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Prairie Lakes Welcomes New Chief Information Officer

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Prairie Lakes Welcomes New Chief Information Officer
PLHS

September 1, 2023

WATERTOWN, S.D.–Prairie Lakes Healthcare System is pleased to welcome Tim Pugsley (pictured) to the administrative leadership staff. As Chief Information Officer (CIO), Pugsley will provide executive leadership for strategic information technology initiatives at PLHS.

Pugsley grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and graduated from Bellevue University in Nebraska with a degree in Management of Information Systems and went on to earn his master’s in business administration. He is a Fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives, Health Information Management Systems Society, and College of Healthcare Information Management Executives. Pugsley is also a certified Healthcare CIO and sits on the board of directors for the Minnesota State Health Information Management Systems Society Chapter and the national chapter of the Association for Executives in Healthcare Information Technology.

Pugsley recently relocated to Watertown from Mankato, Minnesota where he had responsibility for the technology and analytics teams for a multi-specialty physician group. Prior to his position in Minnesota, he was the CIO at Titus Regional Medical Center in Mount Pleasant, Texas for seven years. Before that, he served as the CIO for a physician owned orthopedic hospital for 10 years. He and his wife, Mandi have three children: Jordan, Madelyn, and Emma. In his spare time, Pugsley enjoys outdoor activities including golf, hunting, and fishing.

“My wife and I recently moved to Watertown, and we really like the community,” Pugsley said. “I am excited to become part of PLHS because of the dedication to providing excellent patient care.” He added, “As professionals in the healthcare sector, our true north is to help others and it is evident the people at PLHS are committed to helping members of the community. I am thrilled to become part of that culture.”

Pugsley 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, Jay Hodges, Interim Chief Financial Officer, and John Allen, Chief Executive Officer.