SIOUX FALLS — Avera Health announced this week that it has named James “Jim” Dover as the new president and CEO of the Avera Health system. Dover, a health care executive with more than 30 years of leadership experience, will start work at Avera Health on Oct. 23.

“I am humbled and honored to lead such a remarkable organization,” Dover said in a news release. “Avera’s legacy of compassionate care is palpable, and I look forward to helping ensure its future success. It is my personal mission to make a difference in the lives of others. I look forward to meeting all the team members and providers who take care of our patients and communities on a daily basis.”

Dover will be Avera’s third president and CEO. He joins Avera after President and CEO Bob Sutton announced he would be resigning due to a serious health issue.

Dover was selected by a search committee made up of Avera system members and representatives from the Avera Health board of directors. Sr. Mary Kay Panowicz, OSB, chaired the search committee, a news release said.

“For the Avera system members and the Avera board, it was paramount that we find a leader who is committed to Avera’s 125-year legacy of rural health care and our Gospel-based mission to improve the lives of those we serve,” Panowicz said. “In Jim Dover, we see an engaging and compassionate leader who will lead Avera into its next era of serving the community’s health, our dedicated employees and our outstanding medical community.”

Dover will be coming to Avera from Lansing, Michigan-based Sparrow Health, where he has served as president and CEO since 2019, Avera Health said. Sparrow Health’s system includes more than 120 care sites, including a tertiary teaching and Level 1 trauma hospital, four regional hospitals and more.

Before leading Sparrow Health, Dover served in leadership roles for the Hospital Sisters Health System in Springfield, Illinois; the Daughters of Charity Health System in Los Altos Hills, California; St. Anthony North Hospital in Westminster, Colorado; and other health systems on the West Coast.

As Avera president and CEO, Dover will oversee a health system that includes 37 hospitals and 200 clinics in a five-state area. The Avera system has $3 billion in annual revenue and more than 20,000 employees, a news release said.

“As I embark on this next chapter, I am committed to listening, learning and being present and engaged with our employees, our physicians, our leaders and representatives of the communities we serve. I view my role as empowering our workforce, building and maintaining trusted relationships, and helping our communities flourish,” Dover said.

Dover was born in California and has lived in rural locations in Idaho, Illinois and Washington state, the news release said. He received a bachelor’s degree in bacteriology from the University of Idaho, a master’s degree in hospital administration from the University of Minnesota, and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. Dover and his wife Maria have four adult children.