Author: electricpulp

RAPID CITY, S.D. (June 16, 2022) – Monument Health announced that Sandra Ogunremi has been promoted to Vice President of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging. She has been with Monument Health since 2008, most recently as Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Spiritual Care Services.

Over the past five years, Ogunremi has led organizational initiatives, workshops and internal/external training on diversity. An ordained minister, she has lived on three continents and traveled across four continents extensively. She has experienced the diverse cultures of the world and has served as a cultural coach and leader. She has been a community leader forming teams to address community health topics.

“I am delighted to announce that Sandra Ogunremi has accepted this new executive role for our organization,” said Monument Health President and Chief Executive Officer. “She has made it a priority to increase cultural knowledge and awareness, and to tear down the barriers that keep us from learning about each other.”

As Vice President, Ogunremi will elevate her work to ensure that Monument Health celebrates diversity, inclusion and belonging within the workplace and throughout the communities served by the health care system.

Ogunremi earned a Doctorate in Health Administration from Central Michigan University in 2009. She has a Master’s of Science degree in Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy. She is Certified in Cultural Intelligence, Certified in Diversity Management with the American Hospital Association’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity. She is a Cornell-Certified Diversity Practitioner, a Stanford-Certified Project Manager and holds several other certifications. She is a published author of the book, “Casting Down Disruptive Imaginations.”

MEDIA CONTACT:
Dan Daly
Monument Health
605-755-9178
ddaly@monument.health

SPEARFISH, S.D. (May 25, 2022) – Monument Health announced two major construction projects in the Spearfish area.

In one of the projects, the Spearfish Hospital campus on Main Street will nearly double in size. In the other, Monument Health will build a new multispecialty clinic off Interstate 90 Exit 17 near the Elkhorn Ridge neighborhood at the eastern edge of Spearfish. Together, the projects represent an $80 million investment in Spearfish area health care.

“With population growth, medical advances and the growing need for specialty care in the Spearfish area, the time has come for a health care transformation in the Northern Hills,” said Paulette Davidson, President and CEO of Monument Health. “This community deserves nothing less.”

The Monument Health Foundation is committed to contributing $6 million toward the Spearfish projects. The Foundation has $3.5 million in existing funds, and the campaign that launches today has a goal of raising the remaining $2.5 million specifically earmarked to expand the Spearfish Hospital’s Emergency Department.

“The Spearfish community has always stepped up when a need arises. In 1963, the Spearfish community came together to build the 20-bed Lookout Memorial Hospital. I’m sure the community will step up once again,” said Hans Nelson, Director of the Monument Health Foundation.

In a separate announcement in Rapid City, Monument Health unveiled plans for a Children’s expansion project at Rapid City Hospital.

SPEARFISH HOSPITAL CAMPUS

In 2018, Monument Health (Spearfish Regional Hospital at that time) was looking at a proposal to build a completely new health care campus on the north edge of Spearfish near Interstate 90 Exit 10. However, Monument Health leaders with community input determined that the existing hospital location near the heart of downtown Spearfish would better meet the needs of the growing Spearfish community.

According to preliminary design work for the Spearfish Hospital project, officials plan for up to 78,000 square feet of new construction, and 13,000 square feet that will be remodeled. Upon completion, the hospital could have up to 8 operating rooms, 2 endoscopic procedure rooms, 15 medical-surgical patient rooms and 2 intensive care unit rooms.

“Of all the elements of the Spearfish Hospital project, the one most critically needed is the expansion and relocation of the Emergency Department,” said Thomas Worsley, President of Spearfish Hospital and Hills Markets.

The department will move to the south end of the hospital, with a dedicated North Avenue entrance. In addition, the new Emergency Department could have approximately 10,000 square feet, with 12 exam rooms and a covered drive-through ambulance garage.

MULTISPECIALTY CLINIC

The new clinic will be built along U.S. Highway 85 just south of I-90 Exit 17. The new clinic will be a single-story, 37,000-square-foot building offering easy access to specialized medical care to include Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Massage Therapy, Sports Medicine, Orthopedics, Podiatry, Ear-Nose-Throat/Allergy, Audiology and Dermatology for residents of the Northern Hills. Several existing Spearfish clinics, departments and offices will be consolidated into the new building.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Dan Daly
Monument Health
605-755-9178
ddaly@monument.health

 

RAPID CITY, S.D. (May 19, 2022) – Monument Health will contribute $1 million over four years to support the new Pennington County Crisis Stabilization Unit in Rapid City. The unit, currently under construction, will help individuals experiencing serious mental health crises.

The new Rapid City unit is a project of the West River Behavioral Health Alliance, formed in response to the high number of individuals requiring inpatient mental health care. The Alliance’s goal was to address the behavioral health needs of western South Dakota residents closer to home, where they can recover with support from family.

“Monument Health has been active in the West River Behavioral Health Alliance from the start, and we fully support the creation of this unit,” said Paulette Davidson, President and CEO of Monument Health.

