Federal inspection record · CMS data as of October 1, 2026
West Ridge Specialty Care
1904 West Howard Street, Knoxville, IA · (641) 842-3153
- Certified beds
- 78
- Residents per day
- 68
- Ownership
- Non-Profit
- Chain
- Care Initiatives
- Medicare / Medicaid
- Medicare + Medicaid
- Certified since
- November 1, 1996
1
How this home got 4 stars
The overall rating isn't an average. CMS starts from the inspection rating and nudges it at most two steps. Here is the arithmetic for this home, using CMS's own rules.
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Health inspections
★★★★★starting point
Everything starts from what state inspectors found on site. This is a ranking against other homes in Iowa.
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Staffing
★★★★★no change
Only a 5-star staffing rating adds a star, and only a 1-star rating removes one. Ratings of 2 to 4 change nothing.
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Quality measures
★★★★★no change
Same rule: 5 stars adds one, 1 star takes one away. These measures are mostly reported by the home itself.
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Overall
★★★★★4 of 5
Matches the rating CMS publishes on Care Compare.
2
Where it sits among Iowa homes
West Ridge Specialty Care carries 21 inspection points. That is fewer than 65% of Iowa's 385 rated homes.
Inspectors' citations earn points by how serious and how widespread they were (the grid below). CMS then ranks every home in Iowa: the 10% with the fewest points get 5 stars, the 20% with the most get 1 star, and the middle 70% split evenly into 2, 3 and 4.
- 5★ 0–7 pts
- 4★ 7–21 pts
- 3★ 21–41 pts
- 2★ 41–86.5 pts
- 1★ over 86.5 pts
Bars show every rated home in Iowa by its weighted inspection score. CMS recalibrates the cut points monthly but holds a home's rating until its own score changes, so a home can sit just outside today's band.
3
What inspectors found
11 health citations on record since 2023. Each one gets a letter: the row says how badly residents were affected, the column how many.
Immediate jeopardyResidents at risk of serious injury or death
Actual harmA resident was hurt
Potential for harmNo one was hurt, but could have been
Minimal harmPaperwork-level problems
Read the rows, not the total. Most citations nationwide are a D: one problem, nobody hurt. Rows G–I mean a resident was harmed; J–L mean inspectors found residents in immediate danger of serious injury or death.
Small numbers in each cell are the inspection points CMS assigns per citation. Those points are what the state curve above ranks.
No citation on record at the harm or immediate-jeopardy level.
Everything else, by area of care
Quality of Life and Care7E
- E
Ensure residents do not lose the ability to perform activities of daily living unless there is a medical reason.
- E
Provide care and assistance to perform activities of daily living for any resident who is unable.
- D
Ensure that a nursing home area is free from accident hazards and provides adequate supervision to prevent accidents.
- D
Provide appropriate care for residents who are continent or incontinent of bowel/bladder, appropriate catheter care, and appropriate care to prevent urinary tract infections.
- D
Provide safe, appropriate pain management for a resident who requires such services.
- D
Ensure each resident must receive and the facility must provide necessary behavioral health care and services.
- D
Ensure that the facility has sufficient staff members who possess the competencies and skills to meet the behavioral health needs of residents.
Resident Rights3E
- E
Honor the resident's right to a dignified existence, self-determination, communication, and to exercise his or her rights.
- D
Immediately tell the resident, the resident's doctor, and a family member of situations (injury/decline/room, etc.) that affect the resident.
- D
Honor the resident's right to and the facility must promote and facilitate resident self-determination through support of resident choice.
Freedom from Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation1D
- D
Timely report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft and report the results of the investigation to proper authorities.
Inspection history
2026-07-02
3 health deficiencies · 4 fire-safety deficiencies
Top issue: Quality of Life and Care (2 deficiencies)
2024-07-03
0 health deficiencies · 5 fire-safety deficiencies
No concentrated health issue counts in this cycle.
2023-05-04
8 health deficiencies · 4 fire-safety deficiencies
Top issue: Quality of Life and Care (5 deficiencies)
4
Nursing time per resident, per day
Each resident here gets about 2 h 53 min of nursing staff time a day, 45 min of it from a registered nurse.
This home
2 h 53 min
Iowa average
3 h 52 min
U.S. average
3 h 54 min
- Registered nurse
- Licensed practical nurse
- Nurse aide
Turnover: 51% of nursing staff and 33% of registered nurses left in the past year.
Reported hours from payroll data the home submits to CMS, divided by its daily resident count. Not adjusted for how sick residents are.
5
Resident outcomes
Quality measures compared with state and national averages. Most come from assessments the home itself reports.
