Nursing home
Salem Lutheran Home
2027 College Avenue, Elk Horn, IA 51531 · Map
For profit - Corporation · 64 certified beds
Salem Lutheran Home is a Medicare-certified nursing home in Elk Horn, Iowa. CMS rates it 1 out of 5 stars overall (1/5 for staffing, 2/5 for health inspections). Its most recent inspection on Jun 26, 2025 cited 9 deficiencies.
- 1 fine totaling $25,448In CMS records: 1 total penalty.
CMS quality ratings
Ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), updated monthly. 5 stars is the highest quality.
How Salem Lutheran Home compares
This facility vs. the Iowa and national averages, from CMS data. For staffing, higher is generally better; for turnover and deficiencies, lower is better.
| Metric | This facility | Iowa avg | National avg | Compared with the state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total nurse staffing (hrs/resident/day) | — | 3.83 | 3.89 | — |
| RN staffing (hrs/resident/day) | — | 0.73 | 0.68 | — |
| Aide staffing (hrs/resident/day) | — | 2.53 | 2.34 | — |
| Nursing staff turnover | 64.9% | 43.9% | 46.4% | above avg |
| Deficiencies cited, last inspection | 9.0 | 6.2 | 9.5 | above avg |
Staffing
Hours per resident per day as reported to CMS. Higher numbers indicate more direct care time.
Staff turnover
Lower turnover typically indicates better working conditions and continuity of care. National average for nursing staff is 46.4%.
Recent health inspection
CMS inspects nursing facilities regularly. Deficiencies are categorized by severity.
Penalties in CMS records: 1 fine totaling $25,448, 1 total penalty.
What inspectors found at Salem Lutheran Home
Specific deficiencies cited in recent CMS health inspections, most recent first. Severity follows the CMS scope/severity scale. Source: CMS Care Compare.
- Potential for harm
Honor the resident's right to a dignified existence, