Another South Dakota nursing home is closing its doors.
Avantara announced this week (Aug. 9, 2022) the upcoming closure of its nursing home in Armour. The closure is due to a combination of the ongoing underfunding of Medicaid, the current staffing crisis, and costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the addition of this closure, more than ten percent of licensed nursing facilities in South Dakota will have closed their doors in the last five years. Other recent closures include centers in Salem, Lennox, Clear Lake, Ipswich, Custer, Hudson, Sioux Falls, Huron, Madison, Mobridge, Tripp, Bryant, and Rosholt.
“Nursing homes face unprecedented pressures right now. On top of years of Medicaid underfunding, they are also experiencing severe staffing shortages and have been on the front lines of the COVID battle for over two years,” said Mark B. Deak, Executive Director of the South Dakota Health Care Association (SDHCA). “Oftentimes, there aren’t enough staff to accept new admissions.”
South Dakota’s Medicaid reimbursement rates are below those of all our neighboring states. In 2021, the estimated statewide costs of unreimbursed care totaled more than $56 million. A significant majority (55%) of the total resident population in nursing homes relies on Medicaid to pay for their care. In addition to the closures, this disparity fuels staffing challenges, including difficulty hiring caregivers and high turnover among nursing center staff.
While emergency support funds from federal and state sources have helped nursing homes keep their doors open through the worst of the pandemic, long term care providers remain in a state of great fiscal strain. Improving ongoing Medicaid reimbursement is the most important step that can be taken to stop the closure crisis.
“Communities across our state are losing access to services that allow their elderly loved ones to receive needed care near their family and friends. I fear that more closures are still to come,” Deak said.
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