Page 3 of Best Nursing Homes in South Dakota

Overview of Spearfish Canyon Healthcare

Spearfish Canyon Healthcare is a nursing home in Spearfish, South Dakota, providing skilled nursing, short-term rehabilitation, long-term care, and a range of specialized medical services. The 105-bed community is administered by Charlotte Pentheny. Both Medicare and Medicaid are accepted, broadening access for a range of financial situations.

According to CMS data, the community holds an overall rating of 3 stars, placing it in the average tier compared to national baselines but above the local market average of 2.4 stars. The community also features an “Average” 3-star health inspection rating, with 8 citations recorded during its most recent standard health survey on August 28, 2025. This performance is slightly above the South Dakota statewide average of 6.9 citations but remains lower than the national average of 9.4.

A complaint survey was also completed in July 2025, which identified deficiencies related to care quality and accident prevention following an elopement incident. This finding was immediately addressed through corrective staff education. Its quality of care metrics are strong, particularly for long-stay residents, with significantly fewer hospitalizations and emergency department visits than state averages. However, its nursing staffing levels and turnover metrics currently hold a “Below Average” rating.

Confirmed services include rehabilitation services, long-term and short-term care, pain management, dental care, dialysis, podiatry, and licensed professional nursing staff on-site. The range of specialized services, particularly dialysis and dental care, is noteworthy for a community of this size and reflects a higher level of clinical capability than many similarly sized rural communities.

Spearfish Canyon Healthcare is ideal for older adults in the Spearfish area and broader Black Hills region seeking skilled nursing care, post-acute rehabilitation, or long-term residential support, particularly those with complex medical needs such as dialysis or chronic pain management.

Overview of Good Samaritan Society Canton

Good Samaritan Society Canton provides assisted living, nursing home care, skilled nursing, hospice care, and respite services in Canton, South Dakota. Assisted living helps residents manage daily routines like bathing, dressing, and medications, while skilled nursing and short-term rehabilitation cater to medical recovery and ongoing care.

This 56-bed facility operates at 91% occupancy under administrator Scott Larson. Daily nurse staffing averages 3 hours and 51 minutes per resident, with an on-staff physician available to oversee clinical care. Amenities include an on-site salon, guest meal options, scheduled social activities, and community transportation. The local neighborhood has a 64 walk score, allowing for some nearby foot travel.

Families can reach out to Good Samaritan Society Canton to check current bed openings, discuss Medicaid, Medicare, or private pay coverage, and plan an on-site visit.

Overview of Good Samaritan Society Sioux Falls Center

Good Samaritan Society Sioux Falls Center is a nonprofit nursing home in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, that offers long-term care, short-term rehabilitation, occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy. The 98-bed community operates under the Good Samaritan Society’s faith-based nonprofit mission and has received the AHCA Bronze National Quality Award in 2025 in recognition of its commitment to quality improvement and resident care. Medicare, Medicaid, and private-pay residents are all welcome.

The community’s current occupancy rate of 73.2% falls below the state average, which suggests availability for immediate placements. Additionally, the average stay is approximately 68 days, which reflects a balanced mix of post-acute rehabilitation and longer-term skilled nursing support.

Holding a 4-star overall CMS rating, the community performs significantly above South Dakota averages in several major categories. Health inspection scores rank notably higher than statewide benchmarks, while staffing and quality measures also exceed average performance levels. The community also recorded nearly four hours of nursing care per day on average, slightly above the state standard, with consistent weekend nursing coverage helping support continuity of care throughout the week.

The community has recorded a total of 14 health citations throughout its inspection cycle, with the most recent health inspection conducted in September 2025. Notably, all health citations were corrected. 24-hour admissions are also available, which is an important feature for individuals transitioning directly from hospitals or other acute care settings.

Amenities and support services include a dining room, salon, chapel, activity spaces, courtyard areas, housekeeping, maintenance support, and religious and volunteer programs consistent with the organization’s mission-driven philosophy. Therapy services are also provided, including occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, rehabilitation programming, and short-term rehab services. Home-based services and caregiver support resources are also available through broader Good Samaritan Society programs.

Offering skilled nursing care, rehabilitation therapies, or long-term residential support, Good Samaritan Society Sioux Falls Center is a good option for older adults in Sioux Falls who prefer a nonprofit, mission-oriented community that demonstrates above-average performance in health inspections and staffing measures.

Overview of Avantara Pierre

Avantara Pierre is a nursing home in Pierre, South Dakota, that provides a specialized clinical setting tailored to high-acuity therapeutic recovery, memory care, and extended skilled nursing. The community serves Hughes County under the leadership of Chase Watson. With a 65-bed capacity, the community maintains an operational occupancy rate of 79%, matching South Dakota state averages and reflecting stable local demand.