The 14,000-square-foot Crisis Stabilization Unit will incorporate the Crisis Care Center, using
8 recliner-type chairs for stays of up to 24 hours and 16 beds for stays up to 5 days. For many patients, that’s enough time to allow them to recover from their crisis, go home and continue their care on an outpatient basis.

A year ago, the South Dakota Legislature allocated $4.2 million for the Rapid City center. Monument Health and other partners are raising the remaining funds for the $6.2 million public-private partnership. Partners include Behavior Management Systems, Monument Health, Pennington County, the City of Rapid City and eight other organizations.

Behavior Management Systems will handle the unit’s day-to-day operations. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. The unit will serve both Pennington County along with 10 surrounding counties in Western South Dakota.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Dan Daly
Monument Health
ddaly@monument.health

RAPID CITY, S.D. (May 17, 2022) – Monument Health has announced its commitment to nursing education with a $2 million contribution to the new West River Area Health Education Center that will be built at Black Hills State University’s Rapid City campus.

The West River Health Science Center (WRHSC) is a coordinated effort between Black Hills State University, South Dakota State University College of Nursing, and the West River Area Health Education Center (AHEC).
The $15 million center will allow the SDSU College of Nursing to fully move to this site by creating room for nursing skills labs, a simulation center and nursing faculty offices. This facility could nearly double the region’s capacity to educate and train new Registered Nurses. When open, the center anticipates the number of graduates will increase each semester from 72 to 120.
“Monument Health cares for 450,000 people in western South Dakota and surrounding states. Although the Health Science Center will be located in Rapid City, its graduates will be serving patients from throughout the region,” said Paulette Davidson, President and CEO of Monument Health. “Western South Dakota needs more Registered Nurses, and the need will increase in the future.”

Additional state funding for the facility was approved by the South Dakota Legislature in its 2022 session. Funding was also approved to support a similar simulation center at Southeast Technical College in Sioux Falls.

Monument Health will be the exclusive naming rights sponsor of the West River Health Science Center and will also be able to use the simulation center to provide continuing education and training to nurses.

Construction will start on the West River Area Health Education Center in fall 2023 at the Black Hills State campus in Rapid City.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Stephany Chalberg
Public Relations Manager
Strategic Marketing and Communications
Monument Health
schalberg@monument.health

DEADWOOD, S.D. (May 16, 2022) – Monument Health Lead-Deadwood Hospital and Clinic is celebrating its 125th anniversary with food, drink and historic tours. A limited number of books, “The History of Healthcare in Lead and Deadwood” by Nicole Shiffrar, will be available.

The celebration, which will also be a joint chamber mixer for the Lead and Deadwood Chambers of Commerce, will be 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 19, in the north parking lot across Charles Street from Lead-Deadwood Hospital and Clinic. Food catered by Cheyenne Crossing Catering, and refreshments will be served.

A limited number of spiral-bound copies of Shiffrar’s book will be available free of charge at the event. Hardbound copies will be available at a later date.

Shiffrar works as an Executive Assistant to Mark Schmidt, President of Lead-Deadwood Hospital. Shiffrar said she frequently gets questions about the hospital’s history from descendents of doctors and hospital workers tracing their family histories and history buffs who want to learn more about the hospital.

Two years ago, she began researching and writing the book. She said Dr. Thomas Groeger, a longtime Lead-Deadwood physician, inspired her to write it. “It was supposed to be a six-page booklet,” Shiffrar said. “I kept finding more information – Dr. Groeger said ‘Go for it.’”

The book is more than 100 pages and contains previously unpublished historic photos and accounts going back to the earliest days of the Black Hills Gold Rush in 1876. Groups such as the Sisters of the Holy Cross and Homestake Mining Co. established early hospitals in the Lead-Deadwood area. However in 1897, the Benedictine Sisters purchased a former school in Deadwood and turned it into a hospital on land that today is home to Monument Health Lead-Deadwood Hospital and Clinic.

At the celebration, pens and blank papers will be available for anyone who wants to share their own memories of the Lead-Deadwood hospital.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Dan Daly
Monument Health
605-755-9178
ddaly@monument.health

RAPID CITY, S.D. (May 10, 2022) – The American Cancer Society has awarded $30,000 in grants to the Monument Health Cancer Care Institute in Rapid City to help patients pay for transportation and lodging related to their care.

The Monument Health grants are part of more than $5.7 million in grant funding awarded to over 400 health systems to alleviate the financial burden of transportation for cancer patients. Cancer patients and their caregivers can use the money to cover patient and caregiver expenses such as gasoline, bus fare, hotel rooms and temporary lodging during their treatment.

For cancer patients, especially those who must travel to Rapid City from out of town for chemotherapy and other treatment, the cost of travel and lodging can be a hardship. Depending on the type of therapy, patients must make the trip frequently, and the side effects can leave them exhausted.

“Cancer patients and their caregivers have enough on their plates without worrying about how to pay for travel,” said Kristi Gylten, Director of the Monument Health Cancer Care Institute. “The American Cancer Society’s grants make it easier for patients to concentrate on their care.”

The grants are available through March 31, 2023. For more information, contact the Cancer Care Institute at 605-755-2300.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Dan Daly
Monument Health
ddaly@monument.health