“Where Do We Go?”

Good Samaritan Society-Arapahoe nursing home and assisted living closed on Dec. 31, 2021, forcing its residents to find a new place to live in their most vulnerable years. For 60 years, this nursing facility had been the final home for many residents in Arapahoe, Nebraska. It was the sole nursing home in the town of 1,000 people. Alan Thomas was one of the few nursing home residents who was able to stay in Arapahoe after the home closed. His wife, Heidi Thomas, made expensive modifications to their home and bought a $40,000 van that works with Alan’s wheelchair. Despite the costly home modifications, Heidi felt it was best to move Alan home.  "I know our answer is for Alan to live at home, because if I leave the community three or four times a week (to visit him elsewhere), then I'm not part of my community anymore," Heidi said. "I'm part of the highway. And that's not my vision for how life works."

(For the Omaha World-Herald. With reporting from Emily Nitcher.}