic in Florida, in Jacksonville. She also is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, one of only few registered nurses at Mayo Clinic to hold this title.

The Basu Lab has partnered with QHS Lab Inc., a leading provider of digital health care solutions, for the development of a potentially revolutionary drug delivery system.

�ձ�av��Ƶ will offer a Bachelor of Science in healthcare systems engineering beginning fall 2025 following South Dakota Board of Regents approval on Dec. 12. Healthcare systems engineering is a unique, first-in-the-nation undergraduate degree, which will integrate engineering, computer science, data science and health sciences under one degree to prepare students for the emerging career fields.

For pharmacist Dean Schmiedt, it was right time at the right place. Shortly after graduation from �ձ�av��Ƶ, the federal government enacted new regulations requiring that skilled nursing homes have a pharmacist review patients’ medications monthly. . His boss at Lovdahl’s Drug, in Little Falls, Minnesota, wasn’t interested in doing that task. Schmiedt, a 1973 �ձ�av��Ƶ grad, picked up the work as a side job. He ended up becoming a full-time independent consultant pharmacist and a leader in the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists. Earlier this fall, Schmiedt, of Fort Ripley, Minnesota, was honored by �ձ�av��Ƶ’s College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions as its 2024 Distinguished Alumnus.

�ձ�av��Ƶ associate professor Lee Weidauer has received a federal grant to develop a program that helps women reduce their risk of sarcopenia, a condition that results from excessive muscle loss with aging.

Looking at slides of blood cells, fecal matter and urine has taken on an entirely different perspective this school year thanks to new state-of-the-art equipment in the medical laboratory science lab at �ձ�av��Ƶ. In July, the program received 28 microscopes and an innovative slide scanner as part of a $750,000 award from the South Dakota Department of Health, which was handling workforce development funds from the Centers for Disease Control, according to April Nelsen, the medical lab science clinical coordinator who put a proposal together for the health department.

Public health researchers from �ձ�av��Ƶ’s Community Practice Innovation Center presented two posters at the American Public Health Association annual meeting, which was held in Minneapolis at the end of October.

Three researchers at the Community Practice Innovation Center at �ձ�av��Ƶ recently compiled a “30 under 30” list for public health in South Dakota. The list was presented via poster presentation at the American Public Health Association annual meeting in October.

Established in 2018, the Avera Wokini Scholarship provides $5,000 annual scholarships to selected students at �ձ�av��Ƶ who are enrolled members of federally recognized tribes and pursuing a degree in the health care field. The scholarship is renewable for up to five years.