USD medical school asks for $300,000 annual base to establish emergency medicine clinical department, cites residency pipeline needs

The University of South Dakota’s Sanford School of Medicine asked the joint appropriations committee for $300,000 in ongoing general-fund support to create a Department of Emergency Medicine at the medical school. Dean Tim Ridgeway framed the request as a state–health-system partnership intended to strengthen emergency-care training and retain physicians in South Dakota communities.

Why it matters: Graduate medical education (residency) slots and academic-clinical partnerships are the primary pipelines that keep newly trained physicians practicing in-state. USD’s request is targeted to create academic infrastructure that partners with Sanford Health’s planned residency and to support emergency-care workforce development for critical-access hospitals.

What the dean proposed - Department funding request: USD asked for $300,000 annually in base funding to establish a chair of emergency medicine, department support staff and operating expenses to coordinate education, quality and statewide EMS engagement. - Residency ramp and costs: Sanford Health plans to begin an emergency medicine residency in 2026 with six residents in year one, ramping to an 18-resident steady state (three classes of six). USD presented a model showing a steady-state annual residency cost of about $2,285,000; USD’s requested $300,000 would cover roughly 12% of combined projected yearly expenses while Sanford Health would provide the remainder in the model presented to the committee. - Graduate medical education (GME) funding risk: Ridgeway warned about a proposed reduction in Medicaid-related support to hospitals that currently helps fund primary-care residencies; he said losing that state hospital reimbursement could force hospitals either to absorb costs or reduce residency slots — potentially reducing the pipeline of physicians who stay in South Dakota.

Committee exchange and student testimony: Ridgeway brought several fourth‑year medical students who described rural clinical training experiences (the “FRAM”/frontier in rural medicine program) and said the experiential pipeline increased the likelihood students would practice in community hospitals and rural areas. Legislators asked whether Medicaid or other reimbursements backstop residency funding; Ridgeway said Sanford’s residency funding is principally supported by the health system while Medicaid-driven cuts target primary-care residency reimbursements.