Established in 1978, Horizon Health Care, Inc. provides personalized, affordable, high quality medical, dental, and behavioral health care through a rural community-based network across South Dakota. Horizon began when a group of concerned citizens from the communities of Howard and Bryant (Miner-Hamlin Health Care Project) and Wessington Springs, Plankinton, and Woonsocket (Tri-County Health Care) formed their respective Federally Qualified Community Health Centers (FQHCs) to ensure health care would remain in their communities.
Each organization received a grant from the Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) to assist the communities in recruiting healthcare professionals and opening a clinic to provide primary care. The Howard Clinic began providing services in February 1978 and the Bryant Clinic opened in March 1978. The Jerauld County Clinic opened for service in August 1978 and the Aurora and Whiting Memorial Clinics opened shortly after.
In 1998, the two organizations merged and formed Horizon Health Care, Inc. (Horizon) to better serve their patients. Over the years, Horizon has went through numerous mergers, acquisitions, and New Access Points including mergers with former FQHCs, Prairie Community Health Centers and allPOINTS Health.
Today, Horizon services the medical, dental, and mental health care needs of South Dakotans through 110,000 patient visits annually throughout 32 medical and dental clinics. In 2018, Horizon celebrated their 40th anniversary of quality patient care. Throughout the past four decades, Horizon has expanded their scope of practice to include dental services, telemedicine, behavioral health services, and embraced medical technology to enhance Electronic Health Record capabilities.
