Wave of nursing home closures hitting small South Dakota communities [View all]

The health and stability of some of South Dakota’s most vulnerable residents are being threatened by a wave of closures of long-term care facilities across the state.

Three nursing homes closed over the past three years and two more are slated for closure by February. Another 17 former Golden Living Centers are now being operated by a state-approved receivership created after the New Jersey firm running the homes went bankrupt.

The closures have occurred in small towns in South Dakota that have few or no options for relocation and are often many miles from another operating nursing home.

The recent nursing home closures in towns such as Tripp, Bryant and Rosholt and the likely closures in Madison and Mobridge have put a hardship on those towns and the people who live or work at the homes. Nursing homes are sometimes the biggest employer in small towns and employees are typically laid off upon closure. Residents of rural nursing homes tend to be locals and uprooting them from their long-term homes is physically and emotionally traumatic for the patients and their loved ones.

Read more: https://www.capjournal.com/news/wave-of-nursing-home-closures-hitting-small-south-dakota-communities/article_d557e368-ff5b-11e8-82fd-6b6a48b0dc76.html