Lake Area Tech Wins Approval for New Radiologic Technology Program to Address Rural South Dakota Healthcare Shortage
- Steve Jurrens
- 3 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - In a direct response to a critical workforce shortage impacting rural healthcare facilities across the state, the South Dakota Board of Technical Education has unanimously approved a substantive program application for a new Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Radiologic Technology at Lake Area Technical College (LATC).
The new program aims to alleviate the intense staffing pressures felt by rural hospitals and clinics, which have increasingly relied on expensive traveling technologists to maintain essential imaging services.
Industry Demand and the Rural Healthcare Crisis
The push for the new program was heavily driven by industry demand, with dozens of healthcare administrators and industry partners actively participating in the application’s development. During the meeting, several healthcare leaders testified to the severe realities of the current workforce shortage.
Natalie Gauer, CEO of Millbank Area Hospital Avera, highlighted the financial and operational strain that open vacancies place on rural critical access hospitals.
“Over the last three and a half years, we’ve had a traveling rad tech on our campus, two and a half years of that. And yet today we’re using a traveling tech. That has cost our campus alone $600,000 and where simply if we would have had our own staff, the cost of that would have been approximately $200,000.”
Josh Mages, an Imaging Account Manager at GE Healthcare, corroborated this growing need, noting that as rural sites acquire new modalities like MRI and mammography to keep care close to home, staffing needs multiply.
“When I come and talk to a customer about exam growth, we’re seeing 50 to 100% that’s going to be exam growth. So if you’re doing 100 CTs a month right now, and in five years, we’re going to expect you to do 200.”
Program Structure and Affordability
The approved Radiologic Technology program at LATC is structured to be both comprehensive and accessible for students looking to enter the healthcare field.
· Degree Awarded: Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Radiologic Technology.
· Program Length: A two-year program consisting of 5 semesters and 81 total credits.
· Student Cost: The estimated total cost to students is 24,000 dollars, ensuring a dual focus on student affordability and financial sustainability.
· Earning Potential: The median wage for a radiologic technologist in LATC’s 26-county area is 64,392 dollars, allowing graduates to potentially earn back the cost of their degree in less than six months.
In response to upcoming shifts in professional accreditation standards and to carefully manage clinical site placements, LATC will implement a controlled rollout.
· For the first year of the program (2027-2028), LATC will accept a smaller initial cohort of 7 students.
· In the second year, the program will build to 14 students between first- and second-year cohorts.
Navigating Duplication and Clinical Capacity
A major point of deliberation prior to approval was the potential duplication of existing programs at Mitchell Technical College (MTC) and Western Dakota Technical College (WDTC), particularly concerning the availability of clinical training sites.
A system-level duplication review revealed that existing clinical capacity is more than sufficient to support the new students alongside existing programs:
Institution | Projected Annual Placement Need | Reported Clinical Capacity | Difference (Surplus) |
LATC | 28 | 43 | +15 |
MTC | 28 | 47 | +19 |
WDTC | 40 | 42 | +2 |
System Total | 96 | 132 | +36 |
Note: Data represents capacity at full program implementation.
To ensure smooth operations moving forward, the Board staff recommended a shared coordination framework for the three campuses to manage shared clinical sites responsibly.
· Tier 1: Program Directors will manage direct, ongoing coordination.
· Tier 2: Academic Vice Presidents and CAOs will be engaged if an issue cannot be resolved by Program Directors within an agreed timeframe.
· Tier 3 & 4: The process escalates to Presidents, and finally to Board staff, only if previous tiers fail to find a resolution.
Jessica Austin, Radiology Supervisor for Sanford Health in Watertown, praised this collaborative approach during her virtual testimony.
“This isn’t about one program replacing another or competing for students, it’s about collaboration. I truly believe Lake Area Tech, Mitchell Tech, and Western Dakota can work together and not compete.”
Following the unanimous approval, LATC will now work alongside its industry partners to raise the estimated 2.8 to 3.0 million dollars needed to remodel campus space for specialized simulation labs and classrooms. The program is slated to launch at the earliest by the Fall of 2027, with a realistic target of 2028 depending on the completion of the necessary facility upgrades.
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