Palisades Healthcare has been making several infrastructure improvements, including a new a/c unit, new flooring, and a new community area patio. Palisades was taken over by EmPres Healthcare in February, and they started by updating the sign in the front. The lettering for the old sign was donated to a local collector.
Palisades Healthcare has recently been seeing several new updates.
When EmPres Healthcare Management took over from Welcov in February, the status of the nursing home was in a bit of an upheaval. Welcov had recently declared bankruptcy, and news was consistently being reported of several nursing homes in the state that were closing or near closing. Part of the reason that nursing homes in South Dakota were underperforming financially was due to a low Medicaid reimbursement rate, which had been steady while costs continued to rise approximately 6% per year.
As part of her first budget address in January, Governor Kristi Noem proposed raising reimbursement rates and the creation of grants that would be obtainable by nursing homes that innovate. According to Governor Noem, 19 nursing homes closed in recent years, including rural communities that can scarce afford to lose them, such as Tripp, SD, and Rosholt, SD.
In an op-ed published in the Argus Leader on March 15, Governor Noem wrote, “Nursing home closures impact real people: our parents, our grandparents. We all want our loved ones to be happy and comfortable as they age, and shuttered nursing homes mean disconnection from community, separation from family, and a disruption of comfort.”
The SD legislature responded positively to Governor Noem’s request, and approved a budget request that increased payouts by 10%. This increased statewide funding to $18.1 million for Medicaid recipients in nursing homes. While this increase wasn’t quite enough to bridge the gap between funding and cost, it did substantially reduce it, and the legislature is able to continually take steps to improve funding over the next few years. And as South Dakota has one of the highest percentages of elders in the U.S. at 44%, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, keeping nursing homes solvent is a good goal. The national average is 31%.
At the same time, a $5 million one-time fund was created to encourage nursing homes to seek other, cost-efficient ways to improve care. According to Governor Noem, this would improve the continuum of care, increase the availability of respite and in-home services, and give nursing homes incentives to innovate and come up with new ideas.
Some initiatives are being undertaken by EmPres at the Palisades Healthcare facility already. When EmPres took over, they noted that a lot of updating was needed.
“It was time to replace everything,” said Lourdes Parker, Palisades Healthcare Administrator, referring to the infrastructure of the building and grounds. As part of that updating, the air conditioning unit was upgraded, which brought a/c to the east side of the building, and to the kitchen, which, while prior served by the old a/c, had had several problems maintaining a consistent temperature.
The walkways throughout will be receiving new flooring.
“The [floor] tiles are original to the building,” Parker continued, referring to the older section. There are two sections to the building, the original and the newer expansion. Parker was not yet sure if the rooms would also be receiving that update.
The outdoor community area was also under construction, with a new patio being constructed, one that would make it easier for limited-mobility residents to enjoy their time outside.
“I’m excited that new things are happening in this building,” said Parker.
Anything that can be done to improve the care of our senior members of the community is a boon, and members of Garretson can plan that Palisades Healthcare will continue giving a high level of care for many years to come.
