All 3 Medicare-certified nursing homes in Mandan,
side by side on the things that separate them: how many nursing hours each resident gets, how much of the
staff leaves each year, and what inspectors found on their last visit.
Dakota Alpha is a small, nonprofit-run home in Mandan, just 20 certified beds, and the numbers behind its A grade are mostly about staffing. Its 4.83 nurse hours per resident day sit roughly 25% above the national average of 3.86, and staff turnover of 40% comes in under the 45.8% national figure. One caveat worth knowing: weekend staffing drops about 21% below the home's own weekday level, so care may look thinner on Saturdays and Sundays. Inspections are current as of July 2025, with nine deficiencies on record, none involving harm or jeopardy, and none abuse-related.
Miller Pointe runs on unusually steady staff. Aide and nurse turnover sits at 21.9% against a national average of 45.8%, and total nurse staffing of 4.34 hours per resident day clears the national figure by roughly 12%, though weekend coverage thins out about 9% below the home's own weekday level. The trouble is everything else. Sixteen deficiencies sit on the current record, two of them at harm or jeopardy level and one tied to abuse, with a $35,535 fine and a December 2025 inspection that produced a 2-star health inspection rating. Good staffing can't offset a survey history like that, which is why the overall picture lands closer to average than the 5-star staffing number suggests.
Sunset Drive is a 128-bed nonprofit home in Mandan, and the numbers tell a hard story. Nurse staffing sits at 3.57 hours per resident day, about 8% under the national average, and weekends run roughly 10% thinner than weekdays, so coverage is lightest exactly when families tend to visit. The bigger problem is the inspection record: 69 deficiencies, including two at the harm level and eight tied to abuse, plus $42,226 in fines, and CMS has placed the home in its Special Focus Facility program. Staff turnover of 64.5% is well above the 45.8% national figure, meaning caregivers cycle through quickly.