Assistant Administrator at HLRC Letter

To whom it may concern:

The facility of Hi Line Retirement Center is giving the State of Montana DPHHS and CMS its 60-day notice of de-certification as a skilled nursing facility. It is with great sadness that we submit this notice and we hope that families of our residents will understand that it was only after great deliberation of the Board of Hi line Retirement Center and Health Management Services. The facilities closure will begin a new venture for Hi Line Retirement Center, and conversations about the direction of the facility are already underway. We hope that during this time frame you will feel comfortable coming to the management of the facility to ask questions and seek guidance as we move forward.

The de-certification process of our facility will take a minimum of 60 days from the issuance of this notification. As such we intent to finalize our decertification of the facility on Friday October 28th, 2016. Note that copies of this letter are being given to the State Survey Agency, the State LTC Ombudsman, and each of the facilities residents and their legal representatives. If you have any questions about the process you can contact the building's Administrator in Training Donna Handley or our local ombudsman:

CARMEN KING LOCAL OMBUDSMAN PO BOX 771 WOLF POINT, MT 59201 (406) 650-0403

[email protected]

As our facility acts to de-certify it will also be seeking new licensure as an Assisted Living for Categories A, B, & C. This licensure, when received, will allow us to evaluate our current residents to see if they are appropriate to receive care in the newly licensed facility. During this evaluation we will ensure that residents have the appropriate level of care for their needs. If the facility will not be able to provide that care, our staff will work diligently to find the best location for our residents to receive the care that they need. There are discussions as to what other healthcare providers in town might be able to change to allow this to happen, but those conversations are in their preliminary stages.

Hi Line Retirement Center will work diligently through this transition to ensure that you receive the highest levels of care, and experience the least disruption possible as we move forward in our new direction.

Respectfully,

Donna Handley

Assistant Administrator

Hi Line Retirement Center Malta, MT

Karl Rude

V.P. of Operations

Health Management Service Billings, MT