PIERRE, SD – Fifteen rural hospitals across South Dakota are receiving more than $200,000 in federal grants for various projects. The grant funding comes to the Department of Health through the federal Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program. Over the last 11 years, South Dakota hospitals have been awarded more than $3.8 million through the program. Projects include medication error reduction, patient safety, clinical health information technology and hospital readmission reduction. The communities receiving funding are: Faulkton, Huron,
Sisseton, Sturgis, Clear Lake, DeSmet, Philip, Platte, Wagner, Burke, Parkston, Dell Rapids, Flandreau, Mobridge and Viborg.
To be eligible, hospitals must have received a Medicare certification as a critical access hospital