Health Link Grant Award Announcement

Health Link is pleased to communicate exciting news related to the operation, expansion, and enhancement of South Dakota Health Link. The South Dakota Department of Health (SD DOH) received notice that a federal grant proposal submitted on behalf of Health Link and its members was approved and fully funded. This timely and expansive grant will provide funding for the operation, growth, and expansion of the Health Link network.

Federal funding will cover the following:

• Membership Fees for current and new* Health Link members through April 2022
• Recruitment of new Health Link members and costs associated with onboarding
• Support for training and member engagement
• Technical and targeted assistance as needed to grow and expand Health Link

What does this mean to your organization?

• First, if you are a current Health Link member you will not be receiving an annual billing in October of this year as the grant will cover membership fees through April 2022, yes that means you can continue to use and expand your use of Health Link free of charge for the next 18 months!
• Second, it will allow Health Link to work cooperatively with current members and consultants to recruit and grow the Health Link network to include organization such as payers, long term care facilities, community pharmacies, community mental health providers, optometrists, dentists… etc. This expansion and enhancement will allow for more robust clinical information from across the health care spectrum while allowing for the implementation of new and enhanced services and technology.
• Lastly, if you are not a current Health Link member please contact us at 605-800-1678 to discuss onboarding options available to improve the care provided to your patients and consumers through membership in Health Link. Funding is available to assist with membership fees, training, engagement, and onboarding of your EMR to participate in data sharing with the Health Link network.

We’ve recognized in the recent unprecedented and unpredictable times that now, more than ever, access through Health Link to broad clinical and medication information from across the health care spectrum is vital to caring for the ongoing needs of your patients and consumers. We are so pleased to be able to have you all as partners in this exciting time of expansion and we are looking forward to working cooperatively over the coming year to see this vision come to life.

Thank you for your commitment, trust, and partnership over the past 11 years. We hope that this opportunity will be the catalyst to collectively move Health Link members to the next level of information sharing and achieve the SD DOH mission “Every South Dakotan – Healthy and Strong”. Together we are blazing the path!

Best Regards,

Kevin L. DeWald, Executive Director
South Dakota Health Link

*Non-data contributors, and other non-direct patient care organizations may not qualify for member fee relief provided under this grant. Please contact us at 605-800-1678 if you have questions about your organization’s eligibility