Keeping the Bakken working

Sanford Health goes mobile to meet oil patch’s medical needs

BY KRIS BEVILL

Sanford Health’s O.P.C. (oil-producing companies) mobile MED units will provide work-related and nonwork-related medical services for workers in the Bakken region. IMAGE: SANFORD HEALTH

Not much can slow the nonstop, 24-7 pace of energy production in the Bakken. Except medical needs. Many Bakken-related jobs require preemployment testing — from drug and alcohol testing to physical exams — and the physical nature of many oil patch professions makes medical care availability an important part of Bakken working. Unfortunately, the rapid influx of new residents into the region over the past few years has made keeping up with the industry’s medical needs a struggle, but an initiative being rolled out soon by Sanford Health aims to catch up with the need by taking medical care to the companies where they need it.

O.P.C. (oil-producing companies) mobileMED will consist of two mobile clinics and one modular clinic dedicated to serving oil companies and their subsidiaries in the Bakken. The mobile units are expected to be complete and ready to unveil dur- ing the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference, to be held May 20-22 in Bismarck, N.D. The clinics-on-wheels will then hit the road in June, delivering health care services to industry workers in the oil patch as needed.

Stephanie Murdock, Sanford enterprise vice president of corporate occupational medicine services, says that while mobile clinics are not a new approach for providing medical services on the rural northern Plains, Sanford believes it is taking an innovative approach to the method by incorporating telemedicine into the list of comprehensive services offered.

The units are also unique in that their primary focus is to “keep the Bakken working” by providing the necessary pre-employment medical services and on-the-job medical care needed by oilfield workers, according to Murdock. “There is just such a huge population growth of workforce that has specific needs,” she says. “They need these types of services just to even start a job, so when there’s any kind of delay or gap in those services they’re not able to get on the job quickly.”

In early April, Sanford was still conversing with industry members to identify specific sites for the mobile clinics. Murdock says Sanford has relationships with about 6,000 companies in its western region, including oil industry companies that utilize its clinics in Bismarck, Minot and Dickinson, N.D. Some companies have contacted Sanford to request its mobile unit services and Sanford was also requesting feedback from industry stakeholders to help identify the best locations for service. “We know the need is there,” Murdock says. “Now it’s just to make sure we’re in the right place.”

Watford City was identified early on as a location in need of the specialized services. In fact, because of the hub city’s concentration of oilfield workers and companies, Sanford plans to establish a

2,000-square-foot modular unit on land leased from McKenzie County. The modular unit will not be complete until later this fall, so one of the two mobile units will be used in the meantime. Once the modular clinic is complete, Murdock expects it will remain in use indefinitely. “Because this has such a very specific focus — the oil workers and subsidiaries — we anticipate the modular unit will be there for some time,” she says.

Sanford’s Minot clinic will likely serve as home base for the second mobile unit because it can be easily dispatched to areas northwest of the city, but industry needs will dictate specific sites, according to Murdock.

According to Sanford, the mobileMED unit initiative requires an initial investment of nearly $3 million. Once up and running, the organization anticipates annual operating costs to approach $5 million. Sanford will foot the bill for the entire cost of the initiative, which Murdock says will provide a much-needed solution to the region’s health care demands. And while the mobile units will be dedicated to the energy industry’s needs, Sanford expects those units to lessen the patient load at existing brick-and-mortar clinics, making services at those facilities more readily accessible for nonoilfield patients and thus improving health care for the region overall. “When Sanford came into western North Dakota we made a commitment to the region to be able to bring health care,” Murdock says. “We figure that with this one initiative, Sanford is in a good position to help provide some immediate assistance. We’ll be able to provide just about anything a worker in this region will need, work related or nonwork related, to keep them healthy and at work.” PB

Kris Bevill Editor, Prairie Business 701-306-8561, kbevill@prairiebizmag.com