Good Samaritan Society-Prairie Creek

Pros

• Prairie Creek provides great comfort, care, and companionship for residents.
• The Lodge at Prairie Creek is a beautiful facility with spacious apartments in a variety of floorplans.
• Appliances and finishes are similar to an upscale apartment community, contributing to a quality living environment.
• A wide range of amenities is available, including underground heated parking, an indoor pool/spa, library, game room, movie theater, activity room, and a well-equipped gym.
• There is a strong sense of community with numerous activities and residents organizing their own events.
• The Lodge is described as a friendly, comfortable place to live with few stressors.

Cons

• The dining options are limited and food quality is inconsistent, making healthy, low-salt, low-cholesterol meals difficult for residents.
• In-unit maintenance is unreliable due to high staff turnover and inexperienced personnel.
• There is persistent turnover among management, cleaning, fitness, and food-service staff, leading to disruption and variability in service.
• Rent is expected to increase annually, placing ongoing financial pressure on residents.
• The merger with Sanford has led to unhappy staff and a sense of diminished on-site pleasantness.
• Consolidation reduces dedicated on-site management for Prairie Creek facilities, with one director overseeing multiple locations.
• Financial transactions are now managed by Sanford Health and Premier Bank, causing mistakes and delays (e.g., lengthy refunds and misaddressed checks).
• The merger's effects are described as not looking good, suggesting morale and service quality declines.
• Some meals are nutritionally imbalanced, and vegetables/fruit are often canned, limiting freshness and variety.

Review

The Lodge at Prairie Creek comes through in these observations as a place that delivers comfort, companionship, and a steady sense of welcome for residents who have lived there for extended periods. One reviewer notes that their mom has found great comfort, care, and companionship during nearly two years of residence, suggesting a consistently positive personal experience even amid the realities of communal living. The sentiment is echoed for another family member who has been at The Lodge for several years, painting a picture of a beautiful facility that provides a home-like atmosphere along with a range of practical amenities.

The setting itself earns praise for its design and layout. The facility is described as beautiful, with spacious apartments available in a variety of floorplans. The interiors resemble an upscale apartment community in terms of finish and appliances, though not at the high-end luxury tier (formica rather than granite, Kenmore rather than Bosch). The physical environment is thus comfortable and well-appointed, contributing to a sense of quality without necessarily signaling luxury.

A broad array of amenities is highlighted as a significant strength. There is underground, heated parking available for an added fee, along with an indoor pool and spa, a library, a game room, a movie theater, an activity room, and a well-equipped gym. Residents benefit from a lively calendar of activities, including exercise classes, bingo, ice cream socials, game nights, and excursions using facility vans. Importantly, residents can and do organize their own activities, which helps foster a sense of community and autonomy within the living environment.

Dining is a complex and mixed element of the experience. The Lodge offers two meal plans, but daily menus are described as limited. Food quality is variable, depending on the current cook and administrator. Some meals are nutritionally balanced, while others are not, with examples given such as hot dogs, potato chips, pickles, and pie. Vegetables and fruit are often canned, and the salad bar tends to feature iceberg lettuce with limited greens. Jello is consistently available, and desserts and ice cream are abundant. For residents who require a low-salt, low-cholesterol, or low-sugar diet, the dining options can be a challenge, making it difficult to maintain specific dietary needs.

Maintenance and staffing are consistently identified as areas of concern. In-unit maintenance is described as inconsistent due to high turnover and seemingly inexperienced staff. There is also notable turnover among management, cleaning, fitness, and food service staff. These staffing dynamics contribute to a sense of instability at times, even as the facility remains friendly and largely free of stressors. Rent increases are expected annually, adding a financial dimension to the ongoing evaluation of the community's overall value and stability.

Despite these challenges, the overall tone remains positive. The Lodge is portrayed as a friendly, comfortable place to live with relatively few stressors, and the reviewer notes that improvements in two key areas - the quality and variety of food, and better compensation for top-performing staff - could elevate the experience to a five-star level. This framing suggests that the core strengths - community, setting, and ambiance - are solid, with room for improvement in operations and food service.

Two significant updates over time relate to organizational changes in ownership and governance. The first update describes a merger-like development in which The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society forms a partnership with the corporate entity that owns Sanford Medical Center (referred to as Sanford Health). The practical effect, as reported, is an addition of the Sanford name to Good Samaritan's branding, while maintaining the existing Sanford organization's name. As of October 10, 2018, there were no announced changes to services, fees, or rents at Good Samaritan facilities. This update signals a potential shift in scale and affiliation without immediate operational disruption, according to the information provided.

