http://www.prairiesunsethome.org/

Prairie Sunset Home, 601 E Main Street, Pretty Prairie, KS (2026)

03/25/2026

An Open Letter to Residents, Families, and Friends of Prairie Sunset Home

Current as of: Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Last Thursday morning the PSH Board of Directors met for the first time since the annual stockholder’s meeting in mid-February. Kirk Larson was elected President of the Board; John Stucky, Vice-President; and Evelyn Colvard was re-elected to serve as Secretary of the Board. Katie Johnson and Royce Krehbiel began their 3-year tenure as Directors.

During the past month we have made a concerted effort to recruit folks who have already been, or are interested in becoming, “adult volunteers” on a more routine basis. We held our first Volunteer Training event last Monday. Participation was less than we had hoped, but both volunteers felt the training was useful. The training session lasts no more than two (2) hours. Another training session is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21st at 1000 hrs. We hope our extra effort to recruit and train volunteers will culminate with our annual Volunteer Reception to be held on Friday, April 24th at 1400 hrs. If you have not yet filled out our Volunteer Application, please stop in and pick one up or call (620-459-6822). If you have an interest in becoming a volunteer, but the training time does not work for your schedule, pick up one of our “Volunteer Handbooks” to provide baseline education about regulations as well as a tool to better equip you to understand how to effectively interact with frail elders. There is no cost for this training. Becoming a volunteer can be personally rewarding as relationships begin to grow. It is often said that “the volunteer benefits more than the resident!” Those interpersonal relationships cannot be purchased at any price.

As we continue our efforts to keep residents and staff members safe from exposure to COVID, flu or other respiratory illnesses, please be sure to self-screen at our Kiosk when you visit. Type in your name/phone number; who you are here to see; line your face up on the screen as your temperature is automatically taken—you are IN.

March is “Careers in Aging Month.” This is the final week to Spotlight selected team members. By shining the Spotlight on both newly minted as well as experience team members, we hope to help create awareness that beginning or continuing a career in aging can be a valuable and personally rewarding job. Each will be featured on our FACEBOOK. This week we turn the spotlight on Lindsey Simon and Kim Claycomb.

1) Lindsey Simon, HR. Lindsey began her association with PSH as an Administrative Intern. She has a Health Science degree from Wichita State University. As she was finishing the administrative internship, we offered Lindsey full-time employment as our Human Resources Officer. Her primary responsibilities include oversight of the PSH 401K Employee Retirement Plan, and direct care staff scheduling.

2) Kim Claycomb, LPN. Kim began her “Career in Aging” working in the laundry almost 24 years ago. She was licensed as an LPN in December 2012. Kim’s clinical skills have grown as has her commitment to excellence and superior service. Kim is currently enrolled in a rigorous, one-year, online training program which should lead to national certification as a “Resident Assessment Coordinator” (RAC). Once completed, Kim will be Cammie’s primary backup as MDS Assessment and Care Plan Coordinator.

Our continued success requires continual professional development, recruiting, training and retaining the team. Hopefully our readers, families and friends will begin to understand the importance and value that can be realized when one pursues a “Career in Aging.” The best bet for us is to “grow our own!”

We continue to get calls and inquiries about moving into the adult care home. If you know someone who is facing this decision, contact us now! Without a consistent revenue stream, it becomes more difficult to provide the superior service or medical care you expect. Today we have several rooms available for occupancy in both skilled nursing and assisted living. If you are aware of someone who is dissatisfied and fed-up with the quality of medical care, service, food, or policies at their current nursing home or are considering moving into an adult care home very soon, either assisted living or skilled nursing, please encourage them to call (620-459-6822) or visit us.

Thank you again for your referrals and continued support. For more information about PSH happenings, go to our FACEBOOK page. Working together, we make Prairie Sunset Home a great place to live and work!

Aaron D. Kelley Jr.

