Health

South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations Chief Operating Officer Tammy Hatting presents to legislators on Sept. 25, 2023, in Pierre. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Proposed nursing home staffing standards are ‘disaster waiting to happen,’ industry reps say

BY: - September 25, 2023

PIERRE — Proposed federal staffing standards for nursing homes that accept Medicaid would be catastrophic for South Dakota facilities, industry representatives warn. The South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations and South Dakota Health Care Association both presented information to legislators at Thursday’s committee meeting at the Capitol on the sustainability of long-term care in the […]

Fall peppers and chili at Bloomingdale Farmers Market on Nov. 9, 2014, in Washington, D.C. The market accepted Women, Infant and Children (WIC) Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program benefits coupons. (USDA Photo by Lance Cheung)

Food benefits for low income families at risk in a government shutdown, White House says

BY: - September 25, 2023

WASHINGTON — As Congress barrels toward a partial government shutdown, the White House Monday warned that a program that helps millions of low income families afford healthy food could see substantial cuts. The White House released a state-by-state breakdown, estimating that nearly 7 million people who rely on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, […]

James "Jim" Dover, president and CEO of Avera Health. (Courtesy of Avera)

South Dakota-based health system chooses new leader

BY: - September 20, 2023

One of the state’s major health systems has a new leader. James “Jim” Dover has been named the next president and CEO of Sioux Falls-based Avera Health, one of the largest not-for-profit rural health care systems in the Midwest. His first day with Avera will be Oct. 23. Dover joins Avera following Bob Sutton’s resignation […]

Members of the Wambli Ska Society perform a Lakota drum song at a ceremony on Sept. 13, 2022, in Pierre to celebrate the launch of a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons liaison within the South Dakota Attorney General's Office. (Courtesy of Attorney General's Office)

Rapid City nonprofit receives gun violence prevention grant

BY: - September 15, 2023

A Native American-led nonprofit in Rapid City has been awarded a grant from the Everytown Community Safety Fund to prevent gun violence in the city. Wambli Ska Okolakiciye, which started in 2014, received $50,000 in funding to “better position them to access federal funding” to reduce gun violence and raise awareness about missing and murdered […]

(Javier Zayas Photography/Getty Images)

New round of COVID-19 booster shots on the way after CDC recommendation

BY: - September 12, 2023

WASHINGTON — Americans older than six months should get an updated COVID-19 booster this fall, according to a recommendation the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued Tuesday. The vaccine should be available by later this week, the CDC said in a statement. “We have more tools than ever to prevent the worst outcomes from […]

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s EMS team staff the single ambulance station that serves their reservation in rural South Dakota. (Courtesy of Rosebud Sioux Tribe Communications Department)

You might need an ambulance, but your state might not see it as ‘essential’

BY: - September 11, 2023

When someone with a medical emergency calls 911, they expect an ambulance to show up. But sometimes, there simply isn’t one available. Most states don’t declare emergency medical services (EMS) to be an “essential service,” meaning the state government isn’t required to provide or fund them. Now, though, a growing number of states are taking […]

Registered Nurse Orlyn Grace administers a COVID-19 booster vaccination to Jeanie Merriman at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic on April 6, 2022, in San Rafael, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Food and Drug Administration approves COVID boosters for upcoming season

BY: - September 11, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the latest round of COVID-19 boosters, as public health officials brace for another cold and flu season. An advisory panel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is scheduled to vote on recommendations Tuesday, the final step in the process before people will […]

A forensic analyst removes a pair of underwear from an evidence bag for testing in a sexual assault case in the biology lab at the Houston Forensic Science Center in Houston. Texas is among at least 40 states and the District of Columbia that have implemented or committed to establishing a rape kit tracking system, according to the End the Backlog website run by the nonprofit Joyful Heart Foundation. (Pat Sullivan/The Associated Press)

Sexual assault survivors can now track rape kits in most states, but not SD

BY: - September 10, 2023

It can take hours for a sexual assault victim to undergo the multiple swabs, hair samples, blood and urine collections, and other invasive procedures of a sexual assault examination. And then it can take months, sometimes years, for investigators to process that evidence kit. But now, responding to demands from survivors and their advocates, more […]

COMMENTARY
Former Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton testifies at a Senate Health and Human Services Committee hearing on March 7, 2023. Fairview CEO James Hereford (left) and Sanford CEO Bill Gassen (second from left), also testified. (Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer)

Death of Fairview-Sanford merger was right outcome for patients and communities

BY: - August 31, 2023

Editor’s note: The author is not the same person as Minnesota Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington.  Late last month, the Minnesota-based hospital system Fairview Health Services announced that it was pulling the plug on a proposed merger with South Dakota-based Sanford Health. This marked the second time these two health care systems had failed to consummate […]

(Getty Images)

Biden administration chooses first 10 drugs for Medicare price negotiations

BY: - August 29, 2023

WASHINGTON — Medicare can now negotiate lower prices for 10 common high-price drugs, cutting out-of-pocket costs for an estimated 9 million seniors and saving taxpayers billions, the Biden administration said Tuesday. Medicare will begin this year to negotiate with the manufacturers of popular medications used to treat blood clots, diabetes, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic […]

(Darwin Brandis/iStock Getty Images Plus)

Pennington County in dispute with state over opioid settlement amounts

BY: - August 28, 2023

Pennington County is arguing in court that the state should recalculate its national opioid settlement amounts to pay the county’s litigation costs. The national opioid settlement was the product of two channels of litigation: a multidistrict lawsuit against manufacturers and distributors of opioids for their role in fueling the opioid epidemic, and state attorneys general […]

(Getty Images)

State doesn’t inspect or license growing IV hydration clinics

BY: - August 27, 2023

The South Dakota Department of Health doesn’t inspect or license IV hydration clinics, which are increasingly popular places to treat ailments such as hangovers, fatigue and jet lag with supplements delivered intravenously. The clinics have appeared as retail storefronts, medical spas and Sturgis Rally vendor booths in South Dakota. The IV cocktails can cost anywhere […]