Six Iowa care facilities closing after owner says they can’t continue operations

More than 260 Iowa nursing home and assisted living facility residents must search for a new place to live.

Six Iowa care facilities have been placed in receivership and are shutting their doors after the owner informed state officials that those facilities could no longer continue operations.

The owner of Blue Care Homes, LLC, notified state regulators Jan. 23 that it was unable and/or unwilling to continue operations and would not be able to meet the needs of its residents at four nursing facilities and two assisted living facilities in Fort Dodge, Humboldt, Winterset and Maquoketa.

The Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals announced Monday the facilities have been placed in receivership and a temporary manager appointed to assume control of the operations of the facilities until all 263 residents can be relocated to a facility of their choosing, according to a news release.

Federal and state regulations require the nursing facilities to remain open for 60 days, while assisted living facilities must stay open for 90 days while residents are being safely relocated.

Residents, staff and families have been notified of the receivership and closures, and additional meetings will occur in coming days, according to the Department of Inspection and Appeals.

The department, the temporary manager, managed care organizations and the Office of the Long Term Care Ombudsman will assist residents in determining where they would like to move, and DIA staff will continue to monitor each of the six facilities throughout the transition period, according to the release.

This is the second time the department has filed for receivership. The first was last July for a facility in Sioux City.

Affected nursing and assisted living facilities are:

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