Why It Matters
Rural hospitals across South Dakota face a critical shortage of radiology technicians, forcing some facilities to rely on expensive traveling staff or train workers outside their profession to perform imaging duties. A new technical college program aims to address this gap by developing a local workforce pipeline.
What Happened
The South Dakota Board of Technical Education approved a two-year radiology technician program Thursday at Lake Area Technical College in Watertown. The program will train students to conduct imaging exams including X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs.
The decision followed advocacy from healthcare representatives who emphasized the shortage’s impact on rural patient care. Milbank Area Hospital Avera, which has struggled to fill radiology technician positions for years, contracts with traveling technicians at three times the cost of local staff. Other rural healthcare systems have begun training lab technicians to perform X-rays due to the lack of qualified imaging professionals.
Lake Area Technical College collaborated with Mitchell Technical College and Western Dakota Technical College in Rapid City—the state’s only two existing programs in the field—on the application. All board members present voted unanimously to approve the new initiative.
Lake Area President Tiffany Sanderson indicated the college will pursue fundraising for a simulation lab and classroom renovation to support the program.
Regional Context
The approval comes after Presentation College in Aberdeen closed its radiology technician program in 2023, reducing training capacity in the northeastern part of the state. Northern State University in Aberdeen is developing an associated degree program, though it remains in planning stages. The new Lake Area Technical College offering is scheduled to launch in 2028.
By the Numbers
2 — existing South Dakota technical colleges with radiology technician programs before Lake Area’s approval
2 years — duration of the new program at Lake Area Technical College
3 times — cost multiplier of traveling radiology technicians compared to local staff at Milbank Area Hospital Avera
50% to 100% — range of exam growth projected by industry representatives in coming years
2028 — expected start date for the Lake Area Technical College program
Zoom Out
The rural healthcare workforce shortage extends well beyond South Dakota. Healthcare systems nationwide struggle to recruit imaging professionals to remote and rural areas, where salaries and amenities often lag metropolitan centers. Some facilities have adopted workarounds—cross-training existing staff or importing contractors at premium rates—that strain budgets and delay patient care.
Technical colleges have emerged as a key tool to build regional talent pipelines. By training workers close to where they live, programs reduce recruitment costs and increase the likelihood that graduates will stay in their communities. GE Healthcare representative Josh Mages noted in remarks to the board that healthcare systems will need to expand staffing significantly. “We’re going to need to add headcounts,” he said, reflecting broader capacity demands across the industry.
A healthcare advocate from Milbank Area Hospital Avera underscored the clinical stakes: “Without qualified imaging staff, timely diagnosis and treatment become difficult – and at times impossible.” The statement captures how workforce shortages translate into delayed medical care and patient outcomes in underserved regions.
What’s Next
Lake Area Technical College will begin fundraising and planning for the simulation lab and classroom updates required to launch the program. The college expects to admit its first cohort in 2028, roughly 18 months from now. The initiative will be closely watched as a potential model for other rural states facing similar imaging staff shortages.