(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch
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Amid claims of short-staffing and falsified records, Iowa nursing home is added to federal list • Iowa Capital Dispatch [1]
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Date: 2025-05-27
An Iowa nursing home recently cited for short-staffing and falsifying residents’ records has rejoined the federal government’s list of the worst care facilities in the nation.
Correctionville Specialty Care, where a worker allegedly raped a resident in October 2023, has been added to the federal list of Special-Focus Facilities.
For most of the past 17 years, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has published the monthly, national list of nursing homes that have experienced a serious recurrence of major regulatory violations related to quality of care.
At any given time, no more than two nursing homes per state appear on the list of federally designated “Special-Focus Facilities,” although the federal list also includes hundreds of other nursing homes whose quality-of-care violations have made them eligible for that status.
Once a home is designated a Special-Focus Facility, it receives additional oversight and assistance from the government that’s intended to improve resident care. The other homes that are deemed eligible do not receive that assistance, and many appear on the list and then drop off without ever receiving the federal help.
The two Iowa care facilities currently designated Special-Focus Facilities are Arbor Court in Mount Pleasant, which has been in the program for more than two full years, and Aspire of Gowrie, which has been in the program for a year and a half.
Because those facilities have failed to graduate from the program though improved care, the only changes to Iowa’s list of special-focus facilities during the past 19 months has been among the 10 facilities whose quality-of-care issues make them eligible for special-focus status.
This month, the Aspire of Perry home was replaced on the eligibility list with Correctionville Specialty Care, which had appeared on the eligibility list for a full year before it was dropped from the list in March 2025.
We are short-staffed, That’s the reason why baths aren’t being done. – Correctionville Specialty Care worker to state inspector
Since January 2022, the Correctionville home has been cited for 93 state and federal regulatory violations, including resident abuse and insufficient nursing staff.
In October 2023, a female resident of the home who was not cognitively impaired alleged a worker at the home had raped her in his car and had sent her a video of himself masturbating. The woman provided authorities with a copy of the video.
After the woman reported the alleged rape, officials at Correctionville Specialty Care evicted the woman from the facility and dropped her off at a homeless shelter, according to state inspectors.
Although the accused worker was fired from the Correctionville home, state inspectors alleged the home’s parent company, Care Initiatives of West Des Moines, continued to provide work for him in other Iowa nursing homes that it operates.
No criminal charges were filed in the case, but the worker was later convicted of a sexual exploitation charge related to his employment in another Iowa nursing home.
During a February 2025 visit to the Correctionville home, state inspectors reported that multiple employees said the facility was so short-staffed residents’ call lights weren’t being answered in a timely fashion and the residents weren’t getting baths or showers.
Workers said the home typically scheduled only two nurse aides to work the overnight shift and provide care for 32 residents.
“We are short-staffed,” one aide reportedly told inspectors. “That’s the reason why baths aren’t being done. We do other grooming at the same time, like nails, so that doesn’t get done, either. With all the new residents, it has been impossible.”
One aide and one registered nurse each reported they would falsely write in medical records that residents had “refused” a bath when, in fact, the residents had never been offered one. They allegedly told inspectors they did so at the direction of the home’s former director of nursing.
The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing cited the home for violations related to staffing and quality of care, but no fines or penalties were imposed.
The nine Iowa homes that continue to be considered eligible for special-focus status are Accura Healthcare of Pleasantville; Clarion Wellness and Rehabilitation Center; Harvest Acres Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Keota; Garden View Care Center in Shenandoah; Greater Southside Health and Rehabilitation in Des Moines; Harmony West in West Des Moines; The Ivy in Davenport; Pine Acres Rehabilitation and Care Center in West Des Moines; and Via of Des Moines.
Of those nine facilities, the home that have spent the most time on the eligibility list are Greater Southside Health and Rehabilitation at 33 months, and The Ivy at 19 months.
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