Best Nursing Homes in Des Moines, IA

Overview of Bishop Drumm Retirement Center

Bishop Drumm Retirement Center is a resident-centered community where their dedicated staff strives to cultivate the holistic wellness of their residents. Specializing in independent living, assisted living, and memory care, residents can feel confident with the lifestyle they’ll be able to enjoy during their stay, and their families can rest easy knowing that their loved ones are in the best environment for retiring. Bishop Drumm puts its seniors first and promotes an elevated lifestyle.
As a member of the Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) is centered on the holistic wellness of its residents; services and amenities include a fitness studio, salon and spa, walking paths, an education center, housekeeping, transportation, housekeeping, physician visits, and therapy services.

Overview of Scottish Rite Park

Scottish Rite Park is an independent living community nestled in the heart of Des Moines, Iowa. For over 50 years, this nonprofit community has thrived, offering a warm and sociable atmosphere that welcomes all who enter. Scottish Rite Park provides comprehensive healthcare services that cater to varying needs. With offerings that include memory care, long-term skilled nursing, and rehabilitative care, residents can rest assured that their well-being is in capable hands. Spanning an expansive 10 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, Scottish Rite Park boasts meticulously designed spaces and a myriad of opportunities for residents to connect and thrive.
Each amenity has been thoughtfully curated to cater to diverse interests and ensure that residents have ample opportunities for leisure and entertainment. From a state-of-the-art fitness center to a cozy movie theater, a penthouse for special gatherings, a delightful restaurant, and an art gallery showcasing captivating works, there is no shortage of options for residents to indulge for exciting small group activities. For a nursing home, this place exceeds expectations. Its team works hard to give residents the highest quality of life possible in their golden years.

Overview of Genesis Senior Living Center

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 Azria Health Park Place

Azria Health Wichita is a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center in the city. The nursing home is proud to be one of the only few communities in the city that delivered exceptional individualized care for its unique residents. They aim to change the meaning of recovery for seniors through the exceptional level of care that is delivered by their patient-friendly staff as an approach 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 when it comes to 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 Rehabilitation Center of Des Moines

Rehabilitation Center of Des Moines is a 74-bed skilled nursing facility in Des Moines, Iowa, offering short-term rehabilitation, post-hospital care, long-term care, short-term respite care, and transitional care. It is operated by Ensign Group.

The facility operates outside the CMS certification system, meaning star ratings or federally reported inspection data are not available. Families evaluating this community will not find CMS-tracked staffing ratios, health inspection scores, or quality measure benchmarks. Without that framework, the primary performance relies more heavily on the operator’s reputation — Ensign Group operates a large national portfolio of post-acute facilities — and the services confirmed on-site.

In-house therapy supports the residents recovering from the post-acute and short-stay population that the facility is clearly oriented toward. A doctor on staff provides on-site medical oversight. Rooms are available in private and semi-private configurations, with river views noted in the facility description. The facility also offers a monthly activity calendar and a holistic wellness program, coordinated by therapy and nursing staff.

Rehabilitation Center of Des Moines is best suited for patients transitioning from a hospital stay who need short-term rehabilitation or transitional care in Des Moines, as well as for families seeking long-term placement with in-house therapy and private rooms.