Nutritious meals, daily housekeeping, laundry, and facility maintenance are among the confirmed services, along with a calendar of recreational activities, stretching exercises, and interactive social hours. The care framework also delivers round-the-clock clinical supervision, physical rehabilitation, occupational therapy, speech pathology, and structured dementia management programs.

Operating under federal CMS certification, the community utilizes an interdisciplinary care model to manage complex health transitions. The clinical pipeline specializes in short-term post-hospitalization recovery, with Medicare-covered short-stays averaging two to three months and accounting for 53% of new admissions. While baseline direct nursing hours track below state benchmarks at 2 hours and 36 minutes per resident daily, the community’s quality measures score roughly 10% above the state average, indicating that clinical outcomes and preventative benchmarks for current residents remain highly competitive.

The community holds a 2-star overall CMS rating, with performance metrics tracking below state baselines in the staffing and health inspection categories. To accommodate diverse financial setups, Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, and VA contracts are accepted.

For families in Pierre and broader Central South Dakota seeking a therapy-focused environment for post-acute recovery, Avantara Pierre provides specialized short-term rehabilitation and dedicated memory care services within an accessible urban location.

Overview of Avantara Mountain View

Avantara Mountain View is a nursing home in Rapid City, South Dakota, offering skilled nursing and post-acute rehabilitation. Privately operated by Mountain View SD Skilled Nursing Facility, LLC, this 95-bed community is currently operating at an 81% occupancy rate, which is similar to the state average and reflects local demand.

Operating under federal CMS guidelines and South Dakota state licensure, the community features a robust multi-disciplinary care framework. The clinical support specializes in high-acuity post-surgical care, stroke and neurological recovery, cardiac rehabilitation, and orthopedic stabilization. A defining structural strength of the community is its physical therapy staffing ratio, which tracks 33% above the South Dakota state average. While average nursing hours sit slightly below state benchmarks at 3 hours and 25 minutes per resident daily, the overall care matrix successfully minimizes long-stay risks, achieving a major injury fall rate that is 66% lower than the state average and maintaining exceptionally low indicators for resident depressive symptoms.

The community consistently maintains an above-average performance track, with a 3-star overall CMS rating, where quality measures and health inspection scores outperform the state average. In its past inspection cycles, a localized cluster of moderate citations tied to routine pharmacy services and infection control protocols has been identified, which resulted in a single minor federal fine in mid-2024 that is 77% below regional averages. However, all findings were systematically resolved under approved plans of correction.

Positioned in a well-established neighborhood pocket, the community achieves a walk score of 83, ranking eighth highest among similar communities statewide, giving visiting families and ambulatory residents excellent pedestrian access to local pharmacies, retail centers, and restaurants.

Avantara Mountain View’s unique combination of high physical therapy concentration, strong short-term rehabilitation metrics, and an exceptionally walkable urban location makes it a practical option for post-hospitalization care in Rapid City and the broader Black Hills.

Overview of United Living Community

A central part of a downtown Brookings campus, United Living Community is an 81-bed nonprofit nursing home run by administrator Liz DeBerg and United Retirement Center. The facility handles skilled nursing, short-term rehab, respite care, and hydro-therapy. While 80% of new admissions use Medicare for short-term recovery, a smaller group of long-term Medicaid residents (18%) and private-pay clients (2%) shapes the building’s overall population, pushing the average stay to 421 days. The property sits in a highly walkable neighborhood with a Walk Score of 82, though recent financial records report a low occupancy rate of 34.1% alongside an operating deficit of $643.3 thousand on $7.8 million in revenue.

Government health logs show high staffing numbers, led by a daily nursing average of 5 hours and 55 minutes per resident that ranks third across South Dakota. This setup is heavily driven by nurse aides, who provide 3 hours and 48 minutes of direct care daily, helping to cover for below-average hours for registered nurses and LPNs. Clinical summaries reveal a sharp divide between short-term and long-term outcomes.

For temporary rehab residents, the logs show excellent performance, including zero major injuries from falls, zero antipsychotic drug initiations, and zero hospital readmissions. Conversely, tracking files show that permanent residents experienced higher rates of major fall injuries, antipsychotic usage, and daily activity decline than the state average, though the facility’s total federal fines sit low at $13,000.

Interested individuals looking over local care options can use these public tracking reports to see how the building handles different types of stays. Since the state logs verify top-tier daily care hours and flawless physical recovery scores for short-term rehab clients alongside low occupancy and some weak long-term safety numbers, the paperwork fits a building optimized for post-acute recovery.

Overview of Avantara Redfield

Avantara Redfield is a nursing home in Redfield, South Dakota, offering specialized rehabilitation services including post-surgical care, short-term rehabilitation, and specialized programs for stroke recovery, cardiac care, and wound management. This community focuses on high-acuity therapeutic recovery and extended physical care, under the leadership of dministered by Diane Forgey. Currently, the community is operating at a 66% occupancy rate, which translates into ready admission availability and minimal wait times for families in Spink County navigating sudden healthcare transitions.

