RAPID CITY, SD — This afternoon local healthcare network Monument Health broke ground on a new project which CEO Paulette Davidson calls an initial piece of a ten-year initiative to expand health services to the Black Hills region and surrounding areas.
“It’s a great location, it’s close to the Interstate, and we know that in the future more residential property is going to be popping up, so we want to be prepared for the future to care for families,” said Davidson. The one story facility, which is being constructed beside Interstate 90 on Mall Drive, is set to offer a multitude of services, including “Lab services, X-Ray, CT scan, a trauma room and eight exam rooms,” said Mark Schulte, Vice President of Operations, Rapid City Market.
The facility is set to include two inpatient facilities as well as a covered ambulance garage, and is set to house 30-40 patients at any given time, and is importantly set to expand emergency services into north rapid which prior could require a lengthy drive for ambulance drivers to the existing emergency facilities available at Monument’s regional hospital. “This will allow people to get emergency care more expediently, which is really important in an emergency,” said emergency physician Dr. Brooke Eide.
In closing comments, Davidson summarized this ongoing project as: “We have a mission statement at monument health– to make a difference every day, and today we put that statement into action.”
