Sioux Falls, SD – The South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations (SDAHO) has announced the addition of Hari Kadarkaraisamy to its team as one of two MCHC RISE-UP interns for the 2025 summer season. Kadarkaraisamy, a rising senior at the University of South Dakota, is pursuing a major in Medical Biology with a minor in Neuroscience Chemistry.
The MCHC Rise-Up internship program is a national initiative aimed at fostering leadership in public health among college students. The University of South Dakota is one of the host sites for this prestigious program.
“I think it’s an amazing opportunity to see what public health all is about,” Kadarkaraisamy stated. “Public health isn’t something that is preached in school, so it was hard to even gauge how big an impact it has on populations and communities. After a couple of weeks of being a part of this internship, I have learned the importance of public health and how preventative medicine is just as important as clinical medicine!”
During his internship at SDAHO’s Sioux Falls office, Kadarkaraisamy will delve into significant health care policy issues. His projects include a review of state statutes concerning video surveillance in nursing homes and an analysis of the Personal Needs Allowance (PNA) for nursing home residents. He will be researching how other states calculate their PNA and whether an inflation factor is incorporated, with the goal of potentially advocating for a similar measure in South Dakota come January. Additionally, he will contribute to updating price transparency communications for SDAHO members.
A native of South Dakota, Kadarkaraisamy was born in Sioux Falls and has called Vermillion home for the last two decades. He expressed his enthusiasm for the internship, seeing it as a gateway to understanding healthcare advocacy and the intricate relationship between policy and healthcare.
“I was extremely excited to join the team here in Sioux Falls. I have always been interested in the health care industry, and SDAHO fits that role,” he said. “Something I am not too fluent in and want to learn more about is the political side of things, and SDAHO also works heavily on that.”
Looking toward the future, Kadarkaraisamy plans to attend medical school, with a preference for the Sanford School of Medicine, and envisions himself serving as a physician in a rural community. His dream job, however, combines his passion for medicine and sports: “To be some sort of physician and coach for a high school soccer team.” An avid soccer enthusiast, he enjoys playing, watching, and coaching soccer in his free time.
SDAHO is excited to welcome Hari Kadarkaraisamy and looks forward to his contributions throughout the summer.
