Same day surgical procedures are provided in a convenient, personal setting at Prairie Lakes Mallard Pointe Surgical Center. The facility is designed for easy access and check-in and service is designed to minimize wait times. The staff at Mallard Pointe Surgical Center encourages family involvement before and after surgery. This is an ideal set up for children needing outpatient surgery.

General and specialized surgeons in the region perform procedures at Mallard Pointe Surgical Center.  Physicians provide procedures in orthopedics, ophthalmology, ear-nose-throat, gynecology, urology, podiatry, plastic, dental, endoscopy, general and laparoscopic surgery, pediatrics and anesthesia. Our top procedures are:

• Cataract surgery
• Steroid Injections for pain
• Myringotomy
• Knee arthroscopy
• Fracture reduction
• Removal of tonsils and adenoids
• Laparoscopy/hysteroscopy
• Carpal tunnel release
• Shoulder surgery
• Dental surgery
• Hammertoe and bunion surgery

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Question:

I've heard that Quinoa is better for you than brown rice? is this true? Should I switch? Is there different kinds of quinoa that are better than others?

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

This Notice describes how we will use and disclose your protected health information. The policies outlined in this Notice apply to all of your health information generated by this Organization, whether recorded in your medical record, invoices, payment forms, videotapes or other ways. Similarly, these policies apply to the protected health information gathered from other Organizations by any health care professional, employee or volunteer who participates in your care.

USES AND DISCLOSURES OF YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION

1) In some circumstances we are permitted or required to use or disclose your protected health information without obtaining your prior authorization and without offering you the opportunity to object. These circumstances include:

(a) Uses or disclosures for purposes relating to treatment, payment and health care operations:

i) Treatment. We may use or disclose your protected health information for the purpose of providing, or allowing others to provide treatment to you. An example would be if your primary care physician discloses your protected health information to another doctor for the purposes of a consultation. 

- Also, we may contact you with appointment reminders or information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.

ii) Payment. We may use and/or disclose your protected health information for the purpose of allowing us, as well as other entities, to secure payment for the health care services provided to you. For example, we may inform your health insurance company of your diagnosis and treatment in order to assist the insurer in processing our claim for the health care services provided to you.

iii) Health Care Operations. We may use and/or disclose your protected health information for the purposes of our day-to-day operations and functions. We may also disclose your protected health information to another covered entity, to allow it to perform its day-to-day functions, if we both have a relationship with you. For example, we may compile your protected health information, along with that of other patients, in order to allow a team of our health care professionals to review that information and make suggestions concerning how to improve the quality of care provided at this facility. We may also disclose protected health information to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students, and other hospital personnel for review and learning purposes.

- In addition, we may contact you as part of our efforts to raise funds for the Organization. All fundraising communications will include information about how you may opt out of future fundraising communications.

(b) To create material(s) that originally had any identifying information concerning you deleted from the final material(s);

(c) To create materials that have most of the identifying information about you deleted from the final materials, to allow other entities to conduct research, public health, or health care operation activities.

(d) When required by law;

(e) For public health purposes;

(f) To disclose information about victims of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence;

(g) For health oversight activities, such as audits or civil, administrative or criminal investigations;

(h) For judicial or administrative proceedings;

(i) For law enforcement purposes;

(j) To assist coroners, medical examiners or funeral directors with their official duties;

(k) To facilitate organ, eye or tissue donation;

(l) For certain research projects that have been evaluated and approved through a research approval process that takes into account patients' need for privacy;

(m) To avert a serious threat to health or safety;

(n) For specialized governmental functions, such as military, national security, criminal corrections, or public benefit purposes; and

(o) For workers' compensation purposes, as permitted by law.

2) We may also use or disclose your protected health information in the following circumstances. However, except in emergency situations, we will inform you of our intended action prior to making any such uses and disclosures and will, at that time, offer you the opportunity to object.

(a)Directories. We may maintain a directory of patients that includes your name and location within the facility, your religious designation, and information about your condition in general terms that will not communicate specific medical information about you. Except for your religion, we may disclose this information to any person who asks for you by name. We may disclose all directory information to members of the clergy.

(b) Notifications. We may disclose to your relatives or close personal friends any protected health information that is directly related to that person's involvement in the provision of, or payment for, your care. We may also use and disclose your protected health information for the purpose of locating and notifying your relatives or close personal friends of your location, general condition or death, and to Organizations that are involved in those tasks during disaster situations.

Except as described above, disclosures of your protected health information will be made only with your written authorization. You may revoke your authorization at any time, in writing, unless we have taken action in reliance upon your prior authorization, or if you signed the authorization as a condition of obtaining insurance coverage.

