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Admin: New Unit Fills Gap In Health Care

Kealey Bultena
/
SDPB
Avera Prince of Peace's Beacom Transitional Unit in Sioux Falls

Some patients with medical needs who don’t require the rigorous attention of hospitals have another option for discharge. Avera in Sioux Falls is now operating a transitional unit to serve people who can leave the hospital but can’t go straight to a nursing home, rehab, or back home.

The State of South Dakota doesn’t allow health providers to add beds for more people in nursing homes, but leaders are making an exception for transitional care.

Avera Prince of Peace is a retirement community in Sioux Falls with facilities from senior living apartments to a skilled nursing home. Administrator Justin Hinker says it now it boasts 24 additional beds.

"Twelve of those are really going to be what we call long-term care beds, where those individuals may spend the rest of their life here. The other twelve are what we’re really trying to say are transitional, where they need to have a discharge plan. So prior to coming here, even though they’re coming from the acute care setting, we want them to have a discharge plan," Hinker says.

"I think we'll be taking care of a population that is an unmet need." -Justin Hinker

Hinker says that plan could be a move to living at home on their own, home with assistance, a rehab facility or even a nursing home.

He says transitional care applies to patients who leave the hospital but require specialized health care – like maintaining IVs, using wound vacs, or dealing with chronic medical conditions. Hinker says 42 people work at the new Beacom Transitional Care Unit to serve patients from different circumstances.

"We’ve gotten six so far, and none of those have been private pay. Five of those have been Medicaid; one’s been insurance. So I think we’ll be taking care of a population that is an unmet need," Hinker says. "I would say that we will see a larger percentage of those patients be Medicaid patients."

Credit Kealey Bultena / SDPB
/
SDPB
Lisa and Miles Beacom / November 30, 2016

Hinker says two of the patients came from Avera, two from Sanford, one from Select Speciality Hospital in Sioux Falls, and another from North Dakota.

Avera responded to a request for proposal from the state. The health system received authorization to establish the transitional unit. Avera spent $3 million to renovate space on the Prince of Peace campus. Part of that came from a donation from Miles and Lisa Beacom in honor of the Reischl and Beacom families.

Kealey Bultena grew up in South Dakota, where her grandparents took advantage of the state’s agriculture at nap time, tricking her into car rides to “go see cows.” Rarely did she stay awake long enough to see the livestock, but now she writes stories about the animals – and the legislature and education and much more. Kealey worked in television for four years while attending the University of South Dakota. She started interning with South Dakota Public Broadcasting in September 2010 and accepted a position with television in 2011. Now Kealey is the radio news producer stationed in Sioux Falls. As a multi-media journalist, Kealey prides herself on the diversity of the stories she tells and the impact her work has on people across the state. Kealey is always searching for new ideas. Let her know of a great story! Find her on Facebook and twitter (@KealeySDPB).