This video is from SDPB's news program, South Dakota Focus.
Medicaid reimbursement and staffing challenges were real for long-term care facilities even before the pandemic, but rising costs and low wages have made the problem worse. Facilities may look to travel nurse agencies to fill the gap in staffing, but this can also be cost-prohibitive.
The Walworth County Care Center in Selby is an anomaly. It’s a rural long-term care facility with no traveling staff. It’s independent of major healthcare providers. And it survived after the Good Samaritan Society announced it would shut down the facility four years ago.
This story is part of South Dakota Focus: The Uncertain Future of Nursing Homes.