National Physician Assistants (PA) Week occurs each year as a way to showcase the profession and its contribution to the nation's health. 

The American Academy of Physician Associates (Assistants) (AAPA) is celebrating in 2023 with their "Go Beyond!" campaign raising awareness of how PAs "go beyond" the general scope of healthcare practice:

  • Leading with experience and expertise: every PA student completes 2,000 hours of clinical rotations
  • Listening with compassion: PAs ensure patients feel heard and respected
  • Empowering patients with personalized, quality care: PAs provide essential preventative care to ensure an improved lifestyle for patients
  • Strengthening the core of the healthcare system: PAs fill the gap by providing quality healthcare, especially with a rapidly growing population

At PLHS we are lucky to have ten (10) excellent PAs in our family that "Go Beyond!" for our patients by providing exceptional care and service each and everyday:

PA Week 2023 v2

National Nurse Practitioner week is November 12-18, 2023 - be on the look out as we celebrate all of our wonderful APPs. 

Prairie Lakes Healthcare System is pleased to welcome Hamid Assadi, MD and John Kinross-Wright, MD to our team of Hospitalists who manage the medical care for patients who are hospitalized at Prairie Lakes. Prairie Lakes Hospitalists are medical doctors with expertise in internal medicine and family practice.

Dr. Assadi received his medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine in Portsmouth, Dominica and completed his family medicine residency at the University of Wisconsin Family Medicine in Wausau, WI. He most recently has been a Hospitalist and Nocturnist at Aspirus Wausau Hospital in Wisconsin while working with medical students as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin School of Medicine. In his spare time, Dr. Assadi enjoys traveling, playing tennis, and watching movies.

Dr. Kinross-Wright was born in Montana where he completed his undergrad before going on to receive his medical degree from the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, CO and completed his internal medicine residency at the Sanford School of Medicine at the University of South Dakota in Sioux Falls. He is a member of the American Medical Association, American College of Physicians, and the South Dakota State Medical Association. In his free time, Dr. Kinross-Wright enjoys spending time with his family, going outdoors with his dogs, sitting down reading with his cats, and traveling when he can find the time.

Prairie Lakes Healthcare System has a team of hospitalists who make sure that all aspects of patient care during a hospital stay are being addressed. They are medical doctors with advanced expertise in fields such as internal medicine and family practice. Hospitalists work closely with the pharmacy staff, nurses, social workers and other medical professionals to create and complete a comprehensive plan of care for your stay at Prairie Lakes Hospital.

Learn More About the Prairie Lakes Hospitalist Team and Program

Prairie Lakes Healthcare System (PLHS) is pleased to welcome Lynn Severson to the administrative leadership staff. As Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Severson will provide executive leadership for financial management at PLHS.

Severson grew up in Duluth, MN and received her accounting degree from the University of Wisconsin Superior followed later by her master’s degree in healthcare administration from Concordia University in St. Paul, MN. She has over 20 years of experience in healthcare, most recently working at Cuyuna Regional Medical Center in Crosby, MN as the Chief Operating Officer. Prior to that she worked at Essentia Health for several years holding a variety of financial leadership roles. Severson is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association and is active in United Way.

Severson and her husband, Scott, will be relocating to Watertown from Brainerd, MN. They have five children and two grandchildren.  In their spare time, they enjoy spending time with family, traveling and outdoor activities such as boating, biking, and kayaking.

“I have a strong passion for healthcare in rural communities,” Severson said.  “Prairie Lakes shares that same passion with the commitment to deliver high quality care to patients right here in the community where we all live and work.  My husband and I are truly impressed with how welcoming the community is and we cannot wait to become more involved.”

Severson joins the Prairie Lakes Administrative Leadership Team consisting of Shelly Turbak, Chief Nursing Officer, Alison Gilbertson, Vice President of Human Resources, Laurie Fieber, Vice President of Operations, Tim Pugsley, Chief Information Officer, and John Allen, Chief Executive Officer.

About Prairie Lakes Healthcare System

October 25th marked South Dakota's Winter Readiness Day! During that time, our healthcare safety team spent time gearing up for the chilly temperatures and what that means for our patients and potential patients, visitors, and staff. Prairie Lakes Healthcare System will be sharing winter prepardeness tips all season long to ensure you and your family stay warm and safe. 

