South Dakota Office of Rural Health - EMS Program

03/06/2026

South Dakota Office of Rural Health and Emergency Services is hiring an EMS Specialist. For more information, go to the link below.

Here is a direct link:

10/01/2024

Earlier this year AMR of Pierre donated backpacks containing basic medical supplies to local law enforcement to assist in the response to medical emergencies. The Pierre Police Department, Hughes County Sheriff’s Office, and Stanley County Sheriff’s Office are grateful to AMR of Pierre for the continued training and equipment provided to local law enforcement. Local law enforcement works closely with AMR of Pierre with response to medical emergencies in our communities and the great working relationship benefits the agencies and the citizens that we serve.

07/22/2024

Heroes Next Door | South Dakota EMS Stories |
Sherry Hocking
Social media text: Meet Sherry, Director of the
Newell Ambulance Service! Sherry, an EMT and
community health worker, shares her passion for
giving back to her community through her role in
EMS. With 25 years of experience, Sherry highlights
the evolving challenges and the rewarding aspects
of being in EMS. Join the EMS family in South
Dakota and make a difference in your community.

07/15/2024

More EMS Stories

South Dakota EMS providers and educators tell their stories and encourage the next generation to think about joining the field.

06/07/2024

"We at the Helmsley Charitable Trust are proud of the hard work of everyone involved when a medical emergency strikes. To all the dispatchers, officers, EMTs...

05/20/2024

HEAR ME AMERICA, I AM, THE EMT

I see your people as you never see them.

Mighty and small they are beggars before me,
their faces all frightened, beseeching, bewildered
and hopeful of help from one more frightened than any...

I see their pitiful nakedness, their limbs twisted,
their bodies tattered, their blood on the asphalt, their children crying.
They trust me to help them. They know I will help them.

I see their illness too in your big cities. Their fevers I feel as you dream at midnight in little towns. They call to me whose hearts are aching and whose dreams are shattered and they touch me with their weariness.

Sometimes they seek me who are simply alone and
who cannot bear the night, and I am their servant too.

Fallen from tractors in fields I find them, and in stilled cars they are silent and pale on cold rainy nights. The crunching of glass under black heavy boots tells my coming. I fold them in blankets.

My beacons light up your streets as their babies are born. My wail carries down your boulevards, past your shiny glass walls, your stockyards and quiet farms, and your people look up from their work as I go by.

Time is metered in heartbeats.

I fight the battles to keep them alive.
I cover their eyes when they breathe no more.

My partner is a hero, but no one knows his name.

Author Unknown
Posted by CoAEMSP

05/09/2024

EMS Week
May 19-25, 2024
What are you doing to bring awareness?

03/26/2024

The Office of EMS & Trauma will be closed on March 29 and April 1, 2024.

03/26/2024

Deadline for EMT recertification is March 31.

Please Note: National Registry certification does not auto-renew your SD EMS Certification. Everyone who plans to maintain their SD EMT or EMR Certification must apply for recertification within their E-Licensing account during the open recertification period.

02/08/2024

REMINDER: Join the EMS Grant Funding webinars on * Tuesday, February 20 at 11:00 am central time
* Wednesday, February 28 at 12:30 pm central time
and access the grant application for EMS Regional Services Designation at

This EMS Sustainability Assessment (completed in partnership with Healthcare Strategists) provides a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the state of EMS across South Dakota with the goal of ensuring long-term sustainability for the industry.

02/08/2024

We are excited to announce a new grant opportunity aimed at supporting Emergency Medical Services (EMS) across the state. This initiative, stemming from the Regional Services Designation analysis of 2023, offers $7.5 million for EMS providers to enhance their services. Applications are open from January 16 to March 15, 2024. Learn more and apply at

This EMS Sustainability Assessment (completed in partnership with Healthcare Strategists) provides a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the state of EMS across South Dakota with the goal of ensuring long-term sustainability for the industry.

01/24/2024

Reminder...