Prairie Estates in Elk Point, SD announces closure

ELK POINT, S.D. (KTIV) - A nursing home in Union County, South Dakota, has officially announced it will be closing its doors.

According to the Prairie Estates Care Center’s website, the facility will lock its doors as of Jan. 14, 2023.

“This is to serve as public notice to the community of Elk Point that Prairie Estates Care Center will be closing its operations as of Jan. 14, 2023. Our sincerest thanks to all of you for the support you have provided over the years,” stated the center’s online announcement.

Prairie Estates is located at 600 S. Franklin St. in Elk Point.

In a statement issued by the South Dakota Health Care Association, the closure is due to a combination of the ongoing underfunding of Medicaid, the current staffing crisis, and costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the addition of this closure, more than 12 percent of licensed nursing facilities in South Dakota will have closed their doors in the last five years. Other recent closures include centers in Armour, Salem, Lennox, Clear Lake, Ipswich, Custer, Hudson, Sioux Falls, Huron, Madison, Mobridge, Tripp, Bryant, and Rosholt.

“Unfortunately, nursing home closures are a story we have seen all too often. Between longstanding Medicaid underfunding, the ongoing staffing crisis, and costs from COVID, nursing homes are facing unprecedented pressures,” said Mark B. Deak, executive director of the South Dakota Health Care Association (SDHCA). “When closures occur, South Dakota communities lose access to a vitally important service for the elderly and disabled.”

“Our aging parents, grandparents, and other loved ones expect and deserve access to nursing care near their family and friends. Lawmakers must take action if we hope to prevent even more closures in the months and years to come,” Deak said.

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