Corsica, SD (Mitchell Now) Leaders in Douglas County are “cautiously optimistic” that access to skilled nursing care will continue beyond the upcoming closure of the Good Samaritan Society nursing home in Corsica. A small group of leaders assigned to the Senior Health Care Taskforce have been in contact with representatives from Sanford and Good Sam to determine a course of action that could assist retaining senior care locally.
In September, officials with Sanford Health, the system that acquired the Good Samaritan Society through a 2019 corporate merger, announced that the facility would close, citing staffing shortages. The closure initially was anticipated to conclude Nov. 30, as Sanford and Good Sam had hoped to have their recently renovated Wagner facility ready to receive the majority of Corsica’s residents. A delay in state-mandated re-certification in order to benefit from Medicaid, Medicare and insurance funds following a renovation has slowed that process, and 15 residents remain in the Corsica facility with limited staffing to cover their needs.
Since the autumn announcement, community leaders have formed the Senior Health Care Taskforce, which has been in discussions with Sanford and Good Sam leadership to ensure that the building, which was built by members of the community – some of them now residents – will be returned to them, and that they will be allowed to continue to offer senior care from the facility.
“We recognize that Sanford and Good Sam have indicated that a nursing home facility in Douglas County is no longer feasible. However, we ask that local leadership be given an
opportunity to develop a plan to continue to offer senior care to residents from the Corsica area,” said Logan Denning, a member of the Senior Health Care Taskforce. “This closure doesn’t just affect the 650 residents of Corsica, but more than 3,000 people who reside in and near Douglas County. The facility has provided long-term care to residents of Armour, Stickney, Harrison, New Holland and the communities’ rural neighbors, too.”
Earlier this month, leadership from both organizations met to continue discussion of their respective visions for the future.
“Representatives from Sanford and Good Samaritan were respectful, but refused to give us a direct response to our request for the nursing home building to be given back to the community without covenants restricting the building’s future use,” added Jamie Rexwinckel, another member of the Senior Health Care Taskforce.
The taskforce has been proactive in ensuring that the lines of communication are open with Sanford and Good Sam, in the hopes their facility, unlike those in other communities affected by Good Sam closures, will be offered without use-limiting covenants that would eliminate the last nursing home in Douglas County.
Caleb Finck, president of the Tripp Development Corporation in neighboring Hutchinson County, said the 2018 closure of the nursing home in his community left a void that’s been difficult to fill. That building was offered for sale to locals, with the stipulation that it never could house any sort of senior health care services.
“A facility like that is, to an extent, the lifeblood of a community, similar to a school. People just know that, when they get toward the end of their lives and they need some extra care, they know that’s where they’re going to go – there’s comfort in that, because it’s still home,” Finck said. “You’re still in your community. Losing that was really a big deal for the town, from the community aspect and the economic aspect. When you think about the dollars and cents that a facility like that puts into the community on an annual basis, it’s a really big hit.”
Similar to Corsica, citizens of Tripp had personally raised funds to build their nursing home in the early 1960s. “That building as a gift from the people of Tripp to Good Sam to run that facility here” long before the corporate merger with Sanford, Finck said, adding that, once it closed, other businesses in Tripp began to struggle, too, and leaders had to come together in order to devise a plan for overcoming the loss.
Douglas County leaders are hoping to stay ahead of those challenges to ensure that their community, which has recently seen robust advancements in both housing and industry, continues to thrive.
“The closing of the nursing home in Corsica literally means that people who have called Douglas County and this area home are without a place to live out their remaining lives,” explained Luke Bamberg, president of the Corsica Development Corporation and member of the taskforce.
With the nearest long-term care facilities at least 25 miles away, the region has a vested interest in keeping the nursing home open.
“Douglas County Memorial Hospital takes a significant hit as these nursing home residents rely on their health care needs from our facility, and we count on them to help keep our hospital viable long-term,” said Heath Brouwer, CEO of Douglas County Memorial Hospital.
With the future still uncertain, members of the Senior Health Care Taskforce are forging ahead, looking into all options for a continuation of elder care in Douglas County. As conversations continue to unfold with Sanford and Good Sam, they’ve simultaneously begun with other potential partners, exploring scenarios that involve the existing building, as well as potential capital development in another location.
“We won’t give up on this important sector of our community. It’s about more than just jobs – it’s about the legacy given to us by our past community leaders – many who have recently spent their time in the community in a loving environment they call home,” said Dan Noteboom, a member of the Senior Health Care Taskforce.