Frontier Care, Modern Tools: Bringing Access Home Across Rural South Dakota  

Lacey Finkbeiner, Clinical Informatics Specialist at Horizon Healthcare, joins Joanna Braunold to share how her team is redefining access across South Dakota’s rural and tribal communities. From broadband breakthroughs to telehealth-enabled school clinics, Lacey explains how digital innovation and community partnerships are helping families get care closer to home. 

Across 28,000 square miles of South Dakota, Horizon Healthcare is often the only provider for miles. Lacey Finkbeiner explains how her team uses telemedicine to close gaps for patients who might otherwise drive hours for care. Clinics like Horizon’s site in Bison rely on nurses and digital tools to connect patients with remote providers, allowing them to stay local while still receiving high-quality primary, behavioral, and dental care. 

Contrary to expectations, some of South Dakota’s tribal reservations have better fiber connectivity than nearby cities, thanks to targeted funding and partnerships with local telcos. Lacey shares how Horizon has leveraged those relationships and federal grants to strengthen broadband access, and how they support patients and staff through outreach, annual training, and simple digital literacy programs. Word-of-mouth has become their most effective tool for driving adoption and trust. 

From tele-behavioral health to school-based clinics, Horizon’s hybrid approach keeps care close to home. School programs connect students to providers via telehealth for same-day testing and treatment, helping children stay in class while getting care. For Lacey, these programs are personal, rooted in her lifelong commitment to rural health and her belief that technology can sustain small communities by keeping people healthy, connected, and cared for where they live.

Lacey Finkbeiner is currently employed at Horizon Health Care as a Clinical Informatics Specialist.  Lacey has worked in the FQHC world for over 14 years, beginning her career at Prairie Community Health in Isabel, SD in 2009.  In 2016, Prairie Community Health and Horizon Health Care merged forces in which she has continued her employment path.  Lacey worked closely with Prairie Health IT Network’s training program from 2016-2018.  As the grant concluded Lacey became a full time member of Horizon’s Health Informatics’ team and currently at Horizon Lacey works closely with our electronic health record and telemedicine programs.  In 2019 Lacey worked with a team of providers to launch Horizon’s TytoCare program in 22 clinic locations.  This program is largely utilized to date to provide access to patients in these rural community settings to primary care and specialty providers. 

Lacey was born and raised in Isabel, SD.  After high school she completed college at the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science and minor in Management Information Systems in 2007 and Master’s in Business Administration in 2009.  Lacey enjoys camping, travelling, volunteering in community activities, and spending time with her family.