| Measure | This home | State | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of hospitalizations per 1000 long-stay resident daysAbout the same | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.8 |
| Number of outpatient emergency department visits per 1000 long-stay resident daysAbout the same | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.7 |
| Percentage of long-stay residents assessed and appropriately given the pneumococcal vaccine5 pts better | 99.2% | 94.2% | 93.7% |
| Percentage of long-stay residents assessed and appropriately given the seasonal influenza vaccine4.2 pts better | 100.0% | 95.8% | 95.3% |
| Percentage of long-stay residents experiencing one or more falls with major injury1.4 pts better | 2.5% | 3.9% | 3.2% |
| Percentage of long-stay residents who have depressive symptoms3.7 pts better | 0.5% | 4.2% | 13.5% |
| Percentage of long-stay residents who lose too much weight1.6 pts worse | 6.0% | 4.4% | 5.1% |
| Percentage of long-stay residents who received an antianxiety or hypnotic medication3.2 pts worse | 24.2% | 21.0% | 19.5% |
| Percentage of long-stay residents who received an antipsychotic medication4.6 pts better | 15.2% | 19.8% | 15.4% |
| Percentage of long-stay residents who were physically restrained0.2 pts better | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| Percentage of long-stay residents whose ability to walk independently worsened2.5 pts worse | 17.7% | 15.2% | 12.7% |
| Percentage of long-stay residents whose need for help with daily activities has increased7.3 pts better | 9.3% | 16.6% | 13.5% |
| Percentage of long-stay residents with a catheter inserted and left in their bladder1.4 pts better | 0.0% | 1.4% | 0.7% |
| Percentage of long-stay residents with a urinary tract infection0.2 pts worse | 2.6% | 2.4% | 1.5% |
| Percentage of long-stay residents with new or worsened bowel or bladder incontinence5.7 pts worse | 30.7% | 25.0% | 18.3% |
| Percentage of long-stay residents with pressure ulcers1.9 pts better | 2.2% | 4.1% | 4.5% |
| Percentage of short-stay residents assessed and appropriately given the pneumococcal vaccine10.5 pts better | 94.5% | 84.0% | 82.3% |
| Percentage of short-stay residents who had an outpatient emergency department visit1 pts worse | 14.0% | 13.0% | 11.8% |
| Percentage of short-stay residents who newly received an antipsychotic medication1.4 pts worse | 3.5% | 2.1% | 1.5% |
| Percentage of short-stay residents who were assessed and appropriately given the seasonal influenza vaccine6.8 pts better | 81.2% | 74.4% | 80.1% |
| Percentage of short-stay residents who were rehospitalized after a nursing home admission19.8 pts worse | 40.5% | 20.7% | 23.4% |
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Who owns and runs it
25 owners and managers reported to CMS. The last column counts how many nursing homes each one is tied to.
Show ownership list
| Name | Role | Share | Homes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Care Initiatives | 5% Or Greater Direct Ownership Interest · Organization | 100% | 43 facilities |
| Beal, Michael | Corporate Director · Individual | 0% | 43 facilities |
| Beal, Michael | Corporate Officer · Individual | 0% | 43 facilities |
| Bowen, Lane | Corporate Director · Individual | 0% | 44 facilities |
| Carothers, Mary Jane | Corporate Director · Individual | 0% | 43 facilities |
| Childs, Kevin | Corporate Director · Individual | 0% | 43 facilities |
| Computershare Corporate Trust Company, Na | 5% Or Greater Mortgage Interest · Organization | 0% | 59 facilities |
| Computershare Corporate Trust Company, Na | Adp Of The SNF · Organization | 0% | 59 facilities |
| Corless, Peter | Corporate Director · Individual | 0% | 43 facilities |
| Cox, Brittany | Operational/Managerial Control · Individual | 0% | 1 facilities |
| Cox, Brittany | Adp Of The SNF · Individual | 0% | 1 facilities |
| Dixon, David | Corporate Officer · Individual | 0% | 44 facilities |
| Drake, Emily | Corporate Officer · Individual | 0% | 43 facilities |
| Gilyard, Tanya | Corporate Officer · Individual | 0% | 42 facilities |
| Krein, Keith | Corporate Director · Individual | 0% | 43 facilities |
| Kuhn, Jeramy | Corporate Officer · Individual | 0% | 43 facilities |
| Mahler, Carla | Operational/Managerial Control · Individual | 0% | 13 facilities |
| Mcdyer, Jessica | Corporate Officer · Individual | 0% | 43 facilities |
| Rafferty, Susan | Corporate Officer · Individual | 0% | 3 facilities |
| Rust, Elizabeth | Corporate Director · Individual | 0% | 43 facilities |
| Sturm, Denise | Corporate Director · Individual | 0% | 43 facilities |
| Upmeyer, Linda | Corporate Director · Individual | 0% | 43 facilities |
| Volm, Johanna | Corporate Officer · Individual | 0% | 29 facilities |
| Wei, Shipeng | Operational/Managerial Control · Individual | 0% | 17 facilities |
| Wei, Shipeng | Adp Of The SNF · Individual | 0% | 17 facilities |
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Fire safety
13 life-safety citations (sprinklers, exits, alarms). These don't count toward the star rating.
Gas, Vacuum, and Electrical Systems4F
- E
Ensure proper usage of power strips and extension cords.
- E
Meet requirements for the use and maintenance of medical gas equipment.
- F
Have generator or other power source capable of supplying service within 10 seconds.
- E
Meet requirements for the use and maintenance of medical gas equipment.
Smoke4F
- D
Have properly installed hallway dispensers for alcohol-based hand rub.
- F
Inspect, test, and maintain automatic sprinkler systems.
- E
Install corridor and hallway doors that block smoke.
- E
Ensure that special areas are constructed so that walls can resist fire for one hour or have an approved fire extinguishing system.
Egress2F
- E
Add doors in an exit area that do not require the use of a key from the exit side unless in case of special locking arrangements.
- F
Install emergency lighting that can last at least 1 1/2 hours.
Miscellaneous2F
- F
Have simulated fire drills held at unexpected times.
- F
Ensure that smoke control systems are tested and documented in accordance with established engineering principles.
Construction1D
- D
Use approved construction type or materials.
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Other homes nearby
-
Accura Healthcare of Knoxville, LLC
Knoxville, IA · Accura Healthcare
★★★★★- Worst citation, 3 yrs
- J
- Nursing / resident / day
- 3 h 27 min
- Fines
- $16,153
-
Accura Healthcare of Pleasantville, LLC
Pleasantville, IA · Accura Healthcare
★★★★★- Worst citation, 3 yrs
- K
- Nursing / resident / day
- 3 h 39 min
- Fines
- $28,724
-
The Cottages
Pella, IA · Wesleylife
★★★★★- Worst citation, 3 yrs
- K
- Nursing / resident / day
- 4 h 13 min
- Fines
- $52,060