A skilled nursing facility in Helena, Mont. is the latest to close in the state, citing insufficient Medicaid rates and residents choosing options other than nursing homes.
Rocky Mountain Care Center, which has been in business for 45 years, announced its last day would be Dec. 24, according to a Helena Independent Record report.
A spokesman for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services told the Independent Record that the legislature has not at this time authorized additional supplemental funding to the department for the 65 long-term care facilities in the state.
COO Wendy Soulek is the daughter of Lantis Enterprises founder Will and Mary Ellen Lantis. She told the Independent Record that at one time they had 15 nursing homes in the state and were the state’s largest provider — they now have seven.
This is the ninth nursing home closure in the past six or seven months, according to Rose Hughes, executive director of the Montana Health Care Association.
Montana is among the many states where nursing homes are affected by major shortfalls in Medicaid reimbursement, which has precipitated financial strain and closures.
The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, being another example, has had to close 10 buildings across the country over the last 10 months.
It comes at a time when more than 1,000 nursing homes have closed since 2015, according to a report released back in April by the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL).
Earlier this year, AHCA projected 400 SNF closures in 2022, with nearly 240,000 job openings as a primary driver.
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