Three Iowa Nursing Homes Added to the List of Worst Facilities

Three more Iowa nursing homes have been added to the federal list of the worst senior care facilities in the nation.

The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports that the three Iowa facilities were found eligible for inclusion on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' national list of Special Focus Facilities. They joined seven other Iowa nursing homes already included on the list.

According to the Dispatch, the three homes added to the list since February include,

• Fleur Heights Center for Wellness and Rehab in Des Moines
• Pine Acres Rehabilitation and Care Center in West Des Moines
• Dunlap Specialty Care

Those homes join seven other care facilities that were already considered special-focus and approved for additional oversight by regulators. The Dispatch reports that those facilities are,

• Correctionville Specialty Care
• Embassy Rehab and Care Center of Sergeant Bluff
• Genesis Senior Living of Des Moines
• Harmony West of West Des Moines
• Iowa City Rehab & Health Care Center
• The Ivy at Davenport
• Westwood Specialty Care of Sioux City

The Dispatch reports that of the 10 facilities on the list, three of them are operated by the West Des Moines chain Care Initiatives.

The federal list is updated periodically and includes homes that the agency deems to "have a history of serious quality issues." The Dispatch reports that nationally, there are 88 homes on the list, with one or two slots filled by each state. Nursing homes that show improvement can graduate from the list. The only Iowa home to have done that is Touchstone Healthcare Community in Sioux City.