YOUR RIGHTS
1) To Request Restrictions. You have the right to request restrictions on the use and disclosure of your protected health information for treatment, payment or health care operations purposes or notification purposes. We are not required to agree to your request. If we do agree to a restriction, we will abide by that restriction unless you are in need of emergency treatment and the restricted information is needed to provide that emergency treatment. To request a restriction, submit a written request to the Contact listed on the final page of this Notice.

2) To Limit Communications. You have the right to receive confidential communications about your own protected health information by alternative means or at alternative locations. This means that you may, for example, designate that we contact you only via e-mail, or at work rather than home. To request communications via alternative means or at alternative locations, you must submit a written request to the Contact listed on the final page of this Notice. All reasonable requests will be granted.

3) To Access and Copy Health Information. You have the right to inspect and copy any protected health information about you other than psychotherapy notes, information compiled in anticipation of or for use in civil, criminal or administrative proceedings, or certain information that is governed by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act. To arrange for access to your records, or to receive a copy of your records, you should submit a written request to the Contact listed on the last page of this Notice. If you request copies, you will be charged our regular fee for copying and mailing the requested information.

Despite your general right to access your protected health information, access may be denied in some limited circumstances. For example, access may be denied if you are an inmate at a correctional institution or if you are a participant in a research program that is still in progress. Access may be denied if the federal Privacy Act applies. Access to information that was obtained from someone other than a health care provider under a promise of confidentiality can be denied if allowing you access would reasonably be likely to reveal the source of the information. The decision to deny access under these circumstances is final and not subject to review.

In addition, access may be denied if (i) access to the information in question is reasonably likely to endanger the life and physical safety of you or anyone else, (ii) the information makes reference to another person and your access would reasonably be likely to cause harm to that person, or (iii) you are the personal representative of another individual and a licensed health care professional determines that your access to the information would cause substantial harm to the patient or another individual. If access is denied for these reasons, you have the right to have the decision reviewed by a health care professional who did not participate in the original decision. If access is ultimately denied, the reasons for that denial will be provided to you in writing.

4) To Request Amendment. You may request that your protected health information be amended. Your request may be denied if the information in question: was not created by us (unless you show that the original source of the information is no longer available to seek amendment from), is not part of our records, is not the type of information that would be available to you for inspection or copying (for example, psychotherapy notes), or is accurate and complete. If your request to amend your protected health information is denied, you may submit a written statement disagreeing with the denial, which we will keep on file and distribute with all future disclosures of the information to which it relates. Requests to amend protected health information must be submitted in writing to the Contact listed on the final page of this Notice.

5) To an Accounting of Disclosures. You have the right to an accounting of any disclosures of your protected health information made during the six-year period preceding the date of your request. However, the following disclosures will not be accounted for: (i) disclosures made for the purpose of carrying out treatment, payment or health care operations, (ii) disclosures made to you, (iii) disclosures of information maintained in our patient directory, or disclosures made to persons involved in your care, or for the purpose of notifying your family or friends about your whereabouts, (iv) disclosures for national security or intelligence purposes, (v) disclosures to correctional institutions or law enforcement officials who had you in custody at the time of disclosure, (vi) disclosures that occurred prior to April 14, 2003, (vii) disclosures made pursuant to an authorization signed by you, (viii) disclosures that are part of a limited data set, (ix) disclosures that are incidental to another permissible use or disclosure, or (x) disclosures made to a health oversight agency or law enforcement official, but only if the agency or official asks us not to account to you for such disclosures and only for the limited period of time covered by that request. The accounting will include the date of each disclosure, the name of the entity or person who received the information and that person's address (if known), and a brief description of the information disclosed and the purpose of the disclosure. To request an accounting of disclosures, submit a written request to the Contact listed on the final page of this Notice.

OUR DUTIES
1) We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your protected health information and to provide you with this Notice of our legal duties and privacy practices.

2) We are required to abide by the terms of this Notice. We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice and to make those changes applicable to all health information that we maintain. Any changes to this Notice will be posted on our website and at our facilities, and will be available from us upon request.

COMPLAINTS
You can complain to us and to the federal Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services if you believe your privacy rights have been violated. To lodge a complaint with us, please file a written complaint with the Contact set forth below. This Contact person will also provide you with further information about our privacy policies upon request. No action will be taken against you for filing a complaint.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RECEIPT OF NOTICE
You will be asked to sign an acknowledgment form that you received this Notice of Privacy Practices.