Administrator

03/20/2026

An Open Letter to Residents, Families, and Friends of Prairie Sunset Home

Current as of: Wednesday, March 18, 2026
During the past month we have made a concerted effort to recruit folks who have already been, or are interested in becoming, “adult volunteers” on a more routine basis. While we have a couple of dozen folks who lead small group discussions, assist with parties/activities, and support spiritual needs of residents living here, there is still significant unmet need. Deb Cable has been meeting with local churches and helping us develop a “Volunteer Handbook” to provide baseline education as required by regulation as well as a tool to better equip volunteers to understand how to effectively interact with frail elders. Becoming a volunteer can be personally rewarding as therapeutic relationships begin to grow. It is often said that “the volunteer benefits more than the resident!” Those interpersonal relationships cannot be purchased at any price.
We will be offering Volunteer Training events starting on Monday, March 23rd at 1000 hrs in the ALF activity room. A second training event will be held next Thursday, March 26th at 1400 hrs. Each training session should last no more than two (2) hours. A third training session is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21st at 1000 hrs. The month of April is recognized as National Volunteer Appreciation Month. We hope our extra effort to recruit and train volunteers will culminate with our annual Volunteer Reception to be held on Friday, April 24th at 1400 hrs. If you have not yet filled out our Volunteer Application, please stop in and pick one up or call (620-459-6822) to reserve seat at one of our volunteer training sessions. There is no cost for this training. Even if you are a regular volunteer or have routinely volunteered in the past, we hope/encourage you to participate in this training to become a “regular” volunteer once again.
As we continue our efforts to keep residents and staff members safe from exposure to COVID, flu or other respiratory illness, please be sure to self-screen at our Kiosk when you enter to visit. Type in your name/phone number; who you are here to see; line your face up on the screen as your temperature is automatically taken—you are IN.
March is “Careers in Aging Month.” This is the third week we have Spotlighted team members. By shining the Spotlight on team members, we hope to help create awareness that beginning or continuing a career in aging can be a valuable and personally rewarding job. This week we turn the Spotlight on Lucy Goeges, CNA, and Lane Boen, Cook. Each will be featured on our FACEBOOK this week as well. Spotlight #:
1) Lucy Gorges, CNA. Lucy is a senior at Cheney High School and has worked at PSH for almost two (2) years. She is currently taking Medication Aide training and will be our newest CMA within a few weeks. Lucy will attend Ft. Hays State in the fall and major in nursing.
2) Lane Boen, Cook. Lane began a “Career in Aging” as a “Grill Cook” almost three (3) years ago while he was still a senior at Kingman High School. Upon graduation, he attended Pratt Community College for a year before transferring to Kansas State University. He plans to become a Registered Dietitian.
Our continued success requires continual professional development, recruiting, training and retaining of the team. The best bet is to “grow our own!” We have many high-quality, experienced, direct care and support staff as well as high school and college students who provide compassionate, competent and superior service to the residents entrusted to us. Hopefully our readers, families and friends will begin to understand the importance and value that can be realized when one pursues a “Career in Aging.”
We continue to get calls and inquiries about moving into the adult care home. If you know someone who is facing this decision, contact us now! Without a consistent revenue stream, it becomes more difficult to provide the superior service or medical care you expect.
Today we have several rooms available for occupancy in skilled nursing and assisted living. We have one cottage available for immediate occupancy as well. If you are aware of someone who is dissatisfied and fed-up with the quality of medical care, service, food, or policies at their current nursing home or are considering moving into an adult care home very soon, either assisted living or skilled nursing, please encourage them to call (620-459-6822) or visit us. Thank you again for your referrals and continued support. For more information about PSH happenings, go to our FACEBOOK page. Working together, we make Prairie Sunset Home a great place to live and work!
Aaron D. Kelley Jr.
Administrator

03/11/2026

An Open Letter to Residents, Families, and Friends of Prairie Sunset Home

Current as of: Wednesday, March 11, 2026

As we continue our efforts to keep residents and staff members safe, please be sure to self-screen at our Kiosk when you enter to visit. Type in your name/phone number; who you are here to see; line your face up on the screen as your temperature is automatically taken—you are IN.

March is “Careers in Aging Month” and is being celebrated by LeadingAge Kansas. Last year, we participated in the initiative to Spotlight one team member each day in the month of March. By shining the Spotlight on team members, we hope to help create interest locally and across Kansas that beginning or continuing a career in aging can be a valuable and personally rewarding job. We intend to Spotlight two (2) team members each week during the month of March.

