More than 43% of Iowa nursing homes do not meet upcoming federal mandates on staffing levels, a new national report shows.

The report also indicates 21 Iowa care facilities each cycled through three to five nursing home administrators during 2023.

Using newly published data collected by the federal government, a nonprofit advocacy group called the Long-Term Care Community Coalition has issued a detailed report outlining the staffing levels at every Medicare-certified nursing home in the nation during the fourth quarter of 2023.

The report compares actual staffing levels with the Biden administration’s new rule mandating specific staffing levels in Medicare-certified nursing homes. That rule requires the presence of a registered nurse 24 hours per day, seven days a week in all facilities, as well as 3.48 hours per day, per resident of total nursing-staff time.

The rule will be phased in over the next five years and includes exemptions and waivers for facilities in rural areas that are making a good-faith effort to meet the new mandates.

The coalition’s report shows that 6 in every 10 U.S. nursing homes would have met the new nurse-staffing standard in the fourth quarter of 2023. Iowa homes fell below the national average, with 56.5% of them meeting the new standard.

The fact that a majority of facilities already meet the new minimum standard while still facing quality-of-care deficiencies has been an issue with many advocates, who say the standards don’t go far enough. They point to a federal study that shows each resident needs at least 4.1 hours of nursing care each day ― a standard met by only 26% of all nursing homes nationally and 24% of all homes in Iowa, according to the coalition’s report.

The report indicates the Iowa homes with the lowest nurse staffing levels in the fourth quarter of 2023 were Arbor Springs of West Des Moines, Midlands Living Center of Council Bluffs, Linn Haven Rehab & Health Care of New Hampton, Pleasant Acres Care Center of Hull, Northbrook Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center of Cedar Rapids, Crest Haven Care Centre of Creston and Aspire of Perry. All reported less than 2.5 hours of total nursing care per resident, per day, according to the report.

A separate set of data published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services indicates that 14% of Iowa’s 422 nursing facilities were cited for insufficient staffing in fiscal year 2023. That’s more than double the national average, which was 5.9%.

Only five other states ― Hawaii, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico and Oregon ― had a worse record of compliance with the sufficient-staffing requirement. Iowa neighbors Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Missouri had no more than 2% to 6.8% of their facilities cited for insufficient staffing in 2023.

Report pinpoints high turnover in some Iowa homes

The report also highlights a problem in many nursing homes nationwide: high staff turnover, which disrupts continuity of care and leads to errors by workers who aren’t familiar with residents’ needs.

According to the data, several Iowa homes had annual nurse staffing turnover rates of more than 85%, indicating that, on average, almost every nursing position in the facilities had been vacated and refilled in 2023.

The Iowa homes with the highest rate of nursing-staff turnover, ranging from 85% to 100%, were Risen Son Christian Village of Council Bluffs, Sunrise Retirement Community of Sioux City, Wesley Acres of Des Moines, Arbor Springs of West Des Moines, Dunlap Specialty Care, Azria Health Park Place of Des Moines, Sunny Knoll Care Centre of Rockwell City and Montezuma Specialty Care.

The report also identifies the Iowa nursing homes that had the highest number of administrators who left employment with the facility during 2023.

The Elmwood Care Centre of Onawa and Heritage Specialty Care of Cedar Rapids are each reported to have had five administrators who left the facility in 2023. Azria Health Park Place of Des Moines, Sunny Knoll Care Centre of Rockwell City, Crest Haven Care Centre of Creston, Cedar Falls Health Care Center, Premier Estates of Muscatine, Westwood Specialty Care of Sioux City, Casa De Paz Health Care Center of Sioux City, Wesley Park Centre of Newton and Garden View Care Center of Shenandoah each are reported to have had four administrators leave during the year. Ten other Iowa nursing homes had three administrators leave during the year.

The coalition’s report shows that nationally, 4 of 5 nursing home residents live in facilities that are providing less than the federally recommended, but not mandated, 4.1 hours of total nursing-staff time per resident, per day. In addition, more than half a million nursing home residents live in facilities that don’t meet the new federal staffing requirement of 3.48 hours.

The report suggests one positive trend in nursing homes: a decreased reliance on temp-agency workers who often cost more but are less familiar with individual residents’ needs. After years of increased use of temp-agency workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of such workers nationwide accounted for 8% of all nursing staff hours, which is down from 8.7% the previous quarter.

