ABERDEEN, S.D.(Press Release)-  On Friday, the Avera St. Luke’s Hospital in Aberdeen turns 123 years old.

The hospital was established on October 18th, 1901 because of a diphtheria epidemic at the turn of the century.

In 1901, a diphtheria epidemic in St. Louis, Missouri was caused by a contaminated diptheria antitoxin, leading to the deaths of several children.

The cause of the epidemic came from a  horse named Jim, who had been used to produce diphtheria antitoxin, became ill with tetanus and died on October 2, 1901. The antitoxin produced from Jim’s blood was contaminated and given to children, causing fatal tetanus. 

The Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary were fulfilling their calling as teachers by operating a school. When the epidemic struck, they converted their classrooms to sick wards and served the community until the epidemic subsided.

Doctors and citizens of Aberdeen then asked the Sisters to establish a hospital. On Oct. 18, 1901, St. Luke’s Hospital, a 15-bed facility, was dedicated as the first health care facility of the Presentation Sisters, who would go on to establish hospitals in Mitchell and Sioux Falls, SD, and Miles City, MT, within the next 10 years.

St. Luke’s Hospital expanded in 1903, 1907 and 1913, before building an expanded facility in 1928 with a capacity of 159 beds.

The Benedictine and Presentation Sisters merged their health ministries in 2000 to form Avera, a name that comes from the Latin word avere, which means “to be well”