Six of South Dakota’s 98 nursing homes are on a federal list of the nation’s worst-rated care facilities.
Five of the facilities are eligible for a special program to improve quality of care through increased regulatory oversight, and the other one is already in the program.
South Dakota Searchlight reports that the five eligible South Dakota facilities as of the July report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are Avantara Norton in Sioux Falls, Bennett County Hospital and Nursing Home in Martin, Dells Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Dell Rapids, Firesteel Healthcare Center in Mitchell and Riverview Healthcare Center in Flandreau.
The five South Dakota homes eligible for inclusion in the Special Focus Facility program all have 1-out-of-5-star ratings from CMS. Firesteel Healthcare Center, which is a150-certified bed facility owned by EmpRes Healthcare Management, has been cited for four violations this year. The home has been fined nearly $150,000 since 2021 — over $100,000 due to a January 2021 infection report regarding a lack of COVID-19 control that placed several residents in “immediate jeopardy” of harm.
In its most recent recertification inspection report from January, citations included improper dispensing of psychotropic medications to residents and infection control concerns.
(Thanks to South Dakota Searchlight)