Blizzards that last for days, snow that accumulates by the foot, bitter wind and cold that stings the face, all of these things are just part of living in Northeast South Dakota during the winter months! 

While we are no strangers to the hazards winter can bring, it is still prudent to review safety and preparedness steps that should be taken before, during and after winter storms. 

One of the many things we can do to protect ourselves is to dress appropriately as the weather slowly starts to drop to near or below freezing temperatures. It's important to layer, keep your feet dry & warm, and protect your skin. Print the following graphic and stick it on your refrigerator as a reminder or to help explain to young children.

Winter Dress Infographic

Download Here

For more information and Winter Readiness tips, visit The National Weather Service Weather-Ready Nation.

At Prairie Lakes Healthcare System we often times care for patients nearing the end of life. In order to provide a blanket of comfort and compassion to those patients and their families, we are blessed to have Jodi Brinkman, Pastoral Care Representative and Sherri Sellers, Spiritual Care Coordinator. While their roles are very different, they both bring a wealth of experience, passion, and emotional support to our patients and employees. 

Pastoral Care

Jodi explains her role as Pastoral Care Representative, "In-house Pastoral Care (PC) is an opportunity to provide spiritual and emotional support to patients, families, and staff of Prairie Lakes Healthcare System. In-house PC provides support (24 hours a day; seven days per week; 365 days per year) with the help of pastoral care volunteers from our community. Jodi small cropped

Anyone may request services at any time from Pastoral Care. Grief support, a new medical crisis, contacting one’s own church family, debriefings from crisis, praying with someone, reading scripture, providing a Bible, celebrating and embracing end of life or the beginning of life, accidents, kidney dialysis challenges, cancer treatment, wound care, same day services, emergency room visits and more is just a few of the areas/ways that Pastoral Care is here to journey with any and all that we encounter or are requested to visit. 

Prairie Lakes also has a beautiful chapel on 2nd floor that can be used as a place of peace and encouragement." 

Spiritual Care

Sherri small croppedSherri recently joined the Prairie Lakes Family in her role after years of service in local parishes. She explains what her job means to her, "Working with the Hospice team is incredible. Once a rapport is established with the family and patient, the most astounding part of my position is helping those folks identify and process some of their emotions so that as they nurture their spirituality, they begin to discover a peace and a calm. When they express, ‘I’m going home’, it is the most amazing sentence ever. Walking with them that close to eternity is unbelievable. I find there is deep sorrow as well as mountain top joy experienced with each family I am privileged to walk with. 

Walking with these families through the dying process, and then having them come together in Grief Support is one more level of continuum of care. Families share their stories and know they do not walk this valley of grief alone. I am so very fortunate to know them in their darkest hours, to assist in climbing back up the gorge, and then to be able to call many ‘friend’." 

For in-house pastoral care, you may contact Jodi Brinkman at 605-880-1145; 605-882-6743, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and she is also available on the Voalte system. For Hospice Spiritual Care, contact Sherri Sellers at 605-882-7714 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The cooler weather outside created the perfect atmosphere to cozy up amongst friends, enjoy some hot soup and coffee, and Celebrate Life! 

The 9th Annual Celebrating Life Breast Cancer Awareness Event was a huge success with over 165 women and men in attendance. We came together to celebrate and support the women of the Watertown Breast Cancer Support Group (BCSG) which for over 19 years has either financially or emotionally assisted over 160 women and gifted over $130,000. Due to a silent auction, the Prairie Lakes Healthcare Foundation selling Breast Cancer Awareness bracelets, and donation envelopes, the evening raised over $1,500 for the BCSG and the Christy Kinney Pay it Forward Fund

We heard from Colita Remmers, founding member of the BCSG, together with Susie Faehn whom both served on the event's planning committee along with Carla Roby. All three of these remarkable women are breast cancer survivors. We heard an emotional testimonial from a local breast cancer warrior, Kelly Lindner, still going through her journey. Over the course of the event, we were moved to tears by countless stories of strength, resilience, and hope that these courageous women have faced. Some in attendance may have just learned of their cancer diagnosis in the past 30 days. Others may have been celebrating over 20 years since battling this disease. Either way, we learned to celebrate the life you're blessed to live each and every day. 

