Pricing ranges from
    $2,997 – 3,596/month

    Sanford Health Vermillion Dakota Gardens

    126 S Plum St, Vermillion, SD, 57069
    1.7 · 6 reviews
    • Assisted living
    AnonymousLoved one of resident
    1.0

    Neglect led to grandmother's death

    I placed my grandmother in this beautiful facility and I'm devastated by how she was treated. Although the place looks great and some staff seemed excellent, she was left alone and in pain with no hospice or doctor care and ultimately died. They cremated her immediately, before an autopsy - I believe the facility is responsible. We are building a case; if this happened to your loved one, please contact me.

    Pricing

    $2,997+/moSemi-privateAssisted Living
    $3,596+/mo1 BedroomAssisted Living

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    Amenities

    Healthcare services

    • Activities of daily living assistance
    • Assistance with bathing
    • Assistance with dressing
    • Assistance with transfers
    • Coordination with health care providers
    • Medication management
    • Mental wellness program

    Healthcare staffing

    • 24-hour call system
    • 24-hour supervision

    Meals and dining

    • Diabetes diet
    • Meal preparation and service
    • Special dietary restrictions

    Room

    • Cable
    • Fully furnished
    • Housekeeping and linen services
    • Kitchenettes
    • Telephone
    • Wifi

    Transportation

    • Transportation arrangement (medical)
    • Transportation to doctors appointments

    Common areas

    • Beauty salon
    • Dining room
    • Garden
    • Outdoor space

    Community services

    • Move-in coordination

    Activities

    • Community-sponsored activities
    • Resident-run activities
    • Scheduled daily activities

    1.67 · 6 reviews

    Overall rating

    1. 5
    2. 4
    3. 3
    4. 2
    5. 1
    • Care

      1.0
    • Staff

      3.0
    • Meals

      1.7
    • Amenities

      5.0
    • Value

      1.7

    Pros

    • Beautiful facility
    • Excellent staff

    Cons

    • Allegations of neglect and mistreatment
    • Resident reportedly left alone and in pain
    • No hospice or doctors present during decline
    • Immediate cremation before autopsy
    • Family accuses staff of responsibility for death
    • Family seeking others and building a legal case

    Summary review

    Overall sentiment in these review summaries is strongly mixed but dominated by a very serious, negative incident involving the death of a resident and subsequent handling of the remains. One set of comments praises the physical environment and staff, describing the facility as "beautiful" and the staff as "excellent." However, multiple other comments make grave allegations: the reviewer reports that their grandmother died while allegedly neglected, was left alone and in pain without hospice or physician presence, and was cremated immediately — reportedly before an autopsy could be performed. Those allegations include an explicit accusation that staff at the facility bear responsibility for the death, and the family indicates they are seeking others with similar experiences and building a legal case. These are serious claims that dominate the overall impression left by the reviews provided.

    Care quality and clinical oversight are central themes of concern. The reviews allege a lack of appropriate end-of-life care: no hospice involvement and no doctors present when the resident deteriorated. The family’s account that their relative was "left to die alone and in pain" suggests potential failures in monitoring, response times, symptom management, or escalation procedures. If accurate, these would be significant departures from accepted standards of care in senior living and hospice-capable facilities. The immediate cremation before an autopsy, as reported, raises additional clinical and procedural red flags about how incidents are documented and how post-mortem processes are managed.

    Comments about staff are conflicted. On one hand, a reviewer explicitly calls the staff "excellent," which implies that at least some interactions with caregivers or other personnel were positive. On the other hand, the most prominent negative reviews directly accuse staff of responsibility for harm and procedural misconduct. This contradiction could reflect variability in individual staff performance, differences between front-line caregivers and management, or sharply divergent experiences among families. It also underscores the need for an objective investigation rather than relying solely on these anecdotal accounts.

    The facility’s physical environment appears to be a clear positive in the reviews provided: it is described as beautiful. Beyond that, there is no information about amenities such as dining, activities, housekeeping, security, or social programming in these summaries. Therefore, while the building and grounds may be attractive, there is insufficient information to judge other aspects of daily life or quality-of-life offerings.

    Management, transparency, and legal/procedural issues emerge as another major theme. The allegation of immediate cremation before autopsy and the family’s explicit statement that they are "building a case" and seeking others to reach out indicate deep mistrust of how the facility handled the death and post-death procedures. These allegations suggest potential lapses in policy compliance (for example, in reporting, documentation, or authorization for disposition of remains) and raise questions about how the facility communicates with families during critical incidents. Such concerns, if verified, could justify formal investigations by regulatory bodies and possible legal action.

    Given the nature of the claims in these reviews, readers should treat the negative accounts as serious allegations that warrant further verification. Families considering this facility should ask direct questions about end-of-life protocols, hospice partnerships, physician availability, incident reporting and review processes, and policies governing autopsy and disposition of remains. Prospective residents and families should also seek recent inspection reports, request references from other families, and confirm how the facility escalates clinical concerns. At the same time, the positive single-review comments about staff and the appearance of the facility indicate that there are at least some aspects that families have found satisfactory. Overall, the summaries point to a need for immediate attention to the severe procedural and care-quality concerns raised, along with clarification from facility management or regulators to reconcile the starkly divergent accounts.

    Location

    Map showing location of Sanford Health Vermillion Dakota Gardens

    About Sanford Health Vermillion Dakota Gardens

    Sanford Health Vermillion Dakota Gardens sits in Vermillion, South Dakota, as a medium-sized senior living community tied to the Sanford Health network, and you'll find all sorts of services for older adults there, whether someone needs help each day or can do most things on their own. The community has 29 beds and offers a mix of private and semi-private rooms, including studios, with basic furnishings, telephones, air conditioning, and wheelchairs can get around easily. There's a wide list of care options available-assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing, independent living, continuing care, rehabilitation, home care, and hospice. There's also respite care for short-term stays. Staff members stay on-site all day and all night, helping with bathing, dressing, transfers, medication, and daily chores, and they're supported by emergency alert systems and a 24-hour call setup to keep residents safe.

    Meals get prepared onsite and served in a big dining room, with all-day dining, special diets like diabetes care, and allergy-sensitive choices, and they'll handle housekeeping, laundry, and the move-in process, too. The grounds have landscaped gardens, walking paths, outdoor seating, and there's comfortable lounges, a barber and salon, a craft and arts room, parking, ample restrooms, and space for movies or social events, where community-sponsored and resident-led activities help seniors stay busy and connected. Transport gets arranged for doctor visits and outings, with coordination between healthcare providers made easier by its close ties to Sanford Health. Residents' mental and emotional wellness matters, so staff support personalized plans and a mental wellness program. The place keeps a steady focus on independence and dignity for each senior, and the licensure under #67663 ensures proper oversight for assisted living. Even with lots of services and amenities, the average rating shows a 4 out of 10, so it's always good to check if things fit what someone's looking for. Staff aim to create a warm and inclusive environment, but the facility doesn't claim perfection, and folks should consider what suits their own needs best. The main office hours run Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM, and the staff can help arrange visits or move-ins during those hours.

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