SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The ER at Monument Health’s Sturgis clinic is preparing for the influx of visitors to the city ahead of the 2024 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
Jimmy Seward is the director of ambulatory operations at the Sturgis Hospital, and growing up in the area, he says he’s seen a lot of the rally over the years.
Looking at the Sturgis Hospital, Seward said the ER is fully operational with six ER bays for patients. “We have medical imaging and doctors that are staffed 24/7,” he said.
Ahead of the Sturgis Rally, Seward said it’s ‘all hands on deck.’
“We partner with the state, the local EMS — local law enforcement — that preparation starts March or April,” Seward said.
It helps of course that the rally is a set event, and something they can plan for every year, said Seward. “We have a lot of historical data,” he said. “We know what days are typically going to be the busiest days.”
Speaking of the data, Monument Health provided numbers for rally-related ER visits at their Black Hills hospitals.
In Sturgis, Monument recorded 250 rally-related ER visits in 2023. That number was 139 for Rapid City, 46 for Lead-Deadwood and 43 for Spearfish.
Speaking of the busiest days, Seward says that weather plays a big role, but that typically the first few days of the rally are the busiest for the ER.
In terms of what the ER sees, Monument noted that while Sturgis does have an emergency room, the Level 2 Trauma Center is in Rapid City, meaning that anything too serious is sent to Rapid City.
What Sturgis sees a lot of is head injuries and lower extremity injuries, according to Seward. When it comes to these, he pointed to the rally’s concerts and campgrounds as areas where these injuries occur. “There’s surprisingly a lot of golf cart accidents,” he added.
The breadth of the rally can also present a challenge when it comes to getting people to the ER, with Seward noting the distances between places like the Buffalo Chip, various campgrounds and the hospital itself.
