Assisted Living
Gardens @ Cherokee
1610 Highway 3, Cherokee, IA 51012 · Map
Licensed for 68 residents
Gardens @ Cherokee is a state-licensed assisted living community in Cherokee, Iowa. It is licensed for 68 residents. Lilisity publishes no score or ranking for this community; the details below come from the state licensing record.
Prices
This community does not publish its prices.
Area costs
Lilisity’s independent report
What the public record shows
Gathered by Lilisity from state and federal sources. Communities can’t edit this part of the page.
State inspections
Last recertification or initial survey: Jul 23, 2025. See the record
License
Active, 68 residents
Assisted Living Program S0278.
Nearest emergency room
0.8 miles
Cherokee Regional Medical Center, rated 2 of 5 stars by CMS.
Side by side with nearby communities
The 4 nearest communities that offer assisted living, by straight-line distance. Prices are starting prices each community publishes; we never show estimates.
| Community | Distance | Licensed capacity | Published starting price | License | Inspection citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardens @ Cherokee this community | 68 | Not published | Active | 6 state violations in 3 years | |
| Stonebridge Suites of Cherokee | 1.1 mi | 24 | Not published | Active | 0 state violations in 3 years |
| Heartland Care Center, E. Fenton | 13.1 mi | 21 | Not published | Active | 0 state violations in 3 years |
| WEL-Life at Alta | 14.1 mi | 57 | Not published | Active | 1 state violation in 3 years |
| Otsego Place | 19.6 mi | 84 | Not published | Active | 0 state violations in 3 years |
State inspection record6 state violations in 3 years
- Last recertification or initial survey
- July 23, 2025
- Visits in three years
- 2
- Complaint visits in three years
- 2
- State violations (all visits)
- 6
- State fines in three years
- None
- Certification expires
- June 30, 2028
- Certified since 2008
Visits (newest first)
- January 28, 2026: Complaint, 6 state violations · report
- 231C.5(2)h Written Occupancy Agreement Required. 231C.5(2) An assisted living program occupancy agreement shall clearly describe the rights and responsibilities of the tenant and the program. The occupancy agreement shall also include but is not limited to inclusion of all of the following information in the body of the agreement or in the supporting documents and attachments: b(2) The occupancy agreement shall specifically include a statement regarding each of the following: h. Occupancy, involuntary transfer, and transfer criteria and procedures, which ensure a safe and orderly transfer. 481 IAC 231C.5(2)b(2)h
- 231C.5(2)b(2)i Written Occupancy agreement required. 231C.5(2) An assisted living program occupancy agreement shall clearly describe the rights and responsibilities of the tenant and the program. The occupancy agreement shall also include but is not limited to inclusion of all of the following information in the body of the agreement or in the supporting documents and attachments: b(2) The occupancy agreement shall specifically include a statement regarding each of the following: i. The internal appeals process provided relative to an involuntary transfer. 481 IAC 231C.5(2)b(2)i
- 231C.5(2)b(2)j Written Occupancy agreement required. 231C.5(2) An assisted living program occupancy agreement shall clearly describe the rights and responsibilities of the tenant and the program. The occupancy agreement shall also include but is not limited to inclusion of all of the following information in the body of the agreement or in the supporting documents and attachments: b(2) The occupancy agreement shall specifically include a statement regarding each of the following: j. The program's policies and procedures for addressing grievances between the assisted living program and the tenants, including grievances relating to transfer and occupancy. 481 IAC 231.C.5(2)b(2)j
- Tenant Rights. To be treated with consideration, respect, and full recognition of personal dignity and autonomy. 481 IAC 67.3(1)
- Tenant Rights. To receive respect and privacy in the tenant's medical care program. Personal and medical records shall be confidential, and the written consent of the tenant shall be obtained for the records' release to any individual, including family members, except as needed in case of the tenant's transfer to a health care facility or as required by law or a third-party payment contract. 481 IAC 67.3(3)
- The program shall immediately provide to the office of long-term care ombudsman, by certified mail, a copy of the notification and notify the tenant's treating physician, if any. 481 IAC 69.24(1)b
- July 23, 2025: Recertification, Complaint, no state violations listed · report
DIAL Health Facility Database record → (Gardens at Cherokee)
What these terms mean
DIAL's Health Facility Database lists each visit to the program, the number of state violations found, and any certification or licensure action and fine that followed. The scanned report for each visit is linked; it holds the inspectors' findings in full.
