USD students lose “grandparents” after closure of Vermillion Assisted Living
Every Thursday, University of South Dakota senior Scott Cichos has gone to Vermillion Assisted Living to visit his adopted “grandfather” David Hansen. Cichos met Hansen three years ago through the Students Enhancing Resources for Vermillion Enrichment (SERVE) organization at USD.
“He’s a huge jokester, and he’s just got the greatest outlook on life,” Cichos said of Hansen. “It’s awesome throughout all of his difficult health problems, because he’s had multiple cancers and he’s dealing with one right now, but he’s still in such a happy mood.”
Last Thursday, Cichos made his usual trip to the facility, but it was emptier than usual. The day before, Cichos was told the 11 Vermillion Assisted Living residents were being evicted and the business was shutting down.
“When I showed up, no one was there, and he was all sad. It’s pretty heartbreaking, really, because a lot of these people don’t have immediate family, so it was tough for him, I’m sure, because he had to find a place to live and he had to move out and he didn’t have a lot of people to help him move out,” Cichos said. “After three years, David has become pretty much like family, so it’s really tough to have him up and leave like that.”
Brad Halver, of Bare Assests LLC and owner of Vermillion Assisted Living, did not return emails sent by The Volante and could not be reached for comment. Katelynn Lee, the administrator for the facility, also declined an interview.
Nichole Lewison, a registered nurse, has worked at the facility for about four years. On Dec. 1, Lewison said Halver came to Vermillion Assisted Living and announced the facility was being shut down by the end of the month.
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She said the overall tone of the facility throughout the discharging of students has been emotional, including anxiety, anger and being scared in regard to what’s next.
“The residents have become family to the staff, so it’s very difficult,” Lewison said. “It’s heartbreaking — almost like dealing with a death.”
Lewison said staff and residents were told that Halver was unable to afford the restorations needed to keep the facility open, which is also what Hansen told Cichos.
Lewison, among the other staff members who are losing their job, said her main focus of the situation has been on the residents.
“The residents are the ones who are suffering the most because they are being uprooted from their homes,” Lewison said.
When Cichos visited Hansen last Thursday, he was already in the transition of moving. With everything happening so quickly, Cichos said it’s tough to have Hansen suddenly “get up and get out of my life.”
Junior Sarah Barthel is a co-chair of the Adopt-A-Grandparent program through SERVE and has been part of the organization for three years. Barthel said the students, Cichos included, have generally been shocked and disappointed upon hearing the news.
If a USD student’s grandparent doesn’t move far, Barthel said they are still able to stay in contact with them.
“As far as next semester, if the grandparents are moving in to a residential home and the students feel comfortable, they can go and visit them there. Otherwise, we’re going to do our best to accommodate them and find them another grandparent at the (Sanford) Care Center. But if we can’t do that, then they will probably just have to join the program again next year, which is unfortunate,” Barthel said.
Overall, Barthel hopes the situation works out well for not only the students, but their grandparents as well.
“For the sake of the students, I hope we can match them up with a different grandparent so they can still be a part of it,” Barthel said. “Then I hope assisted living is able to find a place for all the grandparents, because I know a lot of them don’t have family in Vermillion, and that’s why they choose to be a part of the program.”
On Thursday, Cichos said he plans to stop by Vermillion Assisted Living, but he doesn’t know if Hansen will be there, let alone if the facility will even be open. Hansen was considering moving to Yankton, Cichos said, where he has family members and would move into an apartment complex.
“Him going to Yankton will be tough because I won’t get to see him any more,” Cichos said. “I’m going to try to drive up there a few times at least, just to see how he’s doing.”