This week we turn the Spotlight on Valarie Tellez, CMA, and Samantha Yoder, CNA. Each will be featured on our FACEBOOK throughout the month of March. “Careers in Aging Month” Spotlight #:

1) Valarie Tellez, CMA. Val has worked at PSH for 7 ½ years beginning employment as a CNA. A year later she became a CMA. She is currently in the Practical Nursing program at Hutch Community College with the goal to become an LPN, and upon completion continue her education and become a Registered Nurse (RN). When asked about a “Career in Aging,” she says “I want to further my career in the aging community because I enjoy creating relationships with residents and learn about their past. As a nurse I will have better knowledge to be able to provide more care!”

2) Samantha Yoder, CNA. Sam began her “Career in Aging” while she was still a senior in Pretty Prairie High School. She completed the CNA class held last winter as a partnership with Hutch Community College and was hired in February working mostly on the night shift. Sam has continued her post-secondary education by attending HCC. She is focused on completion of all prerequisites so she can enter the Practical Nursing program with the goal of becoming an LPN. Sam said, “I chose this career because we learn so much from interacting with the residents. These are also the people who have helped me get to where I am today and I believe that this is a way to repay them! I want to show my gratitude for all that they’ve done!”

Our continued success requires continual professional development, recruiting, training and retaining of the team. The best bet is to “grow our own!” We have many high-quality direct care veterans as well as high school and college students who provide compassionate, competent and superior service to the residents entrusted to us. Hopefully our readers, families and friends will begin to understand the importance and value that can be realized when one considers a “Career in Aging.”

We continue to get calls and inquiries about moving into the adult care home. If you know someone who is facing this decision, contact us now! Without a consistent revenue stream, it becomes more difficult to provide the superior service or medical care you expect.

Today we have several rooms available for occupancy in skilled nursing and assisted living. We have one cottage available for immediate occupancy as well. If you are aware of someone who is dissatisfied and fed-up with the quality of medical care, service, food, or policies at their current nursing home or are considering moving into an adult care home very soon, either

assisted living or skilled nursing, please encourage them to call (620-459-6822) or visit us. Thank you again for your referrals and continued support. For more information about PSH happenings, go to our FACEBOOK page. Working together, we make Prairie Sunset Home a great place to live and work!

Aaron D. Kelley Jr.

Administrator

03/05/2026

An Open Letter to Residents, Families, and Friends of Prairie Sunset Home

Current as of: Wednesday, March 4, 2026
As we continue our efforts to keep residents and staff members safe, please be sure to self-screen procedures at our Kiosk when you enter to visit. Type in your name/phone number; who you are here to see; line your face up on the screen as your temperature is automatically taken—you are IN.
March is “Careers in Aging Month” and is being celebrated by LeadingAge Kansas. Last year, we participated in the initiative to Spotlight one team member each day in the month of March. The feedback we received was almost 100% positive, so we are following up that success by Spotlighting select team members again this year. By shining the Spotlight on team members, we hope to help create interest across Kansas that beginning or continuing a career in aging can be a valuable and personally rewarding job. We intend to Spotlight two (2) team members each week during the month of March.
This week we turn the Spotlight on BobbiJo Ceniceros, LPN, and Justyce Henning, CMA. Each will be featured on our FACEBOOK throughout the month of March. “Careers in Aging Month” Spotlight #:
1) BobbiJo Ceniceros, LPN. 32 Years of service in aging! Bobbi Jo came to work at PSH in 2011, however early in the COVID-19 pandemic she left PSH to become a traveling nurse. Bobbi Jo returned to PSH eighteen (18) months ago because we were willing to accommodate her efforts to get a BSN nursing degree as a Hesston College full-time student. She expects to graduate in May with her degree from Hesston and pass the KS licensing exam to become an RN. When asked about her career in aging, Bobbi Jo said, “Long term care is all I have known. I started with I was 16 years old. It feels like home.” BobbJo’s father lives here now because she believes in PSH. She has 4 children, a husband of almost 32 years, and 6 grandkids.
2) Justyce Henning, CMA. Justyce has been a CNA/CMA here at PSH for almost 6 years. Justyce is currently working on a nursing degree from Galen College. She chose a career in aging because she loves building relationships with all the residents. Justyce says, “it is a privilege to be able to support and advocate for them in such important seasons of their lives. Working at PSH has helped me grow both personally and professionally. It has strengthened my passion for nursing and has confirmed that I am exactly where I need to be. I am grateful to be part of a team that prioritizes compassionate and patient-centered care.”
We have many high-quality direct care veterans as well as high school and college students who provide compassionate, competent and superior service to the elders entrusted to us. Hopefully our readers, families and friends will begin to understand the importance and value that can be realized when one considers a “Career in Aging.” Nicky Goering, director of nursing, and I both serve as volunteers on the Pretty Prairie High School Career and Technical Education (CTE) Health Science Pathway Advisory Committee. Our continued success requires continual professional development, recruiting, training and retaining of the team. The best bet is to “grow our own!”
We continue to get a few calls and inquiries about moving into the adult care home. If you know someone who is facing this decision, contact us now! Without a consistent revenue stream, it becomes more difficult to provide the superior service or medical care you expect.
Today we have several rooms available for occupancy in skilled nursing and assisted living. We have one cottage available for immediate occupancy as well. If you are aware of someone who is dissatisfied and fed-up with the quality of medical care, service, food, or policies at their current nursing home or are considering moving into an adult care home very soon, either assisted living or skilled nursing, please encourage them to call (620-459-6822) or visit us. Thank you again for your referrals and continued support. For more information about PSH happenings, go to our FACEBOOK page. Working together, we make Prairie Sunset Home a great place to live and work!
Aaron D. Kelley Jr.
Administrator

02/27/2026

Additional pics.
Evelyn Colvard, Secretary of the board, delivers the 2025 meeting minutes.

Dick Kollhoff, board member, Steve Depenbusch, CNA and most senior member of the team, Kim Claycomb, LPN, 20+ years at PSH and Randy Schrag, stockholder, (Not pictured) each speak
of their recollections related to the good and not so good times over the past 25 years.

Food & Nutrition Staff display the desserts for the annual meeting. (L-R) Elizabeth Markwell, Cheryl German, Felisa Jorgenson, Cara Malm, Bradley Niblett

02/27/2026

An Open Letter to Residents, Families, and Friends of Prairie Sunset Home

Current as of: Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Last Saturday afternoon, we hosted the Annual Meeting of the Stockholders of Prairie Sunset Home, Inc. A large crowd of stockholders and friends gathered to participate and listen to the various presentations. Tom Goering, outgoing President of the Board, welcomed those in attendance, offered an opening prayer before presenting his “President’s Report.” Evelyn Colvard, Secretary of the Board, reviewed the minutes from the 2025 annual meeting. Gilbert Benton, President of Financial Management, Inc., briefed those in attendance using PowerPoint slides and pie charts. CY-2025 was an incredibly successful year financially and related to CMS nursing home compare data. PSH finished the year as an Overall 5-STAR facility with 5-STAR STAFFING. Our revenue exceeded $6.5 million with expenses of $5.5 million. The preponderance of the excess revenue came from American Rescue Plan funds related to an Employee Retention bonus during the pandemic.
Tom Goering provided a brief history of the evolution of the PSH campus with emphasis on the 25th year reopening following closure of the adult care home in 1998. Tom reviewed the slide deck of board members beginning in 2001 and through 2026. Since we had divided the 25-year span of operations into 4 distinct phases, Steve Depenbusch, our senior CNA, Kim Claycomb, LPN with over 20 years here, Randy Schrag, stockholder, and Dick Kollhoff, board member, were asked to recall the highs and lows of those phases.
My part of the presentation was an overview of the past ten years. It has been an evolution from financial distress to financial success. Staff retention and stability that is now the envy of area providers. The clinical competence of nursing leadership continues to improve such that direct care team members are included in grants, and participating in two national level, 3-year training opportunities related to Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementias.
Dick Kollhoff announced the results of the 2026 election of board members. 148 ballots were cast and counted. Royce Krehbiel and Katie Johnson were elected to serve a 3-year term. After the meeting was adjourned, everyone enjoyed the selection of delicious desserts prepared by the PSH Food & Nutrition team.
Today, CMS rates PSH as an Overall 5-STAR facility. Inspections are now 4-STAR; Quality is 3-STAR and Staffing remains 5-STAR.
Thanks go to Deb Cable, who is helping us organize and improve our adult volunteer program. She will be meeting with several area churches to explain the value of becoming a volunteer at PSH over the next several weeks. We have scheduled upcoming training and orientation sessions for interested volunteers. The training takes approximately two hours and starts on Monday, March 23 at 1000-1200 hrs; Thursday, March 26 from 1400-1600 hrs; and again, on Tuesday, April 21 at 1000-1200 and 1400-1600, if needed. We hope to add several dozen folks to our list of active adult volunteers. Volunteers can brighten the day for many residents living here. Their value cannot be measured in dollars and cents.
You should consider becoming a Prairie Sunset Home stockholder. We are, by far, the largest employer in southern Reno County. Most stockholders have had some level of moral or financial commitment to the success of PSH in the past. Support from some of our stockholders goes back as far as 50 years and beyond. You can purchase one (1) share now and another when you can.
As a reminder, if you are aware of someone who is dissatisfied or fed-up with the poor quality of medical care, unresponsive service, food choices, or policies at their current nursing home or are considering a move into an adult care home very soon, either assisted living or skilled nursing, please encourage them to call (620-459-6822) or visit us. Today we have five (5) skilled nursing beds ready for occupancy. A couple of ALF units are available as well. The three (3) cottages will be available very soon.
Your referrals are important to us and the finest compliment we can be paid! For more information about PSH happenings, go to our FACEBOOK page. Working together, we make Prairie Sunset Home a great place to live and work!
Aaron D. Kelley Jr., Administrator

02/20/2026

We are so proud of Lucy Gorges CNA. She is an outstanding member of our team and we just learned that she has received a full scholarship to Fort Hayes from the Rudd Foundation. Congratulations Lucy! We are all so excited for you.

02/18/2026

An Open Letter to Residents, Families, and Friends of Prairie Sunset Home

Current as of: Wednesday, February 18, 2026

This week is the final installment of a four-part series to chronicle 25 years of PSH challenges that were overcome along with other milestones leading up to the 25th year anniversary of the re-opening of the adult care home. As a reminder, the series was related to the challenges faced after the 1998 closure of the PSH adult care home, and subsequent re-opening as a Not-For-Profit 501(c)(3) corporation and licensure as a nursing facility on January 18, 2001. Don Durflinger got the building open and licensed. Don stayed here ten (10 months before leaving in July 2001. His departure was followed by a parade of six (6) “Interim” and/or short-term administrative place holders until Rex Maris was hired in February 2003.

Rex Maris ably served for the next 13 years. Rex brought organizational stability such that a $3,300,000 addition and expansion was built in 2012. It added 12 Assisted Living units and Memory Care. It was wonderful for the campus. However, the cumulative load of the new mortgage and increasing expenses led to Rex’s resignation in the spring of 2016.

I followed Rex in June 2016. CMS had PSH rated as an Overall 2-STAR facility. Inspections were 2-STAR; Quality as 1-STAR and Staffing was 5-STAR. Several problems required immediate attention. First, discontinue use of expensive “temporary” agency staffing. Licensed nurses and all direct care staff began to get trained and tightened up the resident assessment (MDS) process. At the same time, we hired Key Rehab as our new skilled therapy provider so we could provide extensive Ultra-High-level therapy. By July 2017, PSH was in the top 10% of the state related to documenting and payment for care based upon resident acuity. The CNAs/CMAs were finally getting acknowledged for the great work they were doing.

