Business View - January 2016 87
from two local hospitals who are on call 24 hours a
day, seven days a week, providing primary care for its
residents. In addition, FNPs from the Sanford and Mid-
Dakota Clinics make rounds in the facility 2-3 days per
week. In 2003, the Center also transitioned its inde-
pendent living apartment building into 64 one- and
two-bedroom apartments and named it the Valley View
Heights Assisted Living facility.
Thompson believes that Missouri Slope differentiates
itself from other nursing facilities in the area by being
the only one that is not corporately-owned. “We’re a
locally operated, locally governed, non-profit organiza-
tion and everyone else, over the years, has slowly mi-
grated over to being part of a larger corporate chain of
nursing facilities,” he explains. “I’ve worked in a cor-
porate chain before coming here and one of things I
like about our capabilities is that we’re able to make
our decisions locally and respond to changing market
needs and changing employment needs without hav-
ing to run up the corporate ladder.”
According to Thompson, Missouri Slope has an occu-
pancy rate that hovers near 100 percent, noting that
the need for senior care facilities in his community, in-
dependent or otherwise, is far outstripping the present
supply. “We’re looking at about a 25 percent growth in
the 65-plus population over the next five years, so we
know the demand is there,” he says. “We also know
the supply is definitely not there.” He believes that one
of the factors preventing the Center from expanding
rapidly is the moratorium on new nursing facility beds
due to state rules that have been in place for many
years. “So, for us to be able to put up another building
AT A GLANCE
WHO:
Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center
WHAT:
A skilled nursing facility established by
area Lutheran congregations
WHERE:
Bismarck, North Dakota
WEBSITE
:
HEALTHCARE
