No one plans for a medical emergency. It can happen at any time of the day and on any day of the year. For many patients, an emergency room is the "key to the health care system" and the first place they turn to for health care. In fact, the number of patients seen in our region's emergency rooms continues to escalate; last year Rapid City Regional Hospital's Emergency Department treated more than 45,000 patients.

During an emergency medical situation, time is critical. Our Emergency Departments are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Our team is prepared to handle nearly any medical emergency that comes through our doors. Our service area is a primarily rural region, with disperse populations within a 250-mile radius of Rapid City. Ensuring access to emergency care on a timely basis is one of our high priorities. Area residents can turn to an emergency room at any time of the day or night at any of our area hospitals:

Rapid City Regional Hospital (Rapid City, SD)
Spearfish Regional Hospital (Spearfish, SD)
Custer Regional Hospital (Custer, SD)
Lead-Deadwood Regional Hospital (Deadwood,SD)
Five Counties Hospital (Lemmon, SD)
Hans S. Peterson Memorial Hospital (Phillip, SD)
Weston County Health Services (Newcastle, WY)

In addition, Black Hills LifeFlight can transport patients by helicopter, airplane or ground transport to the appropriate facility.

Quick Treatment

In an emergency, those patients with the most urgent medical needs are seen first. When patients enter any of our emergency departments, they are immediately seen by a triage nurse. This allows our staff to determine what level of care is needed for the illness or injury. Triage nurses are specially trained to separate minor needs from major emergencies.

Emergency Medicine Specialists

Our Emergency Departments are staffed with emergency medicine physicians and nurses who are certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support. The staff is trained to provide a full range of medical care for patients of all ages with all types of medical problems, from minor illnesses and injuries to life-threatening emergencies. In addition, physician specialists provide on-call coverage 24 hours a day to respond, if needed, to a medical emergency.