How to File a Nursing Home Complaint in South Dakota

You noticed bruises on your parent's arms that no one can explain. Medications are being given late. The call light goes unanswered for 45 minutes. You asked questions and received vague reassurances that did not match what you saw. Now you need to know exactly who to contact and what happens next.

Two Complaint Channels

South Dakota has two separate systems for addressing nursing home concerns, and they serve different functions:

1. South Dakota Department of Health (DOH)

The DOH Office of Health Care Facilities Licensure and Certification is the regulatory body that licenses and inspects nursing homes and assisted living centers. Filing a complaint with DOH triggers an official inspection — surveyors visit the facility, investigate the allegation, and issue findings.

How to file:

• Call the DOH complaint hotline
• Submit a written complaint online or by mail
• Complaints can be anonymous — the facility is not told who filed the complaint

What happens next:

• DOH evaluates the complaint to determine priority and assigns an inspection timeline
• Surveyors conduct an unannounced visit to the facility
• Findings are documented on Form 2567 — the Statement of Deficiencies — which becomes a public record
• The facility must submit a Plan of Correction addressing each deficiency
• For serious violations, DOH can impose sanctions including fines, restricted admissions, or revocation of the facility's license

Form 2567 reports are the most objective tool available for evaluating a facility. They document exactly what surveyors found — not what the facility claims in its marketing materials.

2. South Dakota Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program

The ombudsman program operates independently from DOH and takes a resident-advocacy approach rather than a regulatory one.

What the ombudsman does:

• Investigates complaints on behalf of residents and families
• Educates residents about their rights under state and federal law
• Works with resident councils within facilities
• Mediates disputes between families and facility management
• Advocates for the resident at discharge hearings and care plan meetings

When to use the ombudsman:

• Your parent's care plan is not being followed
• Visitation is being restricted or discouraged
• You believe the facility is preparing an unjustified involuntary discharge
• Staff are dismissive of your concerns but the situation has not risen to a regulatory violation
• You want an independent advocate present at a care conference

The ombudsman can often resolve problems faster than the DOH complaint process because they work directly with facility management to address issues without waiting for a formal inspection cycle.

What Constitutes a Valid Complaint

Not every frustration with a nursing home is a regulatory violation. Focus your complaint on specific, documentable issues:

Strong complaint grounds:

• Physical injuries that are unexplained or poorly documented
• Medication errors — wrong medication, wrong dosage, wrong time, missed doses
• Inadequate staffing leading to delayed care (documented call light response times)
• Unsanitary conditions — persistent odors, soiled linens, insects
• Unauthorized use of physical or chemical restraints
• Restricted visitation without documented medical justification
• Failure to follow the resident's care plan
• Retaliation against a resident or family member for filing a previous complaint

Weaker complaint grounds (hard to substantiate):

• General dissatisfaction with food quality
• Personality conflicts with specific staff members
• Aesthetic complaints about the facility's appearance

How to Review Inspection Reports

Before your parent enters any facility — and periodically after admission — review the facility's inspection history:

Medicare Care Compare (medicare.gov/care-compare): The federal database that aggregates inspection findings, staffing ratios, and quality measures for every Medicare-certified nursing home. The star ratings provide a quick comparison, but read the actual inspection narratives for context.

Form 2567 reports: Available from the South Dakota Department of Health. These are the raw inspection documents showing exactly what surveyors found, how severe the deficiency was, and whether it affected one resident or the entire facility population.

When reviewing reports, focus on:

• Immediate jeopardy citations — the most serious category, indicating a situation that has caused or is likely to cause serious injury, harm, impairment, or death
• Repeat deficiencies — the same problem cited across multiple inspection cycles indicates a systemic issue the facility is not addressing
• Staffing-related deficiencies — insufficient staffing underlies a large percentage of care quality problems

Documenting Your Concerns

If you suspect a problem at your parent's facility, build a paper trail before filing:

• Note dates, times, and specific observations in writing
• Take photographs when appropriate (injuries, unsanitary conditions)
• Keep copies of care plan documents, medication lists, and any written communications with the facility
• Record the names of staff members involved in concerning incidents
• Ask for written explanations when injuries or medication changes occur

This documentation strengthens your complaint and gives investigators specific details to verify during their inspection.

The South Dakota Dementia Care Guide includes a facility vetting checklist that maps to the most common Form 2567 deficiency categories, helping families spot red flags before they become complaints.

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