EFFECTIVE DATE
This Notice of Privacy Practices is effective April 14, 2003

DESIGNATED CONTACT PERSON & CHIEF PRIVACY OFFICER
Kristi L. Osthus, RHIA
Prairie Lakes Healthcare System
400 10th Ave NW
PO Box 1210
Watertown, SD 57201

Phone: 1-605-882-7920

ADDITIONAL NOTICES:

NOTICE OF ORGANIZED HEALTH CARE ARRANGEMENT FOR HEALTH SYSTEM
The Health System, its component hospitals, the independent contractor members of their Medical Staffs (including your physician), and other related health care providers have agreed, as permitted by law, to share your health information among themselves for purposes of treatment, payment and health care operations. This enables us to better address your health care needs in a clinically integrated setting. This notice is being provided to you as a supplement to this Notice of Privacy Practices. 

NOTICE OF ORGANIZED HEALTH CARE ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL STAFF
Each of the Hospitals, the independent contractor members of its Medical Staff (including your physician), and other health care providers affiliated with the Hospitals have agreed, as permitted by law, to share your health information among themselves for purposes of treatment, payment or health care operations. This enables us to better address your health care needs. This notice is being provided to you as a supplement to this Notice of Privacy Practices

Chairman

Founded in 1986, Prairie Lakes Healthcare System is a not-for-profit, independent, 81-bed hospital with sole community provider status serving over a region with 90,000 people. Prairie Lakes is one of largest employers in Watertown with over 575 employees and a medical staff of approximately 60 physicians. 

As a mission-driven healthcare organization, we provide services that are high quality and compassionate. We are constantly raising the bar in terms of the technology we have and the professionals that are at the heart of our program.

Prairie Lakes at a glance:

• Independent not-for-profit hospital with sole community provider status
• Cardiac Cath Lab, Cancer Center, Specialty Clinic, Outpatient Surgical Center, and Caring Club House
• Service area of about 90,000 people
• PACS System
• Electronic ICU available

The community of Watertown at a glance:

• Watertown is a thriving, family friendly community located in Northeastern South Dakota with a population of 25,000
• Excellent K-12 public and private schools, along with technical and branch college campuses available
• Watertown Regional Airport provides flights to Chicago and Denver
• Hunting and fishing make South Dakota a sportsmen's paradise
• Outdoor and indoor aquatic center
• Thirty three distinguished Park and Recreation Areas
• Two lakes in the community
• Three golf courses in the community
• Fitness trail provides miles of trails through town and to the lakes
• 2% local sales tax, 4% state sales tax
• NO STATE INCOME TAX
• Low cost of living

Community Links:

• Visit Watertown
• Watertown Works - We Live
• Watertown Park and Recreation

Schools:

• Watertown School District
• Great Plains Lutheran High School
• Immaculate Conception School
• Watertown Christian School
• St. Martin’s Lutheran School

Join our team, our community, and our vision of what high-quality, affordable and compassionate healthcare looks like.

 At Prairie Lakes, you will enjoy working with a superior medical staff that includes Interventional Cardiologists, General Surgeons, ER Physicians, Hospitalists, Pulmonologist, Otolaryngologist, Nephrologist, Urologists, MDAs and CRNAs, Orthopedic Surgeons, Radiologists, Radiation and Medical Oncologists, Pathologist, Family and Internal Medicine Physicians, OB/GYNs, and Pediatricians.

Prairie Lakes provides a competitive salary based on MGMA data with outstanding benefits to include:

• Signing bonus/Loan repayment options
• Medical, Dental, Life and Disability Insurance premiums paid by Prairie Lakes
• Retirement plan
• Relocation
• Generous CME allowance
• No state income tax
  

 Current Physician Opportunities:

• Allergist
• Dermatologist
• Emergency Medicine
• Endocrinologist
• Hospitalist
• Interventional Cardiologist
• Medical Oncologist
• Neurologist
• Orthopedic Surgeon
• Otolaryngologist
• Pathologist
• Pulmonologist
• Radiation Oncologist
• Radiologist
• Urologist

If you would like more detailed information about our opportunities, Prairie Lakes, and the community, please contact:

Justine DeVille, Physician Recruiter
Prairie Lakes Healthcare System
401 9th Avenue NW
Watertown, SD 57201
Phone: 605-882-6898
Toll free: 1-877-917-7547
Fax: 605-882-7819
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Admitting a Patient

Patients may be referred to Prairie Lakes for admission:

• following an emergency room encounter,
• from their primary care clinic, or
• from a transferring facility.

Patient's can be admitted to the:

• Medical-Surgical-Pediatrics (MSP) unit
• Telemetry Unit (TU)
• Critical Care Unit (CCU)
• Obstetrical (OB) unit

The referring physician or facility should provide copies of or electronic access to the patient's:

• past medical history
• medication list
• results of any laboratory studies or radiology examinations as well as any relevant information that will be beneficial to the practitioners that will be providing care to the patient in the hospital.

Admitting a Patient age 18 or Older

For patients age 18 and older, the Prairie Lakes Hospitalists are available 24/7 for admissions to the MSP unit, TU, or CCU. To admit a patient to the Hospitalist service, the referring physician should contact the Hospitalist service at 605-880-2013 to discuss the referral with the Hospitalist.

