HURON — Huron Regional Medical Center (HRMC) recognized its August Exceptional Employee of the Month, Elliot Hinricher, Pharm. D., earlier this month.

Hinricher has worked as a pharmacist at HRMC for more than 11 years.  Nominated by colleagues, Hinricher has been described as reliable, determined and trustworthy. According to one nomination, “Elliot has embraced being a super-user in the electronic medical record for pharmacy. He is the go-to person when there are issues.”  The nomination continued, “Patient safety is important to Elliot and he strives to do the best for the patients at HRMC.”
HRMC’s Exceptional Employee of the Month award recognizes an employee who goes above and beyond to demonstrate the hospital’s values. Employees can be nominated by other coworkers or by a patient or visitor who witnesses exceptional service.

A committee of employees from various hospital departments chooses the employee on a monthly basis and an Exceptional Employee of the Year is chosen at year-end from the 12 monthly honorees by the HRMC board of directors.

As August Exceptional Employee, Hinricher receives a meal certificate to a local restaurant, a professional photo session and portrait, $50, a lapel pin and a special parking place for a month.

Growing up in a household with medical professionals drew Hinricher to discover pharmacy as a career.

His parents, Earl and Melanie, are both career pharmacists and his father serves as the director of pharmacy at HRMC.

Hinricher’s sister, Greta, also works in the medical field as a lab technician in Wessington Springs. “The opportunities for work are endless with pharmacy. You can be anything from a retail pharmacist, researcher, drug representative, clinic pharmacists and everything in between,” said Hinricher.

He continued, “I have the privilege of teaching new pharmacists, technicians and pharmacy students. I enjoy passing that knowledge on to them and making a difference in patients’ lives.”

Hinricher earned his Doctor of Pharmacy from South Dakota State University in 2012. He began work at HRMC after completing his degree and has taken on many special projects and is involved in committees and process improvement projects, including the Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee, Opioid Committee and Employee of the Month Committee.

In his free time, Hinricher enjoys home improvement projects and working on his investment properties in Huron. He is also a real estate agent through Action Realty in Huron, serves on the Membership Services Committee for the Huron Board of Realtors, for which he was recently elected as local director.

Patients or visitors can nominate an exceptional employee by calling 605-353-6539 for a nomination form or via e-mail at hr@huronregional.org.