magazine

North Dakota makes
the grade
Though North Dakota has its fair share
of obstacles to providing optimal patient
care, the state excels in some areas. A 2014
report from the American College of Emergency
Physicians entitled America’s Emergency
Care Environment, A State-by-State
Report Card credited North Dakota’s “solid
performance” and ranked it eighth in the
nation overall. The high ranking was mostly
due to the state’s high grades in “Disaster
Preparedness” and “Medical Liability Environment.”
Where North Dakota lacked
was in its grades for “Quality and Patient
Safety Environment” and “Public Health
and Injury Prevention.”
“The state lacks funding for both an
emergency medical services (EMS) medical
director and quality improvement of the
EMS system,” the report says.
It continued: “North Dakota’s grade in
‘Access to Emergency Care’ reflects a mixture
of positive and negative results... The state fares
excellently regarding hospital capacity, with
514.3 staffed inpatient beds per 100,000 people
and 37.2 emergency departments (ED) per one
million people. ED wait times are third-best in
the nation, averaging 189 minutes from ED
arrival to ED departure for admitted patients.”
The report recommended that North Dakota
could improve its grade by funding an EMS
medical director. Additionally, it could “consider
legislation aimed at reducing traffic fatalities,
which are much higher than the national average
(14.2 versus 9.0 per 100,000 people).”
Traffic fatalities are yet another problem
partly caused by the influx of population
putting great demand on the region’s existing
infrastructure. Lieutenant Jody Skogen,
the safety and education officer for the North
Dakota Highway Patrol is not surprised by
numbers like these.
“Increased traffic numbers equates into
higher probabilities of traffic violations,
crashes and fatalities.”
Over the 2013-2015 biennium, the Land
Board will award a total of about $2.6 billion
to western North Dakota to address needs including
city infrastructure, highway, county
and township improvements. It has also committed
to stationing more Highway Patrol
troopers. Strategic planning and allocation of
the Energy Fund Grant money will hopefully
alleviate many of these issues facing North
Dakota and its EMS personnel.
For a complete list of grants approved
by the Land Board, visit www.nd.gov/
energyimpact.
Get to Know Our
Experts
Ron Anderson
Ron Anderson has been a part of the
McKenzie County Commission since
1998. Before his appointment to the
commission, he served three years in the
United States Army, including one year
in Vietnam. He followed his military
career up with a career in state politics:
he was a member of the North Dakota
House of Representatives for 12 years,
including one year in which he served as
Speaker of the House. But in 1992, he
quit the House to pay more attention to
two of his greatest passions: his family
and his ranch.
The family ranch was started by his
grandfather in 1909, and then passed
on to Ron’s father. Ron worked on the
ranch until 2009, and continues to live
there with his wife, Myra, who taught
senior English at Watford City High
School for 34 years. In their spare time,
Ron and Myra love to travel and spend
time at their lake home in Detroit
Lakes, MN. They have two sons and
four grandchildren.
94 The Official Publication of the North Dakota Association of Oil & Gas Producing Counties