Iowa nursing homes accused of abuse added to federal list of worst facilities

Two Iowa nursing homes cited for resident abuse and dozens of other regulatory violations have been added to the federal government’s list of the nation’s worst care facilities.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has added Caring Acres Nursing and Rehab Center in Anita and Grundy Care Center in Grundy Center to its list of nursing homes eligible for inclusion on CMS’ periodic list of Special-Focus Facilities.

At any given time, no more than two nursing homes per state appear on CMS’ list of federally designated Special-Focus Facilities, which consists of homes that have recurring, serious problems with resident care.

In Iowa, those two homes are Pine Acres Rehabilitation and Care Center in West Des Moines and Garden View Care Center in Shenandoah. Those two homes have had special-focus status for eight months and six months, respectively.

The federal list also includes hundreds of other nursing homes — typically, 10 per state — where ongoing quality-of-care violations have made them eligible for special-focus status. Caring Acres and Grundy Care Center are among the homes added recently to the eligibility list.

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 merely deemed eligible do not receive that assistance. They appear on the list, some for as long as 10 years, and then drop off without ever receiving the federal help.

Abuse cited at Grundy Care Center

In November 2024, Grundy Care Center was cited for 12 regulatory violations, including failure to meet professional standards; inadequate quality of care; insufficient nurse staffing; inadequate procurement, preparation or serving of food; and inadequate quality assurance measures.

In early 2025, the home was fined $48,796 by CMS for resident abuse. In that case, state inspectors found the home had failed to protect a male resident from physical and mental abuse. A female certified nurse aide at the home was alleged to have kissed, inappropriately touched and accepted money from the resident and to have sent him nude photographs of herself via text message. The inappropriate interactions between the CNA and the resident continued until the worker resigned from the facility.

According to the inspectors’ reports, the worker later revealed to the police that she had kissed the resident and also verified Facebook conversations in which she and the resident discussed his moving in with her after she divorced her husband. The inspectors also reported that the home’s internal investigation concluded “the relationship was sexual and occurred during and after working hours.”

The matter was reported to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, which investigates reports of dependent adult abuse. According to the inspectors’ reports, the department “rejected the report and closed the case.”

Abuse and care issues cited at Caring Acres

In February 2025, Caring Acres in Anita was cited with 17 regulatory violations, an exceptionally high number, including failure to provide a clean, homelike environment; failure to meet professional standards; failure to maintain competent nursing staff; failure to keep residents free of unnecessary psychotropic medications; inadequate infection prevention and control; failure to meet COVID-19 immunization standards; and failure to provide the required training for nurse aides.

No fines were imposed at that time.

In June 2025, the home was fined $9,000 and cited for failure to provide residents with required nursing services. In that case, inspectors alleged a male resident of the home underwent a change in condition during the day and evening shifts of May 8, 2025, and that the nurse on duty failed to assess the resident even after other workers reported concerns with the man’s health. The man developed a fever about 7 p.m., but medication was not given and a physician was not notified until his vital signs worsened significantly eight hours later. At that point, the man was sent to the hospital where he died five hours after admission.

Also in June 2025, the home was cited for resident abuse. A worker at the home reported that a male licensed practical nurse at the home was verbally abusive with a resident who had fallen out of bed, saying “Aww, did you fall out of bed? That was kind of a dumb idea,” and, “They need to stop feeding you so much. Your trunk is four times the size of the rest of you and it’s getting gross.”

Later that same night, the licensed practical nurse allegedly harassed another resident, telling her that her cats and dogs were not at the facility and were either at the resident’s home alone or were simply gone. The nurse then turned to a co-worker and allegedly stated, “Sometimes you gotta p— them off to make the night more fun.”

In addition to Caring Acres and the Grundy Care Center, the other Iowa homes on the CMS’s special-focus eligibility list, and the number of months they have been designated as eligible, are:

Aspire Of Perry in Perry: Three months.

Azria Health Park Place in Des Moines: Two months.

Bishop Drumm Retirement Center in Johnston: Three months.

Greater Southside Health and Rehabilitation Center in Des Moines: 39 months.

Harmony West Des Moines in West Des Moines: 24 months.

Harvest Acres Nursing and Rehab in Keota: Nine months.

The Ivy at Davenport in Davenport: Four months.

Pioneer Valley Living and Rehab Center in Sergeant Bluff: Five months.

This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch.