MRH&C Seeks Cardiac Ready Community Designation

Posted 8/29/25 (Fri)

MRH&C Seeks Cardiac Ready Community Designation for Mobridge

When the heart stops beating, known as cardiac arrest, oxygenated blood flow halts throughout the body and every minute that passes without CPR or AED use can mean the difference between life and death. The brain can only go without oxygen for 4 to 6 minutes before irreversible damage occurs, but it can take an ambulance 30 minutes to respond in rural areas like ours. Having non-medical community members who are ready to step in and help until the ambulance arrives is incredibly important.

A Cardiac Ready Community is one where citizens are educated, equipped, and empowered to be better prepared and more confident in helping someone during a cardiac event while the ambulance is on its way. It's a community where public CPR/AED classes are offered regularly, a high percentage of residents are trained, AEDs are widely accessible to the public and easy to locate, first responders have the tools they need to succeed in rapid response situations, and heart-healthy activities are promoted and available within the community.

Mobridge Regional Hospital is applying through the SD Foundation for Medical Care for official designation this fall. MRH&C and community partners, like the City of Mobridge and Mobridge-Pollock Public Schools, already do many of the activities required for this honor. Seeking official designation gives our hospital and community a rare opportunity to recognize and celebrate the individuals and organizations keeping our community prepared for cardiac events.

A Cardiac Ready Community the size of Mobridge must offer at least 6 public CPR & AED classes a year. In 2024 alone, MRH&C's Kallyn Reinert, RRT trained 266 people on CPR/First Aid and AED use and advertised 12 public Heartsavers CPR & AED classes. She offers these classes monthly-the next two will be Sept. 15 and Oct. 13-and advertises them weekly online and in the newspaper. Residents can enroll in a class by calling the hospital at 605-845-3692.

We also need 6 publicly accessible AEDs in Mobridge to meet designation requirements-and we currently have 7. There are school-owned publicly accessible AEDs at Freeman Davis, M-P Middle School, and M-P High School, City-owned units at Scherr Howe Event Center, the Fire Hall, and the City Pool, and a hospital-owned unit at Prairie Sunset Village.

This year, the total number of publicly accessible AEDs is increasing to 10. Three community businesses have generously agreed to allow hospital-owned AEDs to be installed in their businesses. "We are so thankful to the Wrangler Inn, Oak Keg, and Merkel's Foods for allowing us to expand AED access in Mobridge," shared Reinert. "We want fast access at any hour, and these three businesses are doing the community a great service in hosting these devices for us."

The Wrangler Inn registration desk is open 24/7, Oak Keg's hours are 9 a.m. to 12 a.m. Monday through Thursday, with extended hours to 1:45 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and Merkel's Foods is open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays.

For a new map of all publicly accessible AEDs in Mobridge, please visit https://www.northcares.org/mobridgeaeds . For an app to help you locate the nearest AED to you anytime (whether you're in Mobridge or not), please download the PulsePoint app from your phone's app store. To be part of Mobridge's Cardiac Ready Community Team, please contact Haden Merkel at 605-845-8180 or [email protected].