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 Copper Shores Village

Copper Shores Village is part of the Immanuel senior living network in Des Moines, Iowa. The community is open to residents 55 and older and spans independent living, assisted living, and memory care under one roof.

Immanuel operates outside the federal CMS framework, which means no Medicare or Medicaid certification. Private pay is the payment model here, consistent with how most faith-affiliated independent and assisted living communities in Iowa are structured. The Immanuel brand is organized around a lifelong learning and wellness orientation, with a faith-based community identity built into the model. Programming includes recreational activities and socialization; 24-hour care is available.

The Walk Score of 42 puts this in the “some errands walkable, most require a car” range, which is fairly typical for Des Moines residential neighborhoods outside the core.

Copper Shores Village is a faith-oriented, multi-level care community in Des Moines for adults 55 and older, built around wellness and engagement programming and operating on a private-pay basis as part of the Immanuel network.

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.

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

At 93.4% occupancy across 74 beds, with an average stay of 214 days and a resident mix the profile classifies as mostly long-term care, Rehabilitation Center of Des Moines is a skilled nursing facility that holds onto its admissions. The rehab orientation is real, but it is not the whole picture.

Ensign Group operates the facility in Des Moines, Iowa. The care model spans short-term rehabilitation, post-hospital and transitional care, long-term skilled nursing, and short-term respite. A doctor is on staff, and in-house therapy runs across all of those tracks. Rooms come in private and semi-private configurations, with river views available in the building. The surrounding neighborhood lands at a Walk Score of 52, which means some errands are walkable, though most still require a trip.

Total nursing time is 3 hours and 36 minutes per resident per day. Medicare, Medicaid, and private pay are all accepted. A monthly activity calendar and a wellness program, jointly coordinated by therapy and nursing staff, give structure to daily life. Housekeeping is part of the package.

The occupancy rate and length-of-stay figures together describe a small, high-demand facility where most residents are in it for the long haul, with in-house therapy and a care model that holds up across the full post-acute to long-term range.

Overview of Prairie Vista Village

Located northeast of Des Moines, Prairie Vista Village  in Altoona is an independent living, assisted living, short-term rehab, and long-term care community that provides graceful and compassionate care. The person-centered community understands the meaning of family which is why they make it a point to create an environment that is home-like and welcoming. Prairie Vista is where residents feel comfortable and secure in a nurturing environment. 
Residents can rest easy knowing that they are placed first with the list of services and amenities provided for them: ADLs, transportation, library, and private dining rooms. Skilled nursing and personalized care are also offered to the residents.