Then in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic threw new challenges at everyone. The lockdown and no-visitation guidance were harmful and should never be repeated! We came through it better than most facilities. We still DID NOT cave-in and use temporary agency staffing. Because of our staff stability and success at keeping residents safe, PSH was awarded over $1 million dollars in funding from various categories. The board of directors routinely awarded bonuses and “Hazard Pay” to all team members because the federal incentive monies were being paid due to the extra effort and success of the entire team. Throughout the past five (5) years we have enjoyed growing success and staff stability. The average seniority for the 89 staff members is 5.9 years. Today, CMS rates PSH as an Overall 5-STAR facility. Inspections are now 4-STAR; Quality is 3-STAR and Staffing remains 5-STAR.

A special note of thanks goes to Deb Cable, who is helping us organize and improve our adult volunteer program. We will be announcing upcoming training and orientation sessions for interested volunteers within a week or two. We hope to add several dozen folks to our list of active adult volunteers. Volunteers can brighten the day for many residents living here. Their value cannot be measured in dollars and cents. Because we are never complacent with success, we continue to ask PSH residents, their families, volunteers and other interested friends, to provide recommendations and ideas that will help us to grow, evolve, and improve in every aspect of our operation.

Saturday is our annual stockholders’ meeting. You should consider becoming a Prairie Sunset Home stockholder. We are, by far, the largest employer in southern Reno County. Most

stockholders have had some level of moral or financial commitment to the success of PSH in the past. Support from some of our stockholders goes back as far as 50 years and beyond. You can purchase one (1) share now and another when you can.

As a reminder, if you are aware of someone who is dissatisfied or fed-up with the poor quality of medical care, unresponsive service, food choices, or policies at their current nursing home or are considering a move into an adult care home very soon, either assisted living or skilled nursing, please encourage them to call (620-459-6822) or visit us. Today we have five (5) skilled nursing beds ready for occupancy. A couple of ALF units are available as well. The three (3) cottages will be available very soon.

Your referrals are important to us and the finest compliment we can be paid! For more information about PSH happenings, go to our FACEBOOK page. Working together, we make Prairie Sunset Home a great place to live and work!

Aaron D. Kelley Jr., Administrator

PSH partnered together with the Citizen’s Bank again this year for the annual Pancake race which is part of our Mardi Gras celebration. Ashley Patterson, Activity Director, awarded the “Golden Skillet” to Janie Henderson as the winner of the pancake flipping contest with 110 flips in 60 seconds. The racecourse was over and back across the SNF Dining room with participants flipping the pancake twice. Owen Anderson, representing the Pretty Prairie High School Boys Basketball team, is pictured. Maegan Lobban, Loan Assistant at Citizen’s Bank, presents a “Golden Skillet” to Braden Woods, PPHS, won the Open Race with a winning time of 5.53 sec.

02/18/2026

Just a few clips of our pancake racing fun. Enjoy!

02/18/2026

Donna won the pancake flipping competition for most flips!

02/18/2026

Today's Annual Pancake Flipping Race was a tough competition with so many participants. Janey Henderson showed off her pancake flipping skills and expertly completed 110 flips in 60 seconds. This wins her the coveted golden skillet and all of the bragging rights that go with winning!

