SELBY, S.D. (AP) - Residents of Selby formed a nonprofit to keep the community’s nursing home open. But, as two more care centers prepare to close in South Dakota, there are no easy answers to housing the elderly and others in need.

Nursing homes throughout the state and nation have been closing their doors, the Aberdeen American News reported .

Jerry Stiegelmeier, who has an 87-year-old mother in the Selby nursing home that was operated by Good Samaritan Society, said the support behind keeping the facility has been amazing and is something typically unheard of in a town of fewer than 700 people.

“The people that donated say that this is what needed to happen to help our whole community. And not just the people in town, but the surrounding area, too,” he said. “If this is the trend, hopefully it all works out as well as it did for Selby.”

Good Samaritan got help from the surrounding region, which raised $500,000. Community members from Selby, Java and Glenham founded a nonprofit agency, Walworth County Care Center, which took over operations of the nursing home Dec. 1.

___

This story corrects name of town to ‘Selby’ instead of ‘Shelby’.

___

Information from: Aberdeen American News, http://www.aberdeennews.com

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC.