Best Nursing Homes in Des Moines, IA

Overview of Wesley Acres

A community that strives in exceedingly making its residents comfortable, the Wesley Acres offers the best balance of urban living and assistance with everyday living.  A proud member of the Wesley Senior Living Group, Acres places integrity at the heart of its mission; ensuring that residents can feel inspired in creating a better life with the continuum of care being provided. Wesley Acres is an elegant senior living home that aims to enhance and enrich the lives of its residents. 

Wesley offers independent living, assisted living, memory care, short-term rehabilitation, and long-term care. Their engaging activities and programs to name a few are the recreational activities, fitness activities, and entertainment programs available for residents to take part in at the library, media room, or outdoor social areas.

Overview of Valley View Village

Valley View Village 2571 is a high-standard nursing home in Des Moines, IA, that offers a wide range of care options, from independent living to rehabilitation. Promoting a welcoming environment, the community strives to maintain connections for older adults’ happiness and wellness. Delicious dining, recreational activities, and pet-friendly spaces are among the community’s unique features that make it an ideal retirement destination. With its dedication to residents’ welfare, personalized care plans are crafted to meet their healthcare needs and lifestyle preferences.

Hobby groups, fun excursions, and spiritual activities are just some of the activities that residents can join for leisure and wellness. The community also features a variety of amenities, including a library, well-maintained gardens, and walking paths, dedicated to enriching residents’ living experiences. As a community of its own, Valley View Village has all the local amenities needed for residents’ needs and leisure. This retirement community is one of Iowa’s finest choices for senior living, especially for its wide range of care options and extensive amenities.

Owned by Scott Berger, University Park Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is a nursing home in Des Moines, Iowa, that has served residents for 25 years. The 108-bed facility currently houses 72 residents, with an occupancy rate of 67%. Medicare, Medicaid, and private pay are accepted, giving families several options for covering rehabilitation services and ongoing nursing care.

The center focuses on short-term rehabilitation and skilled nursing services. Residents have access to specialized programs for diabetes management, enteral nutrition support, ostomy care, pain management, IV therapy, and tracheotomy care. These services can benefit individuals recovering from surgery, hospitalization, and other health conditions that require ongoing clinical support.

Residents stay an average of 157 days, including short-term rehabilitation patients and those receiving longer-term care. Respite care is also available for families seeking temporary placement options.

Daily nurse staffing averages 3 hours and 37 minutes per resident. Registered nurses provide approximately 43 minutes of care each day, while nurse aides contribute about 2 hours and 36 minutes. This level of hands-on support is for residents with significant medical and personal care needs.

The community has a Walk Score of 91. It’s in a highly walkable area of Des Moines, which is convenient for family members and residents. State inspections have tracked the facility’s focus on care quality and compliance for several years. Responses to earlier findings demonstrate the facility’s ongoing commitment to maintaining care standards.

Overview of Azria Health Park Place

Azria Health Park Place is a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center in Des Moines. It is proud to be one of the few communities in the city that delivers exceptional individualized care for its unique residents. They aim to change the meaning of recovery for seniors through the outstanding level of care delivered by their patient-friendly staff to offer the best care possible for their residents. Azria strives to have all its residents experience the comprehensive and exemplary care offered.

Expect nothing but quality regarding their service: an advanced level of recovery found in long-term and post-acute rehabilitative services. They also proudly offer specialized care programs such as neurological and stroke services, orthopedic care, prosthetic training, pulmonary rehabilitation, post-cardiac care, and wound care– all created to have the right provision of multidisciplinary healthcare services such as therapy, enriching activities, and discharge planning.

Overview of Trinity Center at Luther Park

Operating under the Gardens at Luther Park organization, Trinity Center at Luther Park is a 120-bed nursing home that provides short-term rehabilitation and long-term skilled care for residents aged 55 and older. The building maintains a high local volume with a 91% occupancy rate and manages an extended 239-day average length of stay. Financial coverage handles a standard mix of Medicare, Medicaid, and private-pay sources. The campus is built in an exceptionally walkable downtown neighborhood, making local errands and shops easily accessible on foot.

Daily care lines supply an average of 4 hours and 34 minutes of direct nursing time per resident each day, with a combination of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and nurse aides covering the floor alongside on-site physical therapists. On the compliance side, public monitoring files from the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing indicate that state inspectors have noted recurring administrative issues centered on care documentation, food handling protocols, and basic infection control.

Beyond the medical operations, daily life on the campus is organized around faith-based Christian values, spiritual support programs, regular activities, and local volunteer networks.

Prospective representatives researching faith-based senior care options or multi-level nursing setups can review these state health filings to assess the property’s operational history. The public records outline a busy, highly occupied facility backed by solid daily direct care hours and a walkable location, balanced against some recurring regulatory points regarding kitchen and documentation maintenance.

Genesis Senior Living Center in Des Moines serves as a long-term skilled nursing facility, predominantly accommodating Medicaid residents (84.4% of the 77-person census) with stays averaging 141 days. Dirk Timm operates the 80-bed facility, which offers memory care for dementia and Alzheimer’s, physical and occupational therapy, speech therapy, and catheter management. Respite care and rehabilitation services round out the program. An 18-year partnership with Aegis Therapies supports clinical therapy delivery.

Performance data is concerning across multiple dimensions. The facility holds a 1-star CMS overall rating, with 1-star designations for health inspections and staffing. Five federal penalties in three years, totaling $378K, have resulted in two payment denials that blocked Medicare and Medicaid admissions. This enforcement history ranks Genesis last among Iowa’s 246 nursing homes for cumulative penalties, at 687% above the state average.

Total nursing care measures 3h 13m per resident daily, a 25% shortfall versus the Iowa average and ranking the facility 236th of 241 state facilities. Staff-to-resident ratio stands at 1.26:1, 38% worse than the state average of 2.05:1.

The staffing profile coincides with alarming quality metrics: short-stay residents experience falls with major injury at 3.7%, more than three times the 0.8% state rate. Pressure ulcers in high-risk long-stay residents reach 7.7% versus a 4.4% state average. Re-hospitalization of short-stay residents runs 30.8% against a 21.4% state average. Vaccination compliance trails: pneumococcal at 71.0% and influenza at 87.1% both fall materially below state standards.

Financial strain is evident: 2023 operating loss of $1.1M on $7.8M revenue continues a pattern of historical unprofitability. The facility received Best of Assisted Living (2016) and Best Senior Living (2021) designations prior to recent performance deterioration.

Genesis Senior Living’s regulatory enforcement record, staffing constraints, and outcome data indicate a facility under substantial operational stress.

Long-term Medicaid residents should carefully weigh the documented compliance and quality pattern before placement.

Overview of Life Center

Offering excellent memory care, long-term care, skilled nursing, and rehabilitation services, The Life Center is a dependable senior living community in Des Moines, IA that helps residents maintain a sense of individuality and freedom while receiving additional support. The community features a reliable nursing team available 24-hours a day and an extensive rehabilitative program, featuring physical, speech, and occupational therapies that help residents maintain their highest level of functionality.

Residents also delight in an array of convenient services that help them live a maintenance-free lifestyle such as housekeeping, laundry, package delivery services, and more. A registered dietician carefully reviews the residents’ therapeutic diets to ensure they are receiving the proper nutrition and nourishment. With Life Center, residents are guaranteed to lead the lifestyle they deserve surrounded by compassionate support and care.