PIERRE — The South Dakota Department of Health pushed out $20 million for improvements to emergency medical services across the state in the past two years, putting much-needed funding toward a number of vital areas, such as telemedicine and grants for local services.

Highlights of the initiative were outlined in the recently released 2023 South Dakota Department of Health annual report.

The influx of dollars should help keep emergency medical services vital in communities across the state, Marty Link, administrator for EMS and trauma programs for the department of health, told the Mitchell Republic.

“Not only was the $20 million instrumental in advancing EMS, but the ongoing support and advocacy for EMS demonstrated the commitment to our pre-hospital care providers,” Link said. “The $20 million provided South Dakota to lift up a one-of-a-kind Telemedicine in Motion initiative, replace 308 LIFEPAK monitor/defibrillators and conduct a statewide sustainability assessment of the state of EMS in South Dakota.”

Telemedicine in Medicine is a program unique to South Dakota, Link said. It connects physicians and nurse medical professionals with first responders in the field, improving efficiency in patient assessment, treatment and transfer to definitive care centers.

The $1.7 million in funding specifically for the program has helped provide tablets for EMS providers, training and telehealth services, including unlimited data, software, professional support services and project implementation.

Such improvements are important in a primarily rural state like South Dakota, where patients can often find themselves a long way from a treatment center.

“Telemedicine in Motion is a one-of-a-kind pioneering initiative first developed in South Dakota specifically for EMS providers. No where else in the country is there a statewide initiative of its kind,” Link said. “(It) is instrumental in ensuring patients have the best possible care, especially in such a vast frontier and rural state as South Dakota.”

Benefits of the system were highlighted in December when medical responders used it to treat Gann Valley rancher Jim Lutter, who had been attacked by a bison at his ranch. The communication system connected the rural ambulance personnel with an emergency medicine physician in Sioux Falls,

who assessed the situation, provided guidance and contacted the receiving hospital in Wessington Springs and advised them on how to prepare.

She also was able to arrange for a helicopter to transport Lutter to Sioux Falls, where he could receive high-level treatment. Ambulance crew members said they were able to devote all their attention to Lutter as the emergency physician advised them, took notes and coordinated responses in Wessington Springs and Sioux Falls thanks to the system.

Link said 92 of the 122 ambulance services in South Dakota are live and active with the technology, and there have been approximately 900 encounters of its use since November 2022.

Another $11.6 million in funding went to replacing LIFEPAK monitors for local ambulance services.

The monitors help emergency responders identify when patients are experiencing an ST elevated myocardial infarction, aka heart attack, in transport and allows an EKG reading to be transmitted to the receiving hospital and allow the staff there to prepare for the patient.

Time is critical in such medical cases, and detailed communication between ambulance and hospital personnel can make the difference in saving a patient’s life. The monitors help improve that communication.

“The quicker an EMS clinician can identify if a patient is having an ST elevated myocardial infarction and alert hospital staff, the quicker a patient can receive definitive care,” Link said. “Time is of the essence to ensure patients not only get the care they need, but maintain a high quality of life post event.”

Link said the department has been extremely pleased with participation in both the Telemedicine in Motion and LIFEPAK programs, including cooperation with Indian Health Services that helped supply the Pine Ridge and Eagle Butte ambulance services with equipment from both programs.

In addition, another $8 million went into a regional service designation assessment on the current state of EMS in South Dakota, with $7.5 going toward grants for the development and implementation of systems and solutions to support the sustainability of critical services throughout the state.

The assessment is helping officials better understand the current ambulance system and identify its strengths as well as areas that need improvement. One objective, for example, is achieving ambulance response times of 30 minutes or less to any resident or visitor who calls 911.

The assessment is a first for South Dakota, Link said, being far more detailed than any previous review.

“Nothing like this has ever been done before. The department works with, engages and communicates with EMS stakeholders on a regular basis, but this is by far the most comprehensive assessment to date,” Link said. “The report provided several short, medium and long-term recommendations which will guide the department and align the grant opportunities for EMS services in a meaningful way.”

The applications for those grants were opened Jan. 16 and run through March 15. Applicants hoping to receive the grant must provide specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, relevant and time-bound solutions for improving long-term sustainability of EMS in South Dakota.

Funding for the grants must be obligated by the end of 2024, and grant recipients must spend the funding received by Nov. 1, 2026.

“This will be a competitive grant opportunity for our EMS providers across the state,” Link said. “The department will have approximately $7.5 million to distribute to these providers for a variety of activities that may include, but are not limited to, billing software solutions, supply procurement systems, workforce recruitment and retention, training programs or the development and implementation of regional hubs.”

A second round of grant funding will open and be announced later this summer.

The approximately $20 million in funding for the programs was approved by Gov. Kristi Noem and the South Dakota Legislature in 2022. Noem praised the initiative in her annual state of the state address earlier this month.

“In South Dakota, we value living a healthy life, no matter where you live. Every South Dakotan should have the Freedom to live where they want — but they shouldn’t have to choose between a rural way of life and good health outcomes. In our rural communities, emergency responders are sometimes the only local healthcare providers. They often show up in our very worst moments. But the nationwide EMT turnover rate is 36%. And in South Dakota, nearly 90% of our emergency medical services are done by volunteers,” Noem said in her address.

Noem said the funding is an investment in the long-term health of emergency medical services in the state. And a healthy EMS community means healthier South Dakotans, she said.

“These efforts are an investment in the future of EMS. More importantly, they are saving lives,” Noem said.

The 2023 South Dakota Department of Health annual report can be found at doh.sd.gov/health-data-reports/annual-report.