Black Hills Receiver LLC, the court-appointed receiver for 19 skilled nursing facilities in South Dakota that were operated by Skyline Healthcare and its affiliates, on Wednesday proposed a plan to close two of the facilities due to lack of funds.
The earliest date the facilities — the Madison Care and Rehabilitation Center in Madison, S.D., and the Mobridge Care and Rehabilitation Center in Mobridge, S.D. — could close is January 31, 2019, if the request for closure is approved.
Black Hills Receiver took over South Dakota’s 19 facilities on May 1, after the Wood Ridge, N.J.-based operator fell apart in several states, including Nebraska, Kansas, and Pennsylvania. The company had stopped paying vendors and employees in several states, and owed thousands of dollars to state and federal authorities at the time of its collapse.
Black Hills Receiver has worked over the past six months to coordinate funds from Medicare, Medicaid, and other payor sources to cover the costs of care, employee payroll, medical supplies, and other necessities, the company said in a statement issued Wednesday evening.
“During this time, the Receiver has monitored the financial feasibility of operating the facilities in a long-term capacity,” the statement said. “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.”
The Madison facility has 53 certified beds, while the Mobridge facility has 89, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Nursing Home Compare tool. Exact occupancy figures were not available as of press time.
Each facility will receive a detailed closure plan from the receiver, according to the release. Black Hills Receiver will adhere to South Dakota’s regulated closure process, which means that the facilities will not close until at least 60 days after the facility provides a formal written Notice of Closure to each resident and to the state.
The receiver plans to discuss alternate care settings with each resident, their families, and personal physicians, and each resident will receive at least 30 days advance written notice of their transfer date and the proposed transfer location.
Written by Maggie Flynn