Iowa State Auditor finds nursing home inspections are failing federal standards

(ABC 6 News) — Iowa state leaders are sparring over a new report from the State Auditor finding Iowa nursing home inspections are failing to meet federal standards.

The report from Auditor Rob Sand’s office released Monday says Iowa’s nursing homes are in crisis, but not everyone agrees.

In that report, it says on average, nursing homes go about 17 months between federal inspections which is well behind the yearly mandate of 12.9 months set by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS).

In that same mandate, no facility is able to go more than 15.9 months between inspections.

“So many of us have heard about terrible outcomes for our nursing home residents for Iowa’s most elderly and vulnerable residents, people dying in nursing homes, people laying in bed without any care, all kinds of fines being levied, then being suspended,” Sand said.

The catch is the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, which conducts these inspections, is pushing back, accusing the report of misleading Iowans with incorrect and outdated data.

Dial officials say its current data shows these facilities average about 12.75 months between inspections, not 17, and that 99% of facilities complied with the 15.9 month inspection frequency.

The auditor’s report also touched on the high staff turnover in Iowa nursing homes, saying the state ranks 46th nationally for the number of licensed nursing staff per resident, and that in a one-year period, more than half of Iowa’s nursing home staffers left their positions.

Governor Kim Reynolds’ office has not directly responded to the report or its findings.