In Iowa, the average percentage of temp-agency workers was 7.3% in the last quarter of 2023, which was down slightly from 7.6% the previous quarter, and down significantly from 10.2% the previous year.

Find this storyat Iowa Capital Dispatch, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions:kobradovich@iowacapitaldispatch.com.

(Des Moines, IA) – The Iowa Cubs have now earned their fifth straight loss in a 3-2 bout against the Omaha Storm Chasers. Omaha takes the series victory 5-1 in the worst series from the Iowa Cubs that we have seen yet this season.

The Storm Chasers started off scoring in this game after Nick Pratto hit a home run that launched over the left-center field wall to put Omaha up 1-0 at the top of the first inning. In the top of the second inning, Storm Chaser Tyler Tolbert was able to go up to the plate with bases loaded and one out when he grounded into a double play but was still able to score the second run of the ballgame by scoring Devin Mann before the play could finish on the field to put Omaha up 2-0. Omaha would then go on to score their last run of the game in the fifth inning off a sac-fly by John Rave to left field to score Cam DeVanney from third to go up 3-0.

Iowa was eventually able to make a little run of their own on the back nine. Jake Slaughter hit a single with a runner in scoring position at third base as Tyler Gentry was able to score and bring it to a 3-1 Omaha lead at the bottom of the eighth inning. In the bottom of the ninth, David Peralta added on a solo home run to put the Cubs within one run of tying things up. That was followed up by a strikeout, field error, flyout, and a groundout to finish the ballgame.

Earning the win on the day was Carlos Hernandez who pitched in 1.0 inning while allowing no earned runs and had two strikeouts. Will Klein was able to earn the save for Omaha while pitching in 1.0 inning and allowed just one hit which was the home run. With the loss on the day was Cubbie Dan Straily who pitched in 5.0 innings while allowing all three runs and having five strikeouts.

The Iowa Cubs will return to action when they travel to Syracuse on Tuesday with the game starting at 5:00 p.m.

(Information provided by milb.com) 

Mason Ellens always believed he could play Power Four Football. The Illinois defensive back received that chance Friday when Iowa State offered a scholarship. It was reaffirmed two days later when Iowa also offered. 

“I kind of knew it was coming because there would be other schools that would come in and they would tell my head coach (Chad Hetlet) that there’s no way they could get their hands on me because they thought I’d be be a Power Four player eventually,” Ellens told HN.

Bigger schools have been recruiting him for the last year, including Iowa. The Hawkeyes have visited with him at the school multiple times. They were back at Glen Ellyn (IL) Glenbard West High on Thursday for a workout. 

“I think that’s what’s really got their attention,” Ellens said. 

It’s been a big spring on the track for Ellens. He’s run the 100 meters in 10.77 seconds and the 200 in 21.89. That speed has complemented an impressive junior year highlight video. 

In addition to standing out on offense and defense, Ellens proves that he’s an electric returner. That’s a bonus on the recruiting trail. 

“Most coaches do mention that to me. That’s been a big part for me because that shows that I can move well and shows my speed as well,” he said. 

Ellens (5-11, 155) entered the week having built strong relationships with Ohio and Miami (OH). Other MAC and FCS schools also offered scholarships. While he’s open to all the schools interested in him, he said he favors Iowa and Iowa State right now. 

“I’m looking to take official visits to Iowa State and Iowa. I’m also focused on track and getting better times to send out to (college) coaches,” Ellens said. 

Ellens spoke with Iowa assistant Seth Wallace about officially visiting the Hawkeyes the weekend of June 21. That’s when the program welcomes a large group of its verbal commitments and top targets. 

Iowa State still is working out a date for his official visit. It could happen within a week or two of the Hawkeye stop. 

Ellens heads into his official visits knowing what’s most important to him. 

“I think I’m going to focus mostly on how the coaches treat their players and how well and how hard they coach them. That’s kind of the big thing for me,” he said. 

Ellens is undecided about a college major. He’d like to study something that keeps him involved in sports. 

Rivals, On3 and 247 did not yet rank Ellens at the time this story was published. Prep Red Zone rated him as the No. 40 player overall in Illinois for ’25.