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Brookings Health System Board of Trustees
Minutes of Meeting
Monday, August 25, 2025
The Brookings Health System Board of Trustees held a meeting at the Brookings Hospital in the Board
Room with the following members present: Lynn Darnall, Mary Anne Krogh, Sheila Anderson (ph.), Jenn
Barlund (ph.), Shelby Eischens, Tracy Greene, Don Greiner, and David Jones
Ex-officio: Brianna Doran and Lisa Hager
Absent: David Meyer
Management Present: Jason Merkley, CEO; Tammy Hillestad, CNO; Melissa Wagner, CFO and Sheri
Wiig, recorder
President Darnall called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.
AGENDA
A motion was made by Eischens, seconded by Jones to approve the agenda. All present voted in favor;
motion carried.
CONSENT AGENDA
A motion was made by Krogh, seconded by Greiner to approve the following consent agenda items. The
motion carried unanimously.
1. June 30, 2025, Board of Trustees meeting minutes
2. June and July 2025 financials (total payables in June were $2,422,205.14 and $4,650,653.54 in July)
3. Brookings Health System Board Bylaws Annual Review
4. Medical Staff Bylaws Annual Review
5. Quality Assessment Performance Improvement Program Annual Review.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
Articles of interest included: “Summer camps inspire students to choose rural health careers”, NRHA
Rural Horizons; “2025 SD Nursing Workforce Supply”, South Dakota Nursing News; “What experts
think of the $50 billion rural health fund in Trump’s big bill”, pbs.org; “Detailed Summary of OBBA”,
AHA Legislative Advisory; and “One Big Beautiful Bill Act Provisions Timeline”, AHA.
Discussion was held on the variety of included articles that relate to current trends in the healthcare
industry; specifically aspects and timeline of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. Merkley predicts
there will be many challenges stemming from the new bill and most likely a significant negative impact
on all South Dakota’s hospital’s and the SD Medicaid population.
REPORTS
Executive Reports
CEO Report
Merkley noted Brookings Health System Foundation’s 16th annual Aiming to Inspire Health sporting
clays fundraiser, held earlier this month, was another great success with good community participation.
Net proceeds raised reached approximately $35k, which will go towards the new ambulance purchase for
Brookings Health System.
IT continues to evaluate end user device assessments as Brookings Health looks to transition to Epic’s
gold standard in hardware utilization. The assessments projected an estimated $350k worth of new
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hardware would be needed to work with Epic’s platform. After further evaluation, that figure was
decreased to around $170k. Additional gap analysis will be done to fine tune hardware needs/costs.
Merkley also shared Jeremiah Donahoe was selected by SDSU’s Athletic Department as this year’s
recipient of the Brookings Health System Health Professions Scholarship in SDSU Athletics. Donahoe
participates in Men’s Track & Field/Cross Country and is majoring in Pre-Medicine, Biotechnology and
Human Biology.
CFO Report
Wagner highlighted information regarding Brookings Health System’s Group Purchasing Organization
which helps reduce expenses through increased purchasing power leverage of a large group. Overall
savings have been anywhere from 5% to 8%. Wagner also noted that 2026 budget processes have begun
and will be similar to the past few years.
CNO Report
Hillestad shared focus for Registered Nurses this month was an educational, hands-on pediatric skills fair
relating to seven (7) specific skills on respiratory care. The skills fair was held in preparation for the
upcoming upper respiratory/flu season. Brookings Health is also preparing for flu shot clinics for staff and
offering additional education to help staff make a more informed decision regarding the vaccine.
Board Committee Reports
Administrative Committee Meeting
President Darnall provided a report; the Administrative Committee met on August 19th. Topics of
discussion included Yorkshire Medical Building Move/Landscaping/Ribbon Cutting, Workday/Epic,
City/County Board Member Application Timeline, Bylaws/Quality Assessment Plan Reviews, One Big
Beautiful Bill/Medicaid, Insurance Renewal, 2026 Budgets/Market Analysis, General Surgeon/Physician
Recruiter, and The Brookings Register/Legal Notices.
Members discussed Board Recruitment and identified a candidate for recommendation to replace County
appointee Anderson. Contact will be made with the candidate in the coming weeks. Darnall and Greiner
are both eligible for another 3-year term and expressed their interest in continuing to serve.
Finance Committee
Committee Chair Greiner provided a report; the Finance Committee met on August 19th. The committee
reviewed and approved June and July 2025 payables, financials, and adjustments. Total salaries and
wages in June were $2,289,089 and $2,386,858 in July. Other topics included Payor Mix and Cash Flow
Updates.
Quality Committee
Committee Chair Krogh provided a report; the Quality Committee met on August 19th. Invited guest,
Bunny Christie, Infection Preventionist, presented an overview of her role as Infection Preventionist
which is to implement strategies to minimize the risk of infections, protect patients and staff, and ensure a
safe environment. Other topics of discussion included Healthcare Associated Infections, Hospital-
Acquired Condition Reduction Program, and 5 Star Rating.
NEW BUSINESS
Medical Staff Credentialing Approval
Eischens provided a review of provider credentialing. A motion was made by Greene, seconded by
Barlund to approve all credentialing as recommended by the Medical Executive Committee. All present
voted in favor; motion carried.
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Yorkshire Medical Building Ribbon Cutting/Open House
Merkley informed members invitations for the Ribbon Cutting and Open House will be mailed this week.
The event will be held on September 8th at 5pm. All are welcome to attend.
Upon motion by Jones, second by Greiner, the meeting adjourned at 5:55 p.m. Motion carried
unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
_____________________________________
Mary Anne Krogh, Secretary