News & Events

Photo: ER teammates, Danielle and Brooke, pose with a couple of Med Flight bags provided by Knights of Columbus.

One Wednesday, in the fall of 2016, a Mobridge man was taking his wife to visit her orthopedic surgeon in Sioux Falls. His wife had received transfusions Monday and Tuesday at Mobridge Regional Hospital because her hemoglobin was low. On a whim, he decided to turn off Highway 12 at Ipswich and take a different route than usual. Midway to Miller, his wife started going into shock.

It was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and he wasn’t sure where the nearest hospital was. Seriously worried, he jumped out at the Rexall Drug on Main St. in Miller and explained the situation to the pharmacist there. The pharmacist gave directions to the hospital, and upon their arrival, the hospital staff contacted Sanford and called for an air flight to Sioux Falls. His wife was to be flown out, and he would follow in their vehicle.

As he was preparing to leave, a nurse handed him a bag with a couple bottles of water, granola bars, and an envelope holding a card with a short prayer and cash card to help him with gas or other incidentals he might need along the way to Sioux Falls. She told him that they hoped this would help with anything he needed on his way.

The unexpected kindness at such a difficult moment made an impression, and he mentioned the experience to other Knights of Columbus members at their next meeting. The very next month, they were looking for a local project to support and someone mentioned starting a flight bag program for Mobridge Regional Hospital. Members reached out to Director of Clinic Operations, Jodi Madison, who was very excited and supportive of the idea.

As some might say, the rest is history. Since May 2017, the Mobridge Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men’s organization with about 50 local members, have been quietly working to ease the stress of Mobridge Regional Hospital medical flight patients and their families. The group voted to create the program, hosted a few pancake feeds, and started delivering bags in collaboration with the Mobridge Regional Hospital team shortly after. Over the last 8 years, they have provided 128 such bags to patients and their families, filled with water bottles, granola bars, and a card with some encouragement and a gift card for gas and incidentals.

Photo: Contents of a donated Med Flight bag displayed on one of MRH&C's six Emergency Room beds.

They have had patients and their families reach out or mention their gratitude for the program and garnered additional support from organizations like West River Telecommunications, who donated through their Employee Giving Program recently, but they have never sought any personal recognition. The program is a collaboration with Mobridge Regional Hospital’s Emergency Room staff. The ER personnel decide when it is appropriate to give a patient or their family a bag and lets the Knights know when bags are running low. The organization has seen an increase in the usage of flight bags over the years and works diligently to meet that need still today.