Delbridge, Heermann Named Directors at Brookings Health

Brookings Health System recently appointed two new directors, Emily Delbridge, RN, and Mellissa Heermann.

Delbridge was promoted to Quality Director. In this role, she provides education and training to drive organizational improvement efforts and to support staff competence. She also oversees clinical data submissions as required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and administers the physician peer review process as required by federal and state regulations for hospitals. In addition, Delbridge provides quality assessment and performance improvement activities as required by federal and state regulations for all Brookings Health System entities and collaborates with team members to develop and implement organizational improvement initiatives.

Delbridge has over 13 years of nursing experience and has worked for Brookings Health since 2011, serving the past six years as a clinical quality specialist. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from South Dakota State and a master’s degree in administrative studies, healthcare administration from the University of South Dakota. Delbridge belongs to the Brookings Area Local Lean Consortium and served as a project sponsor for SDSU operations management students working on lean processes in healthcare. She also belongs to the National Association for Healthcare Quality and the South Dakota Association for Healthcare Quality.

Heermann was named business office director. In this role, she is responsible for business office functions for inpatient, outpatient, long-term care, clinics, joint ventures and hospital-based physicians. This includes patient registration, appointment scheduling, billing, insurance verification, coordination of benefits and patient financial counseling. She also oversees the overall operations of the business office to ensure timely, legally compliant and accurate billing and works to maximize cash flow and minimize bad debt through the accounts receivable and collections processes.

Heermann has over 16 years of experience with Daktronics, spending 10 years in management with the company. She most recently served as an IT manager. She holds a bachelor’s degree in international business from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master’s degree in operations management from South Dakota State University. She also currently serves on the Brookings School Board, volunteers with Junior Achievement, belongs to P.E.O., and annually serves as a Salvation Army bell ringer.

For more information on job opportunities available Brookings Health System, visit brookingshealth.org/jobs.

About Brookings Health System

Brookings Health System, located in Brookings, South Dakota, includes a 49-bed hospital, the 79-bed The Neighborhoods at Brookview nursing home, Brookhaven Estates senior living apartments, Yorkshire Eye Clinic & Optical, and medical clinics in Arlington, White and Volga, South Dakota. It is a non-profit, city-owned facility that offers the community a full range of inpatient, outpatient, emergency and extended care services. Brookings Hospital provides local access to doctors in Brookings and offers robotic da Vinci surgery and Mako robotic-arm assisted procedures, making it one of the premier rural community hospitals in South Dakota. For more information about the services offered at Brookings Health System, please call (605) 696-9000 or visit us on the Web at brookingshealth.org.