Emergency Medicine Newsletter
O’Keefe named chair of Emergency Medicine at UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences
After a competitive search process, the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS) is thrilled to announce Jacy O’Keefe, M.D., an emergency medicine (EM) and trauma physician at Sanford Health in Bismarck, N.D., as the new chair of the School’s Department of Emergency Medicine.
O’Keefe is a Bismarck native and 2019 graduate of North Dakota’s only M.D. program, housed at the University of North Dakota. She is succeeding the department’s founding chair, Dr. Jon Solberg.
“My vision for the Department of Emergency Medicine is to ignite a passion for emergency care in our students, foster meaningful collaboration across departments, and drive innovation through impactful research,” said O’Keefe, who completed both a residency in EM and a medical education fellowship at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minn., before returning to Bismarck. “We aim to shape the future of medicine and ensure that our department remains a dynamic force within the state’s academic and clinical landscape.”
In her new position, O’Keefe will be responsible for mentoring SMHS medical students interested in emergency medicine careers, recruiting and retaining clinical faculty in emergency medicine, managing departmental affairs, and serving as a subject matter expert to advise faculty in integrating emergency medicine into the School’s curriculum.
“I’m very excited about the opportunity to serve my home state of North Dakota in this role,” she added.
O’Keefe is assuming leadership of a department that has developed into a pillar of the School’s M.D. program. Over the past five years, the department established a state-wide EM Journal Club, a recurring Grand Rounds program with local and internationally recognized expert speakers, and a poster contest at the State Trauma Conference. This experience has allowed students to present a poster at a large conference without incurring the cost and time commitment required to travel out of state.
Before the SMHS established its Department of Emergency Medicine in 2019, only one or two medical students per year opted to pursue emergency medicine as a specialization each year. Since 2020, though, that number has grown to an average of more than five students matching into EM residencies annually.
A widely published health provider, O’Keefe is certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine and is a member of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, the American College of Emergency Physicians, the Gold Humanism Honor Society, and the American Medical Women’s Association, among other organizations. She brings a wealth of academic and clinical experience to the role. As a physician leader, she has served in key roles across both academic and community-based emergency departments, combining evidence-based practice with a deep understanding of rural and regional healthcare challenges. She has also led quality improvement initiatives, advanced simulation-based learning, and mentored students and residents.
“Dr. O’Keefe is widely respected for her collaborative leadership style, her dedication to medical education, and her advocacy for team-based, patient-centered emergency care,” said Dr. Marjorie Jenkins, dean of the SMHS and vice president for Health Affairs at UND. “We are excited to welcome Dr. O’Keefe to the SMHS leadership team and look forward to working with her as she advances departmental growth and spurs innovation in education, research, and emergency care across North Dakota.”