В Рэпид-Сити открыт первый в регионе центр мониторинга эпилепсии

Monument Health opens region’s first Epilepsy Monitoring Unit in Rapid City The new two-bed unit at Rapid City Hospital will eliminate the need for western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming patients to travel out of state for critical neurological monitoring. RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - Monument Health has opened a two-bed Epilepsy Monitoring Unit at its Rapid City Hospital, giving patients in western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming access to specialized epilepsy care closer to home. The unit began seeing patients in February and is the first of its kind in the region. Before the service was available, patients needing extended epilepsy monitoring were referred to facilities in Minnesota or Colorado. The EMU provides five-day elective admissions during which patients are continuously monitored with an electroencephalogram, or EEG. The unit can help diagnose unexplained episodes, adjust medications for people with epilepsy and determine whether symptoms may have another cause. Monument Health expects the unit to serve about 24 to 30 patients each year. Dr. Donald Barr, an epileptologist and Monument Health’s Neurology Section chief, said the monitoring can help doctors better manage seizures and connect patients with appropriate treatment when episodes are not epileptic. “This is such an important diagnostic and management tool,” Barr said. “It can be a game changer, not just for the patient, but for their family.” See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it. Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description. Copyright 2026 KOTA. All rights reserved.