Governor Kristi Noem’s Next Big Thing certainly isn’t the number of nursing homes serving our old folks. Covington Care and Rehab in Sioux Falls announced its impending closure yesterday:
Black Hills Receiver has determined that it is in the best interest of the residents, under the circumstances, to carefully plan for and pursue closure of Covington Care and Rehabilitation. After careful assessment and evaluation, the Receiver has made the very difficult decision to propose a plan to close Covington. The Receiver will provide the 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. Black Hills 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 [Black Hills Receiver, statement to KSFY, 2019.06.04].
Covington will become the seventh South Dakota nursing facility to close in three years because of two other things Governor Noem hasn’t figured out how to keep big enough: nursing home reimbursement and workforce:
“I am very concerned about how many more we may see and it’s not just small communities as you are well aware in the last day or so with the closure here in Sioux Falls,” Avera Center for Public Policy Senior Vice President Deb Fischer-Clemens said.
…So what’s the cause?
“One it is definitely reimbursement,” Fischer-Clemens said. “That’s the greatest percentage of the issue is the reimbursement from the state and federal government and for individuals ability to pay for care. “The second reason is because of workforce” [Michaela Feldmann, “Neighbors, Health Care Professionals React to Sioux Falls Nursing Home Closure,” KSFY, 2019.06.04].
When even Sioux Falls can’t find the workers to keep a nursing home open, South Dakota is in serious trouble.
Gee, Kristi, maybe your Next Big Thing is solving the nursing home crisis instead of focusing on trapping skunks, expanding your propaganda staff, bragging about permitless pistols in people’s pants, and fencing in the Governor’s mansion.
Add up the total for the skunk tail program, traps and bounties, add in $400,000 for the Governor’s Mansion fence and divide by the number of Medicaid residents in the state’s nursing homes. It isn’t the complete answer to the nursing home funding problem but at least it is something and a step in the right direction. South Dakota officials have been ignoring this oncoming train wreck for years.
Legalize and tax pot to provide money to address the issue. We could solve this problem in a one day special legislative session, add in some “rainy day” money to fill in the gap during the year or so for the legal pot program to get up to speed.
Bing, bang, boom we are done. Lets gavel this thing finished and get downtown before Bob Marso’s Lounge closes for the night.
Shame on Noem and the SDGOP, ignoring the dire needs of the state’s most vulnerable. Not that I’m surprised. That’s SOP for the GOP. Shameful behavior is what’s GOP SOP.
Nick Nemec needs to lead the charge on replacing the District 24 legislators – Nick??
Nick Nemec needs to be our next Governor. He lives only 41 miles from Pierre, unlike Kristi’s 190, so he could spend a lot more time actually working on solving the nursing home crisis, the workforce shortage, and other real problems and still make it home to do actual farm work on his actual farm.
If you want change, the stop being stupid. Stop voting Republican! Is it any wonder SD is consistently 20 years behind any progressive state you can mention? Noem is just one more bought and paid for GOP lapdog.
I spent two months in a rehab bed at a long term care facility last year. I observed that the facility was chronically short staffed because of employees calling in sick or just not showing up. The staff was professional but there were also signs of “burn out”. The night shifts were only required to have one CNA per wing and anything requiring more help meant pulling a CNA from another wing.
The facility also trains new employees for other facilities owned by the same company. The staff said there is normally a 50% drop out rate for the Certified Nurse Assistants class with more leaving in the first 90 days. The wages are not much higher than working fast food or a convince store and those jobs do not require you to wipe butts and handle other less than pleasant chores.The female aides also are subject to being groped.
I’m sure we will see more facilities close in the future unless we can start paying decent wages and raise the MEDICAID reimbursement rate. I have visited a number of small town nursing homes that are in old hospital buildings and they truly operate on a shoestring budget.
So then, what happens to this poor folks, deport them back to Germany or what? How about continue to vote for republicans and watch the destruction of a state and the nation. No one wants to provoke the queen bee about her spending because she has the goods on them apparently. Where are the fakey Christians? We could say that the old folks were gonna be having abortions and then those frauds would come out.
