Black Lung Screening Available in North Dakota

Sep 10, 2025

Black lung is typically known to affect coal miners who often go deep into coal mines, but it can also affect surface miners – such as those who have worked on one of the coal mines in North Dakota. If you know someone who has worked in any type of coal mining, there is screening available in North Dakota available to both current and former coal miners.

The NOWCAP Black Lung Clinic is federally funded through the Health Resources & Services Administration. The overall goals of the program are to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with occupational coal dust exposure by promoting maximum functionality of patients' cardiopulmonary health, improving patient compliance with doctor's recommendations and safety regulations, decreasing prevalence of black lung cases, and improving quality of life for miners.

NOWCAP is currently working with Coal Country Community Health Center in Beulah, to facilitate the screenings, which can include X-rays, pulmonary function tests, and an EKG. The patient's insurance is billed for the tests during the screening and anything insurance doesn't cover would be covered by NOWCAP. If test results show anything concerning, NOWCAP can provide benefit counseling, free of charge, to assist with making claims and share potential benefits the patients may qualify for.

Questions?

Sarah Salveson Jones
Program Director for North Dakota
(307) 672-0046
blsheridan@bresnan.net