Recertification: DIAL's routine survey of the program for its certification. Complaint: a visit to look into a complaint. Incident: a visit to look into an incident the program reported. Initial: the survey of a new program. A revisit is a follow-up visit after an earlier one. A visit can be more than one type.
Iowa Code 231C.14 lets DIAL fine an assisted living program for “noncompliance with any regulatory requirements which presents an imminent danger or a substantial probability of resultant death or physical harm to a tenant,” for continued failure to comply after notice, or for interfering with an inspector. A fine is reduced by 35 percent when the program does not contest it and pays within 30 days; the Assessed Fines Report shows this as “State Adjusted”. “State Susp” is the part suspended.
A complaint visit with no violations listed does not say whether the complaint was substantiated; the linked report does. This program is certified for 68 residents or units; larger programs are visited and cited more often, so read counts with size in mind. Source: Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL), Health Facilities Division, data as of October 16, 2026. Always visit in person and ask the program about anything listed here.
License and ownershipActive license
- License type
- Assisted Living Program
- License number
- S0278
- License status
- Active
- Licensed capacity
- 68
- County
- Cherokee County
- Administrator
- Jana Utesch
Source: Iowa state licensing records (agency listing), retrieved 2026-09-09. Licensing status is a matter of public record; it is not a quality rating.
Administrator name from the Iowa licensing record, as of Sep 9, 2026.
Paying with Medicaid and other programsHow Medicaid pays for care in Iowa, and other programs
How Medicaid pays for care in Iowa
- Elderly (E) Waiver, Assisted Living Service. Iowa Medicaid's Elderly Waiver, for people 65 and older, lists "Assisted Living Service" among its services. Waiver slots can have waiting lists. (state page)
- Waitlist. Iowa HHS says there is currently no waitlist for the Elderly Waiver, and that this could change. (source)
Ask the community whether it accepts Medicaid.
Location and nearby careNearest hospital 0.8 mi, nursing home 0.6 mi, pharmacy 0.7 mi
- Nearest hospital with an emergency room
- Cherokee Regional Medical Center, Cherokee. 0.8 miles away, straight line. CMS overall hospital rating: 2 of 5 stars.
- Nearest Medicare nursing home
- Cherokee Specialty Care, Cherokee. 0.6 miles away, straight line.
- Nearest home health agency office
- Cherokee Regional Home Health, Cherokee. 0.6 miles away, straight line. Agencies travel to clients, so ask which ones serve this address.
- Nearest pharmacy
- Hy-Vee Clinic Pharmacy. 0.7 miles away, straight line. From OpenStreetMap, which does not list every pharmacy, so one may be closer.
- Area
- USDA classes ZIP code 51012 as small town (small town core).
- Hospice
- 5 Medicare hospices tell CMS they serve ZIP code 51012.
Cherokee Regional Hospice, office in Cherokee, 0.6 miles away, straight line (CMS family survey rating 5 of 5 stars) - Nearest geriatric medicine practice
- Homaha Senior Care LLC, Omaha. 106.5 miles away, straight line. 1 geriatric medicine doctor listed there.
Distances are straight lines from the community, not driving distance. Hospitals, home health, dialysis, hospice and doctors come from CMS provider data (CMS, hospital list updated Jul 22, 2026). Star ratings are CMS’s own.
