Yes.
South Dakota is fourth in the nation with the percent of people who live in an ambulance desert, according to a 2023 study.
The state has 15.2% of its county populations in areas underserved by ambulances – behind Montana (27.8%), New Mexico (19.6%) and Utah (19.1%).
The study, completed in May 2023 by the Maine Rural Health Research Center and the Rural Health Research and Policy Centers, defines an ambulance desert as places and people that are more than 25 minutes from an ambulance service.
South Dakota is among eight states that have fewer than three ambulances per 1,000 square miles. While the state is toward the top with ambulance stations per 100,000 people, its geographic size and small population puts it toward the top for rural areas facing a lack of services.
The state Legislature is considering a bill that would create a task force to study classifying emergency medical services as "essential.” As it stands the state is not required to provide or fund EMS.
This fact brief responds to conversations such as this one.
Source
KELO-TV, South Dakota Senate advances EMS funding study bill
Maine Rural Health Research Center and Rural Health Research and Policy Centers, Ambulance Deserts study (2023)
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