Providing Additional Information
While the physician is providing a hand-off of care for the patient admission, support staff working with the physician should contact the Prairie Lakes Central Scheduling Department at 605-882-5448 (8 a.m. - 6 p.m., Monday through Friday) or the Prairie Lakes House Supervisor at 605-237-0915 (after 6 p.m. weekdays and on weekends) to provide demographic and other pertinent information. This information facilitates a bed assignment for the patient and is used to alert the registration staff of the patient's pending arrival for admission. The Hospitalist will assume care of the patient upon arrival and communicate appropriate physician orders with the hospital staff.

Admitting a Patient age 17 or Younger

For patients less than age 18 who are admitted and followed by their primary care provider, pediatrician, or sub-specialty physician, the admission process is as described above, with the exception of the call to the Hospitalist service. The admitting physician can send written orders with the patient, fax orders to the Central Scheduling Department, or process computerized physician orders for the patient. These orders will be implemented when the patient arrives.

Admitting a Patient to the OB Unit

For patient's being admitted to the OB unit, the physician or the physician's support staff will contact the OB unit at 605-882-7735 to alert the unit of the patient's arrival. Orders may accompany the patient, be faxed to the OB unit, or be entered using the computerized physician order entry process.

The clinic or referring facility should send copies of or provide electronic access to the patient's past medical history, current medication list, results of laboratory tests and radiology examinations, and any other information that would assist in the care of the patient. A smooth handoff and transition of care to the hospital setting is essential to the provision of quality care and positive patient outcomes.

Transferring a Patient

Should a facility wish to transfer a patient to Prairie Lakes, the patient can referred to the emergency department for evaluation and determination of admission disposition or the patient can be a direct admission/transfer from the transferring facility. (Refer to the Admitting a Patient above for additional information.)

Providing Additional Information
The transferring facility must first secure a physician to accept the patient for admission. The accepting physician may be a Hospitalist or sub-Specialist depending on the needs of the patient. Once a physician has accepted the patient, and prior to transporting the patient, nursing or support staff at the transferring facility should contact Central Scheduling Department at 605-882-5448 (8 a.m. - 6 p.m., Monday through Friday) or the Prairie Lakes House Supervisor at 605-237-0915 (after 6 p.m. weekdays and on weekends) to provide demographic and other pertinent information. This information facilitates a bed assignment for the patient and is used to alert the hospital staff of the patient's pending arrival. The physician accepting the patient will be notified of the patient's arrival at Prairie Lakes.

The transferring facility should send copies of or provide electronic access to the patient's past medical history, current medication list, results of laboratory tests and radiology examinations, a summary of care provided at the referring/transferring facility, and any other information that would assist in the care of the patient. A smooth handoff and efficient transition of care from one hospital to another is key to ensuring quality care and positive patient outcomes.

Prairie Lakes employs doctors in the following in a variety of specialties. To refer a patient to a specialist, please contact the clinic and the receptionist will assist you.

Cancer Center: 605-882-6800
Cardiology Clinic: 605-882-7953
Dermatology Clinic: 605-882-7800
Ear, Nose, & Throat: 605-882-7740
General Surgery Clinic: 605-882-6850
Home Health: 605-882-7745
Hospice: 605-882-7745
Nephrology Clinic: 605-882-5455
Pulmonology Clinic: 605-882-7650
Urology Clinic: 605-882-6810

Referring a Patient for a Radiology Procedure

Prairie Lakes Radiology Department offers comprehensive diagnostic and interventional services in the areas of CT, nuclear medicine, x-ray, and ultrasound. Same-day, outpatient exams may be scheduled by contacting the Radiology Department at 605-882-7770. Future outpatient exams can be scheduled by contacting Central Scheduling at 605-882-7690.

To assist you scheduling radiology exams we have put together a Procedures and Preps Help Document. This document is designed as a tool to assist you with pre-medication guidelines for contrast allergies, creatinine requirements, interventional procedures and biopsies, clinical indication guidelines, and patient preps.

Radiology Help Document

Prairie Lakes Healthcare System is a leader in regional healthcare for northeastern South Dakota and western Minnesota. Caring for a ten-county service area of 87,000 people, the health professionals of Prairie Lakes are dedicated to excellence. 

Prairie Lakes at a glance:

• Independent not-for-profit hospital with sole community provider status
• On Site Cardiac Cath Lab and Cancer Center
• Specialty Services - new specialty services building opening fall of 2018
• Caring Club House for out-of-town patients and their family
• Service area of about 90,000 people
• Outpatient surgery center
• Expanded Emergency Department and O.R.
• State-of-the-art facilities and technology
• PACS System
• Electronic ICU available