RAPID CITY, S.D. (KELO) — While the bulk of attention paid to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally will center on the city of Sturgis itself, attention of the medical sort will be focused on Rapid City.
Sturgis itself does have a fully equipped ER with six emergency bays, but Monument in Rapid City is the level-2 trauma center — a hospital with 24/7 access to general surgeons — in the area, meaning most serious situations will be sent there.
Brian Blenner, director of safety services at Monument Health, says that these situations could be severe injuries from a motorcycle crash, weather-related injuries — nearly anything.
Blenner also stressed that while it’s called the Sturgis rally, it’s really a full Black Hills event, meaning that it sees involvement from all five Monument hospitals in the hills.
These hospitals are in Rapid City, Sturgis, Lead-Deadwood, Spearfish and Custer, and during a rally, they system can expect ER visits in the hundreds.
In 2023, the system saw 448 rally-related ER visits.
- 129 in Rapid City
- 28 in Custer
- 33 in Lead-Deadwood
- 215 in Sturgis
- 43 in Spearfish
448 ER visits was not out of the ordinary based on recent years. In 2022, the number was also 448, and in 2021 it was 508.
“We gear up for our staffing to accommodate for [the extra patients],” said Blenner. “We’re planning this from the day that the rally gets completed.”
Blenner described more of the planning process, including the cooperation between other agencies and their own internal preparation.
“We limit our vacation [during the rally] — we make sure we have enough trauma surgeons,” said Blenner. “I think we have it pretty well set.”
One additional wrinkle this year is an event — the International Pathfinder Camporee — a youth camp festival that will be held just across the border in Gillette, Wyoming at the same time as the rally.
“Camporee is in Gillette this year — they’re anticipating 50-60,000 people,” said Blenner. “About 2/3 of those 60,000 people will be kids ages 10-15.”
Blenner said his understanding is that more than 90 countries will be represented at the event, and with the large scale and proximity to the Black Hills, Monument is preparing for any assistance the Camporee may need.