Emergency and natural hazard riskFEMA overall risk relatively moderate; outside FEMA's high-risk flood areas
Public hazard maps for this location. Ask the community about its emergency plan, its generator and where residents would go in an evacuation.
- Flood zone
- Outside the high and moderate risk flood areas on FEMA's flood map (Zone X, minimal flood hazard, or not studied). (FEMA flood map)
- FEMA National Risk Index
- Overall: relatively moderate. By hazard: inland flooding relatively high, wildfire relatively low, tornado very high, heat wave relatively low, earthquake very low. These are FEMA’s ratings for the census tract, compared with tracts nationwide. (FEMA, December 2025)
A flood zone describes the map at this point, not the building's elevation. In an emergency, follow the local emergency management agency.
Questions to ask on a tour10 questions picked for this community from its record
Picked for this community from its record. Ask them in person and write down the answers.
- The state recorded a finding in January 2026. What was it, and how was it fixed?
- What does the base rate include, and when did rates last go up?
- How many caregivers are on duty during the day and at night?
- What happens if care needs increase? When would someone need to move?
- What fees are charged at move-in?
- How do you tell families about falls, illness or changes?
- How long have the executive director and the head of care been here?
- Who gives medications, and what training do they have?
- For what reasons can a resident be asked to leave?
- Is the apartment held during a hospital stay, and at what cost?
What we checked12 public sources we searched, with dates
Every public source we searched for this community. “Nothing on record” means we found no record that matched it. A record can be missed when a name or address differs.
| Source | Data as of | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL), Health Facilities Division inspection records | Oct 16, 2026 | See above |
| U.S. Department of Labor wage and hour cases | Oct 15, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| OSHA workplace safety inspections since 2016 | Oct 15, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| FEMA flood map | See above | |
| USDA wildfire risk | Apr 15, 2026 | Not shown: FEMA rates wildfire risk here relatively low |
| FEMA National Risk Index | See above | |
| CMS hospitals, home health, dialysis, hospice and doctors; OpenStreetMap pharmacies | See above | |
| HUD Multifamily Properties - Assisted | Jul 6, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| State Veterans Homes (NASVH directory) | Sep 20, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| CMS Hospice - General Information | Aug 19, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| CMS Home Health Care Agencies | May 27, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| The community’s own website | Could not read the site |
Common questionsAnswers to 4 questions families ask
What type of care does Gardens @ Cherokee provide?
Gardens @ Cherokee is licensed by the state of Iowa for assisted living in Cherokee, Iowa. Its licensed capacity is 68 residents.
Does Lilisity rate Gardens @ Cherokee?
No. We publish state licensing details for Gardens @ Cherokee but no score, rating, or ranking. Only communities on the Top Communities list or with a Senior Living Alliance Excellence Award, both based on phone-verified resident and family interviews, are ranked.
How much does Gardens @ Cherokee cost?
Assisted Living in Iowa typically starts at $1,450 to $4,650 a month. Based on 33 communities that publish prices. These are area figures, not this community's price. Gardens @ Cherokee does not publish its prices.
How do I contact Gardens @ Cherokee?
Use Gardens @ Cherokee's website, cherokeegardenlifestyles.com, or visit at 1610 Highway 3, Cherokee, IA 51012.
How Lilisity works. The only scores or rankings Lilisity publishes are the Top Communities list and the Excellence Awards, both built from phone-verified resident and family interviews. Communities can pay Lilisity a flat monthly fee to manage their own listing: photos, prices, contact details, and receiving the inquiries families choose to send them. The fee is the same no matter how many families contact them or move in. Senior Living Alliance, which runs Lilisity, offers the same listing to its member communities as part of their membership; members pay SLA for its resident and family interview program. No community pays Lilisity per inquiry, per referral or per move-in. Payment never changes a testimonial, a rating, or the order of search results. The "Nearby Senior Living Alliance communities" box shows member communities only. How we verify testimonials · How we are paid