Pickrel Joins Brookings Health as Quality Director

  • January 21, 2025
Quality Director Tara Pickrel, RN
Quality Director Tara Pickrel, RN

Tara Pickrel, RN, recently joined Brookings Health System’s team as the organization's new quality director. 

In this role, Pickrel will provide education and training to drive organizational improvement efforts and to support staff competence. She will also oversee clinical data submissions as required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and administer the physician peer review process as required by federal and state regulations for hospitals. In addition, Pickrel will provide quality assessment and performance improvement activities as required by federal and state regulations for all Brookings Health System entities. She will collaborate with team members to develop and implement organizational improvement initiatives. 

Pickrel has over 20 years of nursing experience, including critical care, operating room and performance improvement. She most recently served as a clinical risk analyst for Sanford Health in Sioux Falls. 

Pickrel received her licensed practical nurse (LPN) certificate from Lake Are Technical College, Watertown, S.D., and her associate’s degree in nursing from the University of South Dakota. She holds both a bachelor's degree and master’s degree in nursing from Western Governor’s University, Salt Lake City.

Brookings Health’s workforce embodies the spirit of teamwork, working together across disciplines to care for local patients and residents. Individuals who want to join Brookings Health System’s Top 20 Rural Community Hospital team can find a position right for them at brookingshealth.org/Careers.

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.