Push to raise $500,000 to keep Ipswich nursing home open falls short
A proposed to plan to keep open an Ipswich nursing home will not pan out due to time constraints.
Following Avantara Ipswich's announcement that the nursing home would close by the end of May, the community rallied to come up with an alternative plan. The goal was to raise $500,000 by today so that the building could be purchased from Avantara.
At an April 18 meeting in Ipswich, city council member Mike Hammrich walked attendees through the proposal to keep the nursing home open. It would have been owned by a nonprofit group with a five-member board and Rural Health Development helping to manage the facility.
More: Pending closure and poor care at Ipswich nursing home latest outcomes of staffing crisis
Hammrich noted then that something similar happened with the Selby nursing home. But Selby area residents had three months to raise money and Ipswich had just three and a half weeks, he said.
Ultimately, the money was not raised because there was not enough time, Hammrich said on Thursday afternoon. He said he's confident the fundraising goal could have been reached if the community had more time. About $170,000 was raised almost immediately after the announcement of the plan, he said.
Had $500,000 been raised, $250,000 would have gone to Avantara just to purchase the building. Hammrich said Avantara was firm on that price.
A smooth change of ownership would have allowed the nursing home to retain its Medicare and Medicaid licenses, meaning it wouldn't have to close. But starting over after a closure would force the nursing home to obtain new licenses, which can take up to six months, Hammrich said.
More: Pending closure and poor care at Ipswich nursing home latest outcomes of staffing crisis
The next hurdles would have been dealing with building repairs, staffing issues to reopen and finding residents.
Raising $1 million would have left the Ipswich group with about $700,000 even after buying the building, which would have been ideal, Hammrich said.
He praised the effort, noting that the community jumped at the opportunity to help keep the nursing home open. He said that Avantara was also helpful and walked them through the process.
"We gave it one heck of a shot," Hammrich said.
A shortage of staff was given as one reason officials for the Avantara Ipswich nursing home said they will close the 40-bed facility on May 31. Challenges related to COVID-19 were also listed.
A South Dakota Department of Health inspection in 2021 noted troubling incidents of inadequate resident care, including four violations that were listed as “Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies.”
This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Ipswich short of funds to keep nursing home open
