Group seeks to reopen Osnabrock, ND, nursing home

• Osnabrock, N.D.

Osnabrock, N.D.

Talk about it

A community group is raising money to reopen the former Good Samaritan Society nursing home in Osnabrock, N.D., which closed in July.

The Osnabrock Nursing Home advisory board will host a public meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Osnabrock Community Center, also known as the Barley Hall.

The board has set an initial fund-raising goal of $250,000, according to Tim Seavey, the new facility’s administrator and a former nurse at the Good Samaritan facility. “Initially, we’re looking for donations from the community.”

They’re also working with the Cavalier County Job Development Authority to search for potential grants.

The Osnabrock Nursing Home board expects to complete the transfer of property from the Good Samaritan Society by Oct. 15, and reopen with 15 licensed basic-care beds by early 2013.

The board hopes to grow the number of beds in the future.

Fewer residents

The Society, based in Sioux Falls, S.D., closed the Osnabrock skilled-care nursing home July 21, citing cash flow problems brought on by decreasing population, as well as difficulty in attracting and keeping staff.

The facility was licensed for 31 beds, but averaged between 22 and 25 residents between 2007 and 2010. By May, when the closure announcement was made, the facility had dropped to 18 residents.

Former residents have since transferred to other facilities in the region.

Osnabrock is a community of 134 in Cavalier County about 100 miles northwest of Grand Forks.

The number of employees ranged from 35 to 50 when the Society ran the facility, according to Seavey. He said the new facility likely will employ 8 to 10 when it reopens.

The reopened facility will have private rooms, with no shared rooms, according to Seavey.

“Our intention is to make it as home-like as possible,” he said. “Residents will have the option of bringing in their own furniture. We hope to make it different.”

Tags: north dakota, osnabrock nd, good samaritan society, nursing home, updates, news, health