Our keynote speaker, Susan Sparks, shared her own cancer story with humor, grace, and wisdom. She shared a poignant story of making it through a terrible storm on the back of her husband's Harley Davidson motorcycle. They realized they needed to find shelter, rest & regroup, and then head back out to face the storm of they'd never reach their destination. Susan related those lessons to any of life's storms one may be facing. 

We would like to extend a big thank you to our volunteers from the Prairie Lakes Cancer Center and Prairie Lakes Healthcare Foundation who committed their personal time to welcome our guests and provide helpful information. Thank you to Dr. Schaeffer and Dr. Gerrish from General Surgery, Dr. Amin and Dr. Rao from the Cancer Center and Dr. Schaunaman from Brown Clinic for spending time with the women of the BCSG. 

We would also like to thank everybody that came to the event. We hope you had as much fun as we did planning it!

Providing events like Celebrating Life 2023 help to establish PLHS as the keystone in the Watertown Community and surrounding areas as we connect, educate, and inspire our friends, family, and neighbors. We're already looking forward to Celebrating Life 2024! 

Your Blood Matters.

What can be done to make sure your friends, neighbors, and family receive the blood they need? It’s simple – donate blood to the Community Blood Bank.

The Blood Mobile will be parked outside of the Prairie Lakes Specialty Clinic from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm. on Monday, November 13th. 

Ten reasons why you should give blood:

  1. You can save up to 3 lives!
  2. Not everyone is eligible to donate blood. Only 38% of the population can donate, so if you're able, you are a selected minority.
  3. Your body will make new blood. It takes about 24 hours to replace plasma and about 4-6 weeks to replace red blood cells.
  4. Giving blood is not painful. You may feel a slight prick initially but it doesn't last long.
  5. Donating blood burns calories! Your body will burn approximately 650 calories just by donating.
  6. You get a free well-check. Before you give, the phlebotomist will check your blood pressure, pulse, temperature, and hemoglobin levels. You may also be screened by HIV, Hepatitis, and other diseases. 
  7. It takes only 30 to 40 minutes of your time.
  8. You feel a boost in confidence and your emotional well-being knowing that you have done a good deel and are a part of saving lives.
  9. There is no substitute for human blood. Blood can not be manufactured in any way and it always in high demand.
  10. You may be one of the 25% of people who need blood donation one day. 

UPDATE: All donors will receive a $10 Hy-Vee gift card!

Donation times are available from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and again from 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Check-in is in the Prairie Lakes Specialty Clinic main lobby.    

To schedule your appointment, click the link below and select an available time. You can also call Community Blood Bank at 605-331-3222.

  Sign Up Here

Guidelines to Donate:
  • Blood donors must be at least 16 years old (16 years old with a signed parent consent form found at www.cbblifeblood.org) weigh 110 pounds or more and be in good general health.
  • Donors exhibiting COVID, cold or flu symptoms are unable to donate. 
  • Valid identification is required at the time of registration. 
  • It is recommended that a person eat and drink plenty of fluid prior to donating blood. Avoid energy drinks.
  • Walk-ins will be accepted, if there is room or a cancellation – staff on event day will manage this process

Download Blood Drive Poster

This week Prairie Lakes Healthcare System partnered with Lake Area Technical College to create Explore Camp 2023

High school students interested in a career in healthcare participated in the full-day exploration camp. Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors from various high schools throughout the region attended. The first half of the day featured patient treatment processes in different departments of Prairie Lakes Healthcare System (PLHS) along with a tour. The second half of the camp took place at Lake Area Technical College (LATC) with a provided lunch along with education.

Many PLHS departments took time to speak with the students and teach them specifics about their specific role in the healthcare field. Participating departments included Radiology, ER, Lab, Rehab Services, MSP, Home Health, CCU, and Surgical Services. They even got to check out the helipad!

The goal of Explore Camp is to bring awareness to the variety of medical careers available in healthcare. In addition, we want to build interest in students to stay in the Watertown area for their medical education, training, and experience. 

