SIOUX FALLS, S.D.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Court appointed Receiver for 19 skilled nursing facilities that were operated by Skyline Healthcare and its affiliates in South Dakota, Black Hills Receiver LLC, today announced that it has determined that it is in the best interest of the residents, under the circumstances, to carefully plan for and pursue closure of two skilled nursing facilities. After careful assessment and evaluation, the Receiver identified a projected lack of funds to operate these two facilities and, as a result, the Receiver has made the very difficult decision to propose a plan to close these skilled nursing facilities. If the request for closure is approved, the earliest date the facilities could close is January 31, 2019.
The Receiver has notified the Department of Health of the request to close the facilities and has submitted closure plans to ensure federal requirements are met.
The facilities proposed for closure are Madison Care and Rehabilitation Center, located at 718 NE 8th Street, Madison, SD 57042 and Mobridge Care and Rehabilitation Center, located at 1100 4th Ave. E., Mobridge, SD 57601. These two facilities have had the benefit of a great leadership team. The residents have been served by a dedicated staff that has worked tirelessly to provide quality healthcare services. Black Hills Receiver is sincerely appreciative of the Madison and Mobridge staff for their dedication to the residents of these facilities.
On May 1, Black Hills Receiver began to immediately stabilize the health and safety of the facilities’ residents as well as provide payroll and other much needed support to the staff. Over the past six months, Black Hills Receiver has worked to provide operational support to the facilities, including coordinating the use of available funds from Medicare, Medicaid, and other payor sources to cover the necessary costs of providing care to the residents, paying the staff, purchasing medical supplies, and providing other necessary items and materials required for care. During this time, the Receiver has monitored the financial feasibility of operating the facilities in a long-term capacity. Unfortunately, the Receiver determined that these two nursing facilities will not generate enough income to cover all of the necessary operating expenses on a long-term basis. This means that it is not feasible to operate these two facilities going forward. Only after full assessment, consideration, and evaluation did the Receiver determine that proposing an organized plan for closure and closing the facilities is in the best interest of the residents, under the circumstances.
The Receiver will provide each facility with a detailed closure plan in an effort to make this transition as smooth as possible for the residents, their families and the employees. The Receiver values each and every resident and will explore the best future care setting with each of them individually, along with their families and personal physicians. The Receiver will also meet with each employee to explore alternative employment options available to them and work with community members to provide support during this transition.
About the State Regulated Closure Process
If the request for authority to close the two facilities is approved, the earliest date the facilities could close is January 31, 2019. The Receiver will adhere to the state regulated closure process and carefully plan the relocation of each resident. No resident will be required to relocate right away. The facility will not close until at least 60 days after the facility provides a formal written Notice of Closure to the State and to each resident. Each individual resident will receive personal attention to discuss the most appropriate and preferred transfer location for the resident. Each resident will be provided at least 30 days advance written notice of their individual transfer date and proposed transfer location.