For several years, Prairie Lakes Healthcare System and Northeast Technical High School in Watertown have partnered to provide real, hands-on job experiences in the medical field for students. There are eight northeastern South Dakota high schools that attend the Northeast Tech co-op. The Health Science Program is offered to students and consists of three courses:  Health Science Careers, Medical Terminology (Dual Credit), and the Healthcare Internship.

In the Health Science Careers course, students learn basic healthcare skills like, taking vital signs, safe patient care, infection control, BLS/CPR certification, professional behavior, identifying healthcare careers, and employable qualities.  Students receive numerous tours of different areas within Prairie Lakes exploring career options in an ever-expanding healthcare environment. At the end of their semester, students participate in a ten-day career shadow experience at PLHS, where they follow the staff, learn more about various medical procedures, and observe real-life interactions in a hospital setting.

In the Medical Terminology course, students learn basic medical terminology language with the option to take it as a Dual Credit class.  During the second phase of the course, students then will do an extended field experience/mini-internship in a healthcare setting they are most interested in.

The Healthcare Internship class is a semester long, work-based program building on prior skills and experiences. Currently, Prairie Lakes is hosting two interns for the Spring Semester with goals of growing those numbers for next year.

The Health Science Program at Northeast Tech and the Prairie Lakes Healthcare System have a wonderful working partnership.  Shannon Buelow, Health Science Instructor at Northeast Technical High School says, "The Prairie Lakes staff engages student involvement and facilitates amazing learning experiences. We are very grateful for the experiences at PLHS and the staff is amazing to work with.  A student recently commented 'The staff was always willing to teach me about what they are doing. They were really good at getting me involved and made it so easy for me to learn.'  She continued, "They truly do make a difference in the lives of so many students." Buelow also shared what another student had to say about the program; “I have completely changed my mind about my career after shadowing.  I now know exactly what I want to do, and I am so thankful for this experience!”  

One of the students in this program was recently at Prairie Lakes for his Northeast Tech hospital rotation. He was walking through the hallways when he noticed a distressed Spanish speaking individual. This individual was looking for help and he didn't hesitate to be the person she needed. Using his invaluable skill of speaking both English and Spanish, he was able to assist in helping the individual get to where they needed to go. It’s small acts of kindness and genuine care being fostered in the Prairie Lakes environment that not only leaves a huge impact on our patients, but also on the career paths of these students.

Learn more about Northeast Technical High School here. 

Due to inclement and impending weather, the Prairie Lakes Specialty Clinic, Cancer Center, and ENT Clinic at Mallard Pointe will be closing at noon Wednesday, February 22nd and will be closed Thursday, February 23rd. Cardiac Rehab and Wound Clinic will be closed February 22^nd and 23^rd. Home Care and Hospice Services will be provided where deemed safe.

If you or someone you are with is experiencing a medical emergency, please call 911.

We encourage you to stay indoors and keep off the roads if possible.

Tips to stay safe indoors during winter storms

Prairie Lakes Healthcare System (PLHS) was recently named one of the top 20 rural and community hospitals in the country. This is the sixth time PLHS has received this recognition since it was introduced by The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) seven years ago. To celebrate this achievement, PLHS held a "Slice Above the Rest" employee celebration in the main lobby that included pizza and new pizza cutters for all employees, volunteers, and board members. Photos from this event are added below. 

The NRHA has announced the 20 highest-ranked prospective payment system hospitals in the country based on an evaluation by the Chartis Center for Rural Health. The hospitals are identified using the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX, the most comprehensive and objective assessment of rural PPS hospital performance. Prairie Lakes Healthcare System will be recognized May 18 during NRHA’s Rural Hospital Innovation Summit in San Diego, CA.

The determining factors for the top 20 rural and community hospitals are based on eight indices: inpatient market share, outpatient market share, quality, outcomes, patient perspective, cost, charge, and finance.

“Prairie Lakes Healthcare System is proud of the dedication and exceptional care provided every day by staff, physicians, and volunteers who contribute to our healthcare system achieving this recognition,” says Paul Macek, Interim CEO. “Three of the twenty hospitals in the nation that received this designation are from South Dakota and that speaks volumes to the care and services that our rural population has access to. Our recognition as a top health care provider means our community can count on us to deliver the services they need now and in the future.”

About Prairie Lakes Healthcare System

Prairie Lakes Healthcare System serves a ten-county region in eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota. Prairie Lakes provides care at its hospital in Watertown as well as Prairie Lakes Cancer Center, Prairie Lakes Mallard Pointe Surgical Center, dialysis units in Sisseton, SD, Watertown, SD and Ortonville, MN, rehabilitation services, and specialty services. Specialty services are a focus of PLHS to bring needed care to the region. These specialties include Cardiology, Dermatology, Ear, Nose & Throat, General Surgery, Hospice, Home Care, Nephrology, Orthopedics, Pulmonology, Urology, and Wound Care. For more information, visit www.prairielakes.com.

About NRHA
NRHA is a nonprofit organization working to improve the health and well-being of rural Americans and provide leadership on rural health issues through advocacy, communications, education, and research. NRHA’s membership consists of diverse individuals and organizations, all of whom share the common bond of an interest in rural health.

