Leaders from South Dakota's largest, competing hospitals have come together to work out how they can best address the healthcare needs of rural South Dakotans, the Argus Leader reported Oct. 25.
According to the state health department, the majority of South Dakota counties are medically underserved, with more than 100 rural hospitals closed. The region has also been suffering from staff shortages and the lack of economic stimulation that workers bring to an area. Leaders from Avera Health and Sanford Health, both based in Sioux Falls, gathered on Oct. 25 at the Downtown Sioux Falls Rotary Meeting to discuss these challenges.
"When hospitals go away in these communities, the ability to attract any health care professional … that ability to recruit those folks into those communities, decreases significantly as well," said Joshua Crabtree, MD, vice president of Sanford Health Clinic.
The dean of USD Sanford School of Medicine, Tim Ridgway, MD, said that the medical school will partner with social work schools to create a deeper understanding of mental health training. Dr. Ridway also stated that the school donates $24,000 to native students as a way to help support the state's 10 percent Indigenous population. The school also has a Frontier and Rural Medicine program that encourages clinical rotations of medical students in rural areas. Leaders also discussed issues of funding long-term care and mentioned telehealth as an important tool for the future in rural healthcare.