Valley View Home Terminates HMS

Valley View Home Board President Brian Fuhrman announced Feb. 7 that its relationship with Health Management Services and HMS Vice President Karl Rude is officially over. The parting of ways comes after a contentious relationship, which saw deficiencies from state inspectors and a significant depletion in local employees and registered nurses at the facility.

Furhman has not responded to requests for information from the Courier in many months, but sources indicate that the departure is the result of a termination by the board, a reassuring sign to members of the public who have expressed dismay at HMS’s policies and practices.

On Oct. 5, 2016, the Phillips County News reported that the Malta-based Hi-Line Retirement Center bid farewell to HMS and Joe and Karl Rude following outrage from area residents over a significant change in the facility’s status from a skilled nursing facility to an assisted living facility, as well as staffing concerns and accusations of bullying.

Fuhrman spoke at a dinner function for an area charitable organization on Feb. 7, stating, “The biggest change that has come in the last month is we’re terminating our relationship with HMS.” He went on to say that no personnel would be laid off as a result of the change in management, though no detailed plan for moving forward was presented at that time.