The community has recorded 20 health citations over the past seven years, which is above the state average. Findings from 2024 through April 2025 include nutrition management and routine environmental standards during evaluations, which were systematically corrected under approved operational plans.

Furthermore, the community holds a 2-star overall CMS rating. While daily direct nursing hours track below the state benchmark at 2 hours and 54 minutes per resident daily, the community maintains a strong clinical safety profile with zero critical citations over recent inspection windows. Its specialized oncology recovery and on-site hospice partnerships further allow residents to age in place comfortably as their healthcare needs evolve.

For families in the Redfield area seeking a therapy-focused environment with high availability, Avantara Redfield provides a practical choice. Families are encouraged to tour the therapy wings in person, meet the clinical staff, and review current nursing schedules to ensure the community’s tailored support frameworks align precisely with their loved one’s recovery goals.

Overview of Avantara Huron

Avantara Huron opened recently on Michigan Ave. SW in Huron, South Dakota, under the administration of Laurie Solem. It is a nursing home. It has 80 beds, 56 of them currently occupied, and sits in a neighborhood where a car is essentially required for most errands (Walk Score 27).

The care model here is built around post-acute recovery. Residents coming off cardiac events, orthopedic procedures, or pulmonary conditions have dedicated recovery programs waiting for them. Total nursing coverage runs 3 hours and 31 minutes per resident per day, with registered nurses accounting for 40 minutes of that. Suites are available in private and semi-private configurations depending on preference and availability.

Meals are prepared from fresh ingredients with nutritional balance as the stated priority. On the amenities side, the facility has an on-site salon and community spaces that families can use for gatherings and events. State inspections have tended to center on areas like infection prevention and control, care planning and documentation, and fall and injury prevention.

Payment coverage spans Medicare, Medicaid, and private pay. That range matters for a facility with a 135-day average stay: some residents arrive on Medicare short-term rehab benefits and transition to Medicaid as their stay extends, and the facility is structured to accommodate that arc. Avantara Huron is set up for people arriving from a hospital who need a supervised rehabilitation period before going home, not for those seeking a long-term residential placement.

Overview of Bethesda of Beresford

Located on West Cedar Street in Prairie Township, Bethesda of Beresford is a skilled nursing home. Britney Senger serves as administrator. The home accepts Medicare, Medicaid, and private pay to help families cover short-term rehabilitation and longer-term nursing care.

The 39-bed community operates near full capacity, with an occupancy rate of 85%. Residents stay an average of 329 days, which means there are more residents in long-term care than brief post-acute stays. The surrounding area has a Walk Score of 48, which is somewhat walkable. Some nearby services are accessible on foot, but most errands require driving.

The home provides on-site rehabilitation services. Contracted physical, occupational, and speech therapy staff are available most days every week. A Resident Council meets regularly and gives residents a voice in daily community life. The facility also operates a state-approved Nurse Aide Training program. Total nursing care averages 3 hours and 40 minutes per resident daily, while registered nurses provide roughly 1 hour of that time. This staffing combines clinical oversight with regular hands-on care.

State and federal inspections have often focused on resident rights and quality-of-life practices. Other areas include infection control, pharmacy handling, environmental upkeep, and administrative recordkeeping. Families touring the home may ask how staff monitor and address these areas daily.

Overview of Strand-Kjorsvig Community Rest Home

Run by administrator Samuel Van Voorst and owner Shannon Schmidt, Strand-Kjorsvig Community Rest Home handles skilled nursing, short-term rehab, and respite care within a 33-bed private facility that also serves as a VA-qualified provider. Founded in 1957, the downtown building works with a varied payer group comprising 44% private-pay, 34% Medicaid, and 22% Medicare admissions, leading to an average stay of 229 days. The property is located in an area with a Walk Score of 22, maintaining a 64.4% occupancy rate and reporting a 2024 operating profit of $64.3 thousand on $2.8 million in revenue.

Public oversight databases highlight high staffing numbers, with total nursing care averaging 5 hours and 3 minutes per resident daily to rank ninth across South Dakota. Daily records show robust numbers for both registered nurses and LPNs, including strong weekend RN continuity, though contractors make up 28.1% of overall staff hours.

Clinical tracking summaries reveal solid long-term stability, with permanent residents recording favorable rates for major fall prevention, skin integrity, and walking abilities. However, the data points to some specific hurdles, as long-stay resident weight loss and antipsychotic drug use track higher than state benchmarks, and the home has compiled $56,000 in federal fines across eight penalties over the past three years.

Prospective residents weighing regional long-term care or rehab facilities can analyze these government health records to assess daily operational trends. Since the state reports confirm top-tier nursing hours and steady physical health outcomes alongside historical compliance fines and some specific dietary tracking issues, the documentation shows a small, highly staffed environment.