News

Local EMS Teams Receive State Funding

Posted 12/22/24 (Sun)

Photo: Abbie and Justin, two of Mobridge Regional Hospital's EMS teammates, discuss records from a recent ambulance run.

In November of 2023, the SD Department of Health published the findings from a state-wide Regional Services Designation Ambulance System Study. The report aimed to identify current challenges facing the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in South Dakota that work to ensure all South Dakotans receive high-quality healthcare in a timely and efficient manner. The findings were concerning, and the state decided to allocate funding for the planning and implementation of regional solutions to the challenges facing our medical first responders.

In March 2024, Mobridge Regional Hospital submitted an application to the state for funds needed to collaborate across the five regional ambulance and EMS crews that most often work with Mobridge Regional Hospital’s Emergency Room team: Selby EMS, Timber Lake EMS, Standing Rock EMS, Campbell County EMS, and our hospital’s own internal team. With strong ties to all of these EMS teams, the goal was to create a Regional EMS Advisory Group for North Central South Dakota that could identify common challenges and develop regional solutions that would pool resources, reduce duplication, and improve interagency communication to the benefit of the entire region.

MRH&C was awarded $2,100 for the planning phase—enough for the staff time needed to organize, attend, and report on meetings across the region with these five partners. Meetings were completed in summer of 2024 and data was compiled into a preliminary report in August of 2024. That report became the foundation for 5 additional grant applications, one for each EMS organization, that were submitted in October 2024—this time for funds to help implement findings in the planning stage.

On November 22, Mobridge Regional Hospital & Clinics was notified that its application had been partially funded for a total of $156,509.39 and that the other four partnering EMS organizations had been awarded another $116,175.74 combined. Each of the awarded organizations is currently working with the state to get contracts signed, but once those are completed, the newly formed Advisory Group will be able to get started on some wonderful improvements to the area’s EMS systems.

For the EMS and ER teams in Mobridge, here’s what implementation, from now until November 2026, will include.

• Hiring and training a Community Health Worker to assist with implementation of the project for area teams and help reduce non-emergency ambulance calls in the region from his or her base at Mobridge Regional Hospital
• Creating and distributing jump bags for off-duty EMS providers and first responders (four for each of the five participating EMS teams)
• Purchasing AEDs for new locations within the Mobridge community, purchasing CPR manikins for public trainings, and providing two free public First Aid/AED training classes at new AED locations
• Purchasing FirstNet MegaFi Mobile Kits with DC Power and Roof-Mount Antenna for our Mobridge ambulances that do not currently have them
• Purchasing Handtevy badge reference cards for all regional EMS personnel that show pediatric drug doses at-a-glance to reduce the chance of medication errors en route to Mobridge Regional Hospital
• Purchase of a regional communication system app solution to allow all five teams to collaborate more effectively together in the future
• Purchase of EMT training books for local recruitment activities (one of Selby’s funded projects was an EMT training class at Selby school—if you are interested in becoming an EMT or know someone who is, please reach out to us)
• Stop the Bleed equipment, first responder kits and free trainings for area fire and police departments who sometimes can get to trauma scenes faster than an EMS service
• Equipment for a regional EMS training kit that includes sophisticated patient simulators; critical airway management, chest drain and needle decompression, and other trainers; and more that all 5 regional services can use on a rotating basis
• A website for the new Regional EMS Advisory Group
• Funds to develop a K-12 EMS Career Exploration program and pilot the curriculum and activities in local schools
• Funds to develop and pilot a 3-5^th grade summer EMS camp
• EMS-related outreach and recruitment materials for public events

Please stay tuned for more updates on this exciting project in the coming months. If you have any questions, please contact Haden Merkel at 605-845-8180.