When it comes to rural health care and ways Sanford Health can continue to make it better, 2025 Becky Nelson Nursing Leadership Fellow Destinie Stapleton’s heart is in the right place, and so are her boots.
Stapleton’s ability to provide valuable insight into rural health care starts with her experience as a nurse practitioner at Sanford Jackson Medical Center in Jackson, Minnesota. In both family care and emergency care settings, Stapleton has developed a clear view of some of the health challenges associated with areas where care can be hard to access.
Stapleton has distinguished herself in Jackson for her capacity to focus on patients while also keeping an eye on the process. Are there better ways to deliver the best care? It’s a question with an answer that continues to evolve within the world of rural health.
Amy Thiesse, chief nursing officer, Sanford Health Network, south region, was part of a site visit at Sanford Jackson Medical Center that included a lunch with Jackson providers.
Stapleton quickly established herself that day as the kind of provider capable of bringing Sanford core values forward. She had “a few pebbles in her shoe,” as Thiesse described it, while advocating for her patients that day.
“She wasn’t complaining,” Thiesse said. “It was, ‘How do I bring a solution along with that?’
“She is very focused on what she believes. That is, a commitment to rural communities. She has a passion for the people that she cares for as well as a great desire to make that difference and keep things moving.”
Just like Becky
The fellowship’s namesake, Becky Nelson, began her career as a staff nurse in Aberdeen. She would go on to devote decades to Sanford Health before retiring as the organization’s chief operating officer. She returned in 2018 as the Good Samaritan Society’s chief of staff to guide the integration with Sanford Health.
Like Nelson’s, Stapleton’s career in health care comes with its own unconventional path. She started out as a veterinary technician and loved it. Then, at a stage in life where most people are settled into a profession they will stay with for the rest of their working lives, she went back to school for eight years to become a nurse.
Her resolve will serve her well as she navigates the opportunities presented by the Becky Nelson fellowship. She will be representing Jackson and the surrounding area in one sense, but also the interests and concerns of rural health throughout Sanford.
“I truly didn’t know if a person from a rural setting who has a day job — working with boots on the ground in medicine like I have — would have the opportunity to serve in a leadership role that goes beyond the facility where I work,” Stapleton said. “I think it is apparent Sanford is committed to utilizing people in leadership roles who aren’t necessarily always just living in Sioux Falls.”
A year of opportunity
As part of the fellowship, Stapleton will have an opportunity to meet leaders from throughout Sanford, sharing rural care insights with those who will offer their own perspectives on the specific challenges within the health system.
Those who applied for the 2025 fellowship were asked to provide a minimum of three goals they had in relation to nursing leadership development objectives. Tellingly, given her enthusiasm and insight into the challenges of rural health, Stapleton provided six.
“Yes, there are a lot of plans potentially,” Stapleton said, laughing. “I thought maybe I might get my application reviewed and they would see all these plans and they might go, ‘We need somebody with fewer plans or fewer dreams.’”
That most certainly was not the case. In fact, those plans and dreams figured significantly in the selection process.
“Three things stood to me about Destinie’s application,” said Erica DeBoer, Sanford Health’s chief nursing officer. “No. 1, she’s an APP (advanced practice provider) with a background as a veterinary tech, so she has a varied background. You could sense, based on some of her background, that she has an incredible amount of grit. No. 2, her passion for rural health care medicine was palpable — especially considering the creative problem-solving you have to do in a rural setting. The final element that stood out was the vast list of her project ideas. Truly inspiring!”
Ultimately, those who made the selection saw her as an individual who was going to make the most of this as an aspiring Sanford leader.
“When you think about how the application is pulled together, it’s not just about the references, it’s not just about your background,” DeBoer said. “It’s really this: How are you going to leverage or use the fellowship program? Destinie provided us with very specific examples of how she wants to truly change rural health care medicine.”
‘This is what I cared about’
Bridging the educational gap from vet tech to nurse practitioner involved family support and occasional internal pep talks. Going back to school was not easy, but in her mind, it was the right thing to do.
“It makes you question whether you really have it in you or what you really want to do with your life,” Stapleton said. “It was easy after I started to get back into school and get going to see that this is what I cared about. If you’re doing something you are not passionate about, you’re not going to do it very well. This is something I’m truly passionate about.”
That passion has been easy to spot at Sanford Jackson Medical Center. During a meeting with Dawn Schnell, administrator/chief executive officer at the medical center, Stapleton was announcing herself as a strong candidate for the fellowship, though she didn’t know it at the time.
“She was in my office telling me, ‘Dawn, I really want to make a difference. I really want to make a difference in people’s lives. I want to improve the care we provide. How do I do that?’” Schnell said. “Then the fellowship came about and Dave Rogers (vice president, operations, health network, Sioux Falls) and Amy Thiesse said she needs to apply. This is her time.”
As a fellow, Stapleton will participate in tailored learning opportunities, gain a big-picture view of health care and attend leadership events and retreats. She will learn and very likely also teach.
“You know, you hear this all the time — we’re here for everybody, we’re here for good,” Stapleton said. “It’s not just something they say. I am being chosen to do something from a rural setting to make a difference. I think that is amazing.”
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Posted In Awards & Recognition, Jackson, Nursing and Nursing Support, Physicians and APPs, Rural Health
