Mobridge, South Dakota, Benefits from Homegrown Physicians
Now, Mobridge, population 3,500, sits beside that lake, Oahe Reservoir. Recreation on the reservoir draws folks from far and wide, and the vast impoundment – one of the largest on earth – provides Mobridge residents with a dramatic feature on their local landscape. Proximity to so much water is one reason why native sons and daughters return home, including to practice medicine. Three of five fulltime physicians serving the community are locals. Two of these physicians are graduates of USD’s medical school.
Emily Boden, ’15 M.D.
Dr. Emily Boden knew she wanted to become a doctor at a young age but attending USD’s medical school became part of her plan while she was in high school in Timber Lake, South Dakota. “A professor from the University of South Dakota was in Timber Lake to judge a science fair and he asked me what I wanted to do with my life,” Boden recalled. “When I told him, he suggested I apply for the Alumni Student Scholars Program (ASSP) through the university’s medical school. So, I did, and I was awarded that opportunity. I am grateful for that program.”
Though there is no monetary grant associated with this honor, recipients – eligibility includes being a resident of South Dakota – are assured a slot in the medical school if they adhere to program requirements such as required grade point average, participation in the undergraduate honors program at USD and attendance at pre-med school preparation courses.
“There were four students in my medical school class who received the ASSP award,” said Boden, “and three of us are now practicing in South Dakota, and the fourth is still in her residency.”
After earning her M.D. degree, Boden performed a residency in family practice and obstetrics at a hospital in Indiana, and she now practices as a family practitioner in Mobridge, just 35 miles from her hometown. “Timber Lake is really small,” said Boden. “There are no stop lights, one paved street and about 450 people. Mobridge has a hospital and a clinic.” Her parents run a farm near Timber Lake and to be able to practice medicine near where she grew up was always a consideration for Boden. “I’m tied to this area. My kids were baptized in the same church I attended as a young girl.”
She is a now part of a cohort of collaborative physicians serving Mobridge and the region surrounding Mobridge, including her hometown. “I am the only female physician in the group here,” she said, “I have patients from Timber Lake, including quite a few women and children in my practice. I also do obstetrics here, and I visit an outreach clinic in Selby, South Dakota, about 20 miles east of Mobridge.”
Boden’s family practice and her versatile medical service includes certifications in basic life support, advanced cardiac support, pediatric life support, neonatal resuscitation, advanced geriatric life support, and advanced trauma life support. As a small-town doctor, she is a big-time asset to her community.
Boden and her husband, Matt, are the parents of two children, ages four and one, and they are rehabilitating a home in Mobridge. Matt, a Tabor, South Dakota, native, runs his own business.
“I like helping on my parents’ farm when I can,” said Bowden, “and my mom is able to take care of our kids when Matt and I are both working.”
On a Friday in late September, Dr. Boden and her family are excitedly preparing to attend the Mobridge (Tigers) High School homecoming football game that evening. She can’t help but think about her alma mater, the Timber Lake Panthers. “Football is big in Timber Lake,” explained Boden, “but I’m learning how to be a Tiger, as well as a Panther.”
Travis Henderson, ’97 M.D., FACP
It’s an ambition that likely develops early: the desire to become a family doctor and practice in your hometown. The emphasis on “hometown” is particularly strong if that hometown is a small town.
Travis Henderson’s father was a physician serving people living in and around Mobridge, where Travis grew up and graduated from high school. He enjoyed listening to his father describe his medical practice. “The reason I wanted to become a physician is because my dad talked about it and it seemed so interesting,” said Henderson. “He was an internist, with a general practice, and I grew up believing that that’s what a doctor should be.”
Henderson also decided he wanted to practice in a small community, and Mobridge was an ideal solution to that desire. “The community needed a doctor,” Henderson explained, “and I was able to practice with my dad for three years, from 2004 to 2007."
It is the opportunity to develop close relationships with his patients that Henderson finds especially rewarding. “My patients put much trust in me, and I hope to live up to that trust,” he explained. “As time passes, the bond I establish with my patients grows stronger.”
It is inevitable that friends and acquaintances from his past and the present become his patients. “I have patients who were my classmates or neighbors or coaches when I was young,” Henderson said. “My practice is different than most internists because of the variety of patients I see. I work with patients in the hospital, in nursing homes and in a clinic. I spend a lot of time in the emergency room. We’re our own hospitalists.”
Mobridge offers a small, critical access hospital – Mobridge Regional Hospital and Clinics – and is served by a surprisingly large group of medical professionals, including three family practitioners, two internists and two part-time surgeons. The second Mobridge internist, Dr. Josh Henderson, is Travis’ younger brother. The Henderson family has made a significant contribution to health care in their community.
Travis Henderson’s practice and those of his colleagues draws patients from a large region. “We have a large catching area,” explained Henderson. “People living not only in Mobridge are my patients, but also those who travel a great distance to get here. Plus, we serve two Native American reservations.”
In 2007, Travis Henderson was recognized as the Young Physician of the Year by the South Dakota Chapter of the American College of Physicians, and in 2010 he was elected as a Fellow of the American College of Physicians’ Society of Internists. He was named teacher of the year in 2018 by the South Dakota Chapter of the American College of Physicians. He is certified in advanced pediatric life support, advanced trauma life support and advanced cardiac life support, reflecting the high level of skilled versatility he must offer in a smaller community.
Mobridge and Henderson have a strong relationship to the medical school, serving as a host site for the FARM program. “I am a clinical professor of medicine at the medical school and the site coordinator for FARM in Mobridge, and we appreciate the chance to help medical students learn about and get more comfortable with medical practice in a small, rural community,” Henderson said. “I spend much time with FARM students during their nine-month rotation here. South Dakota needs more rural doctors, and FARM is a good program in helping solve that challenge.”
In 2018, the South Dakota Chapter of the American College of Physicians saluted Henderson’s work for the medical school by naming him the teacher of the year.
Henderson and his wife, Misti, have four daughters between the ages of 25 and 15. With the vast Oahe reservoir in their back yard, Henderson and his family and friends spend considerable time on the water. “We enjoy boating on the reservoir,” he said. “Mobridge is in a terrific setting. It’s been a good place to practice medicine and to call home.”
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