About the Chartis Group
Chartis is a comprehensive health care advisory firm dedicated to helping clients build a healthier world. Work is facilitated across the health care continuum with more than 600 clients annually, including providers, payers, health services organizations, technology and retail companies, and investors. Through times of change, challenge, and opportunity, Chartis advises the industry on how to navigate disruption, pursue growth, achieve financial sustainability, unleash technology, improve care models and operations, enhance clinical quality and safety, and advance health equity. Teams convened bring deep industry expertise and industry leading innovation, enabling clients to achieve transformational results and create positive societal impact.  For more information, visit www.chartis.com.

Prairie Lakes Healthcare System is pleased to announce the new Director of Human Resources (HR), Sarah Bruning. She replaces Alison Gilbertson who was recently appointed to the Vice President of Human Resources at Prairie Lakes. 

Bruning holds a master’s degree in Business Administration that she earned from the University of South Dakota. She has been with Prairie Lakes for the past six years serving as an accountant for three years and most recently as the Payroll and Benefits Specialist within the HR Department. Bruning worked as the Clinic Administrator at Prairie Eye Clinic in Vermillion, SD for 17 years prior to coming to Prairie Lakes.

Bruning grew up in Watertown and after 23 years of residing in Vermillion, returned to Watertown with her husband, Scott and their family.  She enjoys spending time with her daughters, Lexie and Miley, and filling her camper with things Scott doesn’t think they need.

“I look forward to leading the HR team to provide exceptional support, resources, and benefits to the employees and future employees of Prairie Lakes,” said Bruning. “It is my goal to improve internal processes, recruit and retain a valuable workforce, cultivate a positive working environment, and make Prairie Lakes the healthcare employer of choice in the area.”

To view the list of current job openings at Prairie Lakes, please visit, www.prairielakes.com/careers.

Casey and Erica Kneebone of Watertown, SD welcomed their new baby boy at 5:23pm on January 2, 2023. Clyde Russell Kneebone is 18.5” inches long and 5 pounds 15.4 ounces. He is the first baby born at Prairie Lakes Healthcare System in 2023. Proud older siblings include Calvin Kneebone, Natalee Blauer, and Dalton Blauer. Grandparents of Clyde are Bill and Joni Peyton of Watertown and Russell and Barb Kneebone of Flandreau, SD.

Prairie Lakes Obstetrics delivered a total of 637 babies in 2022. To learn more about birth/new parent classes and other free education and resources, please visit our Obstetrics page.

Prairie Lakes Obstetric Services

Kirsten graduated from Augustana University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Disorders and Special Education with a minor in Youth and Children. She went on to earn her Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

As a speech-language pathologist, she evaluates and treats individuals of all ages with impairments of voice, articulation, language, swallowing, and cognition. Kirsten enjoys treating children with language and/or articulation delays and adults with cognitive-linguistic impairments due to dementia or a traumatic brain injury.

On or about October 18, 2022, Prairie Lakes Healthcare System (“PLHS”) was notified that its business associate and collections vendor, AAA Collections, Inc. dba Advanced Asset Alliance (“AAA”), experienced a data incident which may have resulted in the inadvertent exposure of personal and medical information of current and former PLHS and former Glacial Lakes Orthopaedics patients. Although this incident did not occur within PLHS data systems, PLHS has worked diligently with AAA to determine exactly what happened and what information was involved as a result of this incident.

AAA commenced a third-party forensic investigation and determined the incident occurred between September 5, 2022 and September 7, 2022. The potentially compromised data of current and former PLHS and former Glacial Lakes Orthopaedics patients may have contained personal and medical information including, but potentially not limited to: names; addresses; dates of birth; medical record numbers; provider or facility name; conditions, diagnosis and/or treatment information; payment information; and date of service. As of this writing, there there have been no reports of related misuse, identity theft or fraud since the date of the incident.

AAA mailed notification letters to affected PLHS current and former patients along with Glacial Lakes Orthopaedics patients on December 15, 2022. The letters included additional information about what occurred, outlined the specific personal information that could have been exposed for that individual, and provided a toll-free number that individuals can call to learn more about the incident. The call center can be reached at 1-833-896-5845 and is available Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm Eastern time.

PLHS is committed to ensuring the security and protection of patient information within its control and is working with AAA to prevent a similar event from occurring in the future. PLHS understands the inconvenience or concern that this matter may cause and encourages affected individuals to remain vigilant, monitor accounts, and immediately report any suspicious activity or suspected misuse of personal information.

View Press Release Here

Due to inclement and impending weather, the Prairie Lakes Specialty Clinic, Cancer Center, ENT Clinic at Mallard Pointe, Cardiac Rehab, and Wound Clinic will be closing today, December 15^th at 4:00pm and will be opening at 10:00am tomorrow, December 16th.

Home Care and Hospice Services will be provided where deemed safe.

We encourage you to stay indoors and keep off the roads if possible.

Tips to stay safe indoors during winter storms

Due to inclement weather, the Prairie Lakes Specialty Clinic, Cancer Center, ENT Clinic at Mallard Pointe, Cardiac Rehab, and Wound Clinic will be closing today, December 13^th at noon and will be closed tomorrow, December 14th. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, please call 911.

Home Care and Hospice Services will be provided where deemed safe.

We encourage you to stay indoors and keep off the roads if possible.

Tips to stay safe indoors during winter storms