Ken is on the right track: we must vote for people who actually care for all people, not just people who use slogans to get power and do favors only for a few people they like.
WR, I’m glad you’re out of that rehab bed. I hope you’re recovered and rocking out on your own!
Your experience reminds us of the reality of what’s happening here. Lots of people in South Dakota need CNAs, not just old folks in their final years, but lots of folks who get sick or hurt and need extended care to get back on their feet. CNAs do hard, yucky, often high-stakes work. Both private employers and the state need to pay them enough to make it worth their while to do that work instead of just manning (or womaning) the till at Casey’s.
Among other possible revenue sources, we could free up a lot of state and national resources if we abandoned the grossly inefficient and selective (i.e., Person A gets care, Person B doesn’t, just because A has more income) private insurance amalgam, invested in a national health care system, and replaced private insurance premiums with taxes that would take only half as much out of our pockets.
Until we reach that enlightened state, I’d settle for the nickels and dimes we can save and dedicate toward health care by not spending money on stupid stuff like skunk tails and mansion fencing.
And bring back permits for walking around with hidden firearms. Charge for those permits. Put the proceeds toward public health, to make up for the threat to public health posed by idiots carrying mostly useless guns in their pants.
True that Cory, but how do you convince the fleeced that there is a better way? Here is a preacher man who cares about the people. Kenneth Copeland, what a grifter. Tax the churches and these frauds to provide aide and comfort for those who make this place better. The nursing home folks only did what they could to make ends meet while supporting growing families on a shoestring budget. Their children do not have the money to care for them as they are not getting by either. It’s still the economy stupid, unless you’re one these grifters.
““I’m a very wealthy man,” Copeland admitted without hesitation during the interview with Guerrero.
Guerrero approached Copeland as part of a broader investigation into televangelists using expensive jets, which was first broadcast in early May. A longer version of the interview with Copeland was published on May 20 and recently went viral.
Copeland is a popular preacher of the prosperity gospel, a strand of Christianity that teaches that material wealth and health are signs of God’s favor. The pastor and his wife, Gloria Copeland, are leaders of Kenneth Copeland Ministries, which claims to have seven offices around the world. The Copelands regularly appear on television and radio broadcasts, speak at revival meetings and have published numerous books. Kenneth Copeland is also one of the original members of President Donald Trump’s evangelical advisory committee.”https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kenneth-copeland-jet-inside-edition_n_5cf822fee4b0e63eda94de4f
One of these guys planes would fund these nursing homes for years.
Here’s what I know about nursing homes and communities for those who are aging..#1. The cost is insane, heartbreakingly, broke, crazy. I have a good friend who’s mom lives in what would be considered one of sd’s better facilities..7800/mo. #2. There are some facilities that you just don’t want to put your grandma in and those are the facilities that are affordable, unless one has super saved up for retirement and isn’t dependent on the State or Medicare to cover costs. Working in a nursing home is physically and emotionally brutal. Staff of all levels aren’t paid enough, nor supported well enough. The next time Kristi or some other GOP turd talks about protecting and valuing life, kindly remind them that applies to all lives, even the elderly. End rant.
CAH, I am fine. I had an ankle fusion with a bone graft due to osteoarthritis destroying the joint.
Rehab consisted of no weight bearing on the ankle for two months and daily physical therapy. I am covered by MEDICARE and a supplement so I was considered “Golden” by the business office.
RJ’s comments are definitely on target. There are some other issues that most people are not aware of. Your prescription drug program is suspended while you are an inpatient as MEDICARE/MEDICAID pays for the meds. I had my semi-annual dermatology appointment (my dermatologist considers me a walking pre-cancerous specimen) which was scheduled long before the surgery. MEDICARE declined to pay as I was an inpatient and thus the facility had to absorb the cost of the visit. The facility provided the transport to/from the appointment but should have had me cancel the appointment and have them reschedule it so they could be paid for the appointment.