02/11/2026

An Open Letter to Residents, Families, and Friends of Prairie Sunset Home

Current as of: Wednesday, February 11, 2026
This week is the third of a four-part series to chronicle 25 years of PSH board leadership and challenges they overcame along with other milestones leading up to the 25th year anniversary of the re-opening of the adult care home. As a reminder, Part One of the series was related to the challenges faced after the 1998 closure of the PSH adult care home, and subsequent re-opening under new management as a Not-For-Profit 501(c)(3) corporation and licensure as a nursing facility by the Kansas Department on Aging (KDOA) on January 18, 2001.
The 2001 PSH board of directors included: Homer Graber, President; Curtis Miller, Secretary; Laverne Schrag, Linda Kraus; Michael Painter; Scott Strohl; and Vickie Detter. That team of seven (7) original board members remained the same for the next three (3) years. Don Durflinger got the building open and licensed. He stayed here ten (10 months before leaving PSH in July 2001. Don’s departure in mid-summer was followed by a parade of six (6) “Interim” and/or short-term administrative place holders until Rex Maris was hired in February 2003.
Rex Maris ably served for the next 13 years. Even in Rex’s early days the finances were tight. Scott Strohl opines that there was “barely enough money to get through the month.” Steve Depenbusch, CNA, credits Rex for helping to reduce the daily turmoil. Kim Claycomb, who started working in the laundry here in late 2002, recalls most days as being pretty fun. “What I enjoyed the most was having time to sit and visit with residents. Now that we are ‘Skilled’ we don’t have the time to just sit and visit like we did before.” After she became an LPN, Kim laments that we often had to use “temporary staffing agencies to fill budgeted direct care positions, especially on weekends.”
To his credit, Rex brought enough organizational stability such that the 2008-09 Board of Directors began to consider the feasibility of a ten (10) unit Assisted Living expansion to the adult care home. In 2012, Larry Seibert, President of the Board, and Greta Snell, Board Secretary, signed loan documents with the USDA and Peoples Bank for $3.300.000. Fuqua Construction designed and built the new assisted living facility as well as Hall 2 Memory Care remodeling. The expansion grew the adult care home from 34 to 43 skilled beds (10 as Special Care Unit—Memory Care). Additionally, it changed the licensure from 8 Residential Care beds to 12 Assisted living units that could house 16 people. Upon completion, the project was coupled together with 22 independent living cottages to make Pretty Prairie an exceptionally attractive community for seniors.
The construction of a new modern adult care home was exciting for the entire community. For the leaders and managers, the expansion of capacity and new services provides ample opportunities for unintended consequences. The excitement can easily transition to a series of unexpected challenges. One of which is often, “If you build it, they will come.” That can be a big mistake if it is the primary marketing strategy. How long will it take to fill up to capacity? How many and how soon do we need the additional staff to provide acceptable services? What about training for the new team members as they are hired? Is our starting wage competitive and within our budget projections for the various departments? Are we charging enough? Are potential customers willing to pay? If not, then what do we do?

Last week, when Gilbert Benton, President of Financial Management, Inc. (FMI), called to discuss the upcoming annual stockholders meeting, I was surprised to learn that he became acquainted with PSH in 2003 just as Rex was coming on board as administrator. Gilbert had recently partnered with Jack Shandy and FMI. Gilbert reminded me that Jack was ALWAYS wary of spending money on expansion projects or remodeling unless it is going to generate significant additional revenue. The adult care home expansion was a wonderful addition to the Pretty Prairie community, The completion of the project and expansion of the PSH campus must have fulfilled the dreams of so many board leaders from years gone by. Within 2 ½ years the cumulative load of the new $18,500 mortgage payment and increasing expenses was beginning to compromise operations such that Rex resigned in the spring of 2016.
Next Saturday is our annual stockholders’ meeting. You should consider becoming a Prairie Sunset Home stockholder. We are, by far, the largest employer in southern Reno County. Most stockholders have had some level of moral or financial commitment to the success of PSH in the past. Support from some of our stockholders goes back as far as 50 years and beyond. You can purchase one (1) share now and another when you can. $25 puts you in it for the long run.
Most of our friends know that CMS rates us as an Overall 5-STAR facility with 5-STAR Staffing. Because we are never complacent with success, we continue to ask PSH residents, their families, volunteers and other interested friends, to provide recommendations and ideas that will help us to grow, evolve, and improve in every aspect of our operation.
Without a consistent revenue stream, it becomes more difficult to provide the superior service and clinical care you expect. As a reminder, if you are aware of someone who is dissatisfied or fed-up with the poor quality of medical care, unresponsive service, food choices, or policies at their current nursing home or are considering a move into an adult care home very soon, either assisted living or skilled nursing, please encourage them to call (620-459-6822) or visit us. Today we have five (5) skilled nursing beds ready for occupancy. A couple of ALF units are available as well. The two (2) cottages will be available very soon.
Your referrals are important to us and the finest compliment we can be paid! For more information about PSH happenings, go to our FACEBOOK page. Working together, we make Prairie Sunset Home a great place to live and work!
Aaron D. Kelley Jr., Administrator

Prairie Sunset Home

03/25/2026

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02/27/2026

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