We've heard from a few participants already. One young woman exclaimed, "This was amazing, don’t go back to the old way!" This particular student had participated in "Scrubs Camp" in the past. Heidi W., Explore Camp lead from LATC, added, "Eyes were opened at the number of careers within a hospital." Another student was surprised by the PLHS culture, "It surprised me that people have fun in a hospital, I thought it was all serious and heavy all the time!” 

School counselors were also on hand throughout the day. One mentioned, "You don’t realize the goldmine you have here, once word gets out your registrations will fill in one day!” This particular counselor has taken students to similar camps throughout South Dakota looking for the right combination of career exploration for her students and agreed she would come back to Watertown. She would "rather drive the distance for quality not local for convenience."

Many people across several departments came together to make Explore Camp a success. Team leaders spent the morning with the students on tours, answering questions, and guiding them through patient simulations- Leah Le (Director of Specialty Clinics), Ian J. (CCU), Michael B. (Patient Care Svs), Elizabeth W. (Patient Care Svs), Emma G. (MSP), Gabriella J. (Anesthesia), and Shannon B. (Marketing). Staff Recruiter Grace T. worked tirelessly with LATC and local high schools to organize the event over the past several months.  

Thank you to all those that made Explore Camp such a triumph!

Explore Camp 2023 Google Photo Album

Austin Dale, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) and Director of Anesthesia at Prairie Lakes Healthcare System recently completed his Fellowship in Advanced Pain Management through Texas Christian University. He will be offering new pain management services available to patients through the Pain Science Center at Prairie Lakes Specialty Clinic.

PLHS PainScienceCenter LogoVerticalAustin has been with Prairie Lakes for eight years and has three years of experience in nerve and injection related procedures for acute surgical pain. The goal of the fellowship program that Austin completed is to approach pain management holistically by addressing the treatment of pain in ways that ultimately seek to restore normal well-being.

“Years ago, I realized the value that appropriate treatment of patient’s perioperative pain was essential for their recovery,” said Austin. “I sought after the additional Pain Management Fellowship to try and assist those individuals that also suffer from acute and chronic pain. My goal is to provide an additional avenue for patients within our community to seek personalized care for their pain.”

Austin will function within the Pain Science Center to evaluate and treat patients with ongoing pain by offering procedural and medication management, including injections and nerve blocks, for a variety of pain conditions.

“Pain is very individualized and can be debilitating,” added Austin. “Through a comprehensive approach with multiple different entities, my goal will be to assist individuals at getting back to their normal activities of daily life.”

Those who have been experiencing aches and pains for longer than a few months may benefit from seeing Austin Dale, CRNA and Eric Fjeldheim, DPT at the Pain Science Center for multidisciplinary care in the treatment of their pain.

Appointments with Austin Dale can be made with a referral from a physician. For questions and more information, call the Pain Science Center at 605-882-7700 or click below. 

Pain Science Center at Prairie Lakes Specialty Clinic

The Prairie Lakes Ambassadors Are Making a Positive Impact on the Watertown Community

The Prairie Lakes Ambassador Program was launched earlier this year with the goal of establishing a group of Prairie Lakes Healthcare System (PLHS) employees who represent our organization and work to engage with the community, promote our mission, and contribute positively to the community. 

Here are some ways in which the Prairie Lakes Ambassadors have impacted the Watertown community:

  • Painted the community meeting spaces in the Salvation Army offices
  • Distributed popsicles at "Health Night" during Thursday Night Live
  • Sold roses during Yellow Rose Week throughout the community
  • Served beverages and attended the parking lots at Cooking on Kampeska
  • Cleaned up the park around Slumberland Disc Golf Course (bottom of St. Anne's Hill)
  • Served at Watertown Banquet
  • Collected canned food donations at local grocery stores for Back PACH
  • Led countless tour around the PLHS campus for various classes and organizations
  • Spoken to several service organizations to present information about PLHS services and specialities

We are always looking for additional ways in which we can give back to our neighbors. If your organization is in need of volunteers to support a cause or a specific event, please contact Shannon B. in Marketing at 605-882-7908.