The second update conveys growing concerns about the consequences of the partnership for staff morale and day-to-day management. Reports indicate that staff are unhappy with new policies and that Sanford's influence is altering the management structure. Instead of having a dedicated onsite director for The Lodge and other Prairie Creek facilities, there is now a single director overseeing Prairie Creek and The Village on Marion Road. Additionally, all Good Samaritan financial transactions are being managed by Sanford Health and routed through Premier Bank, which is also owned by the Sanford family. These centralized processes are described as more efficient in theory but have produced tangible problems in practice, including notable delays and mistakes during exit procedures. A specific example cites a nearly three-month wait to return an initial buy-in fee of $103,000, with errors such as checks being sent to an old address and made out to the wrong recipient. The overall assessment in this update is that the organization is not operating at the same level as it did a decade ago, casting a shadow over the otherwise favorable on-site experience.

Taken together, the reviews present a nuanced portrait of The Lodge at Prairie Creek. On the ground, residents enjoy a well-kept facility with generous amenities and a strong sense of community, where staff and administrators can provide reliable care and social engagement. Yet the dining program shows room for improvement, particularly for residents with specific nutritional needs, and in-unit maintenance and staffing stability are recurring headaches. The corporate evolution toward Sanford Health, and the accompanying consolidation of management and financial workflows, introduces an added layer of complexity and tension, with tangible hiccups in administrative processes and concerns over onsite leadership and staff morale. For families weighing a move to The Lodge, the story suggests a solid, welcoming home with notable caveats: a need for improved food quality and health-conscious options, steadier maintenance and staffing, and a careful eye on how large-scale corporate changes may affect daily operations and the resident experience over time.

This area of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, offers a convenient and diverse range of amenities for seniors considering the area for living. With multiple physicians, pharmacies, and hospitals within close proximity, healthcare services are easily accessible. The variety of restaurants and cafes provide plenty of dining options for seniors looking to enjoy meals out or grab a quick bite to eat. Parks like Sertoma Park and Yankton Trails Park offer opportunities for outdoor recreation and relaxation. Additionally, places of worship such as Celebrate Community Church SW Campus cater to spiritual needs, while theaters like Century Theatres provide entertainment options. Overall, this part of Sioux Falls presents a well-rounded community with resources that cater to the needs and preferences of older individuals.

Physicians

• Allergy & Asthma Clinic (0.1 miles)
• Hansen Lornell E MD - Lornell Hansen, MD (0.3 miles)
• Sanford Family Medicine (0.7 miles)
• Midwest Regional Pet-Ct Center (0.7 miles)
• Sioux Falls Open-Upright MRI (0.7 miles)
• Sanford Clinic (0.7 miles)
• Ray Dana R DPM (0.7 miles)

Restaurants

• Jimmy John's (0.3 miles)
• McDonald's (0.3 miles)
• Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (0.4 miles)
• Taco John's (0.4 miles)
• The Lie'Brary Neigh Ba (0.6 miles)
• Burger King (0.7 miles)
• BB's Pub and Grill (0.7 miles)

Cafes

• Panera Bread (0.4 miles)
• Caribou Coffee (0.6 miles)
• All Day Cafe (1.5 miles)
• Daily Clean Food and Drink (1.7 miles)

Transportation

• SAM Southwest Transfer Center (0.4 miles)

Pharmacies

• Avera Mckennan Hosp & Univ (0.7 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (0.9 miles)
• Lewis Family Drug (1 miles)
• Walgreens (1.1 miles)
• Lewis (1.3 miles)
• Hy-Vee Pharmacy (1.9 miles)
• Lewis Drug Stores (2.7 miles)

Parks

• Sertoma Park (1 miles)
• Bakker Park (1.3 miles)
• Yankton Trails Park (1.9 miles)
• Dunham Park (2.5 miles)
• Hole In Wall Park (3 miles)

Places of Worship

• Celebrate Community Church SW Campus (1.5 miles)
• Sioux Falls First (1.7 miles)

Theaters

• Century Theatres (1.7 miles)

Hospitals

• Children's Care Hospital & School (2.2 miles)