Letter to the Editor for June 1, 2022

Dear Community,

At this point in time, we would like to give all of you in Phillips County an update on the status of Hi-Line Retirement Center. Throughout the past year we have run into several challenging issues, The greatest challenges facing Hi-Line Retirement Center is labor shortages and low census. Pre- COVID, the facility’s daily census was 42 and was fully staffed. Post COVID, the facility census is averaging 30 residents; it is becoming increasingly difficult to find qualified staffing. In order to operate profitably the facility would need to return to pre-COVID average daily census of 42 residents per day and find the necessary staffing.

Recently I read in “McKnight’s Long Term Care News, “more than 400 nursing home closures are projected for 2022. More than 300 nursing homes have closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and another 400 could go out of business this year, according to a new analysis.” The facilities that closed tended to be smaller, with fewer than 100 beds and in urban settings where residents rely on Medicaid.

Hi-Line Retirement Center (formerly Good Samaritan) has been serving Phillips County for the past 43 years as a skilled nursing facility with immense support from this community. During this time many businesses in the community have come and gone. In business it is always important to know when to change with the times, otherwise you become a Block Buster Video store and evaporate into memory.

With all of this in mind, Hi-Line’s Board and I have made the decision to transition from a skilled nursing facility with a separate license to an assisted living facility with a change of license. With this change we can also apply for up to 5 category B residents plus those that qualify for assisted living. Also, we have 5 additional category B spots under the current assisted living license.

In order to accomplish this, we will cease operation as a skilled nursing facility as of July 31st and will reopen as an assisted living facility on August 1st, 2022. It is the goal of HLRC to maintain all our current residents and staff.

We know this may leave unanswered questions so if you have any questions or concerns, or are interested in being on the HLRC Board of Directors, please stop by and visit me.

Duane Murray, Administrator, Hi-Line Retirement Center