Upcoming closure of Erskine, Minnesota, nursing home was a 'big shock' for community

Apr. 23—ERSKINE, Minn. — The closing of the nursing home in Erskine Minnesota, affects multiple generations of one northwestern Minnesota family.

With her mother living at Pioneer Memorial Care Center and her daughter working there, Edna Kaupang of Winger, Minnesota, has seen firsthand how both residents and staff have been affected by the news of the nursing home closing.

On Thursday, April 13, residents and staff at Pioneer Memorial Care Center were notified that the organization will be closing its skilled nursing facility on June 12. A statement from Pioneer Memorial Care Center attributed the closing to staffing and financial problems.

At present, the 44-bed skilled nursing facility has 29 residents. It has been open in Erskine, a town of around 400 people, since 1951.

Kaupang said her 80-year old mother and her late father moved to Pioneer Memorial Care Center together after they got sick. Between the caring staff and the facility's close proximity to family, Kaupang said the facility has been a good fit for her mother.

"They have been so great — the staff have been wonderful to my mom," Kaupang said.

Kaupang's daughter, Amber Johnson, started working as a cook and dietary aide at Pioneer Memorial Care Center shortly before her grandfather died. She said the job allowed her to spend more time with her aging grandparents.

"We were all one big family," Johnson said. "I enjoyed working with a lot of people there and it just breaks my heart because I know some people, like one of my friends, have relocated to Erskine just to work there."

Until the announcement that the nursing home would be closing, plans for future resident outings and activities were still being made, Kaupang said.

"It came as a big shock," she said.

In the statement about the nursing home's closure, Pioneer Memorial Care Center Board Chair Nancy Jenson said ongoing staffing challenges, a declining number of residents, increasing operating costs, cash flow difficulties and Medicaid reimbursement rates that do not keep up with the cost of care led to the decision to close the nursing home.

"This was a very difficult decision our Board did not take lightly; we hired consultants to help us determine short- and long-term options but ultimately determined we cannot continue to maintain operations at our nursing facility," she said in the statement.

The statement also said resident transition teams are helping families of residents with the relocation process. Kaupang said in the week after the closing was announced, nursing homes in surrounding communities filled up.

"My mother got accepted to Essentia in Fosston, so we're lucky there," she said.

Pioneer Memorial Care Center employs more than 65 staff members that live in the area.

"We are saddened by the loss of an important part of the community, however, we are grateful to our staff for their tireless commitment, and willingness to help our residents and their families through this transition," said Austin Ver Steeg, administrator of Pioneer Memorial Care Center in the statement. "We are helping them pursue employment opportunities at other nearby facilities."

Ver Steeg told the Herald he wasn't able to answer more questions at this time.

Johnson says she already has a job lined up, but for others looking, Ver Steeg has helped identify job opportunities and has written letters of recommendation for all of the employees.

"He's been very helpful," Johnson said.

Many in Erskine and surrounding towns like Plummer, Oklee and Mentor moved their parents into Pioneer Memorial Care Center, said Erskine Mayor Marc Plante.

"Whenever you lose that, you lose a lot — you lose the jobs, you lose the people coming through town," Plante said. "It was a very prestigious nursing home and whenever you lose something like that, it is a very big blow to the community."

While he could not comment on specific plans, he says the City Council plans to explore avenues to keep a nursing home in Erskine.

"This isn't the first nursing home that has had to close in Minnesota, so we will be checking in on all avenues and seeing if we can somehow help to get somebody in here," Plante said. "I don't know if there are grants or loans or stuff like that, but hopefully there's a good avenue."

The announcement comes about a month after

RiverView Health in Crookston announced it will be closing RiverView Memory Care, its skilled nursing facility,

after experiencing ongoing staffing issues. Crookston is about 30 miles from Erskine.

RiverView Health said it had to hire temporary traveling staff because of a shortage of licensed nurses and nursing assistants, which led to traveling labor costs of more than $725,000.

On March 17, Kari Thurlow, CEO and president of LeadingAge Minnesota, a statewide organization of senior care providers, said RiverView Memory Care will be the 15th nursing home to close in Minnesota since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

Pioneer Memorial Care Center owns The Country Place and Crossroads assisted living facilities in Erskine, which will remain open. It also owns the Oak Lake Golf Course, which is up for auction.

As residents move away from Pioneer Memorial Care Center, they leave on a red carpet, surrounded by farewell signs made by nursing home staff, said Johnson.

"Every time somebody leaves, the whole staff stands by the door and says goodbye," she said.