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.

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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

Prairie Lakes Healthcare System (PLHS) is pleased to announce the appointment of Laurie Fieber to the position of Vice President of Clinic Operations and Alison Gilbertson to the position of Vice President of Human Resources. Both Fieber and Gilbertson will provide administrative leadership for PLHS.

Fieber received her nursing degree from the University of South Dakota and her Master of Science in nursing from Grand Canyon University. She has been with Prairie Lakes for almost 20 years where she has served patients in the ER, Same Day Surgery, Home Health/Hospice, and Cath Lab. Fieber previously held the leadership role of Director of General Surgery, ENT Clinic, Outreach Clinics and Central Scheduling. She was most recently promoted to the Interim Vice President role in January 2022. Fieber enjoys spending time with her children: Cassie, Davin, Jeryn, and Blake along with reading her kindle.

 “I have always been proud to be a part of the Prairie Lakes team. It is an organization that has such a proud past and a bright future.” My years at PLHS have taught me time and time again that we have some of the best staff and physicians that I have been fortunate enough to work alongside,” Fieber said. “I’m excited to continue to serve an organization that is committed to its employees, continued growth, and providing excellent care to our patients.”

Gilbertson holds a master’s degree from the University of South Dakota and her undergraduate degree from South Dakota State University. She has been with Prairie Lakes for the past 10 years, and 8 years prior, where she has served in several leadership roles including Director of Human Resources, Executive Director of the Prairie Lakes Healthcare Foundation, Organizational Development Specialist, Medical Staff Liaison and Recruiter, and Outreach Coordinator. Previous to Prairie Lakes, she served as the Executive Director of Golden Living Center in Lake Norden, SD. Gilbertson was most recently promoted to the position of Interim Vice President in February 2022. In her free time, she enjoys spending time, preferably outdoors, with her family - husband Steve, and their boys Austin, his wife Sasha, and Brody, her sisters, and her parents. She also appreciates an occasional trip to Disney World.

“Prairie Lakes Healthcare System is a highly successful organization with a compelling vision for continued growth. We have phenomenal staff who work hard together to get the job done, and I believe our most valued asset is our people,” Gilbertson said. “I look forward to contributing to and providing leadership to a team that makes us better than we were the day before." 

Fieber and Gilbertson join the Prairie Lakes Administrative Leadership Team which consists of Shelly Turbak, Chief Nursing Officer, Jay Hodges, Interim Chief Financial Officer, and Paul Macek, Interim Chief Executive Officer.

Learn about Prairie Lakes Mission and Vision

Todd Hodenfield earned his Doctor of Physical Therapy from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. He later completed an Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Residency with Evidence in Motion. He is a Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy and focuses on restoring people’s confidence in the natural healing power and capability of the human body. He has a special interest in optimizing movement and working across the healthcare spectrum to improve the quality of life for all individuals he encounters.

Chelsea graduated from the University of South Dakota (USD) in Vermillion with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and a minor in Sociology. She went on to earn her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from USD. As an Occupational Therapist, she develops personalized treatment plans to help individuals of all ages increase strength, endurance, flexibility, and independence to return to an active lifestyle. Chelsea has also earned her Certification in Hand Therapy indicating advanced clinical knowledge in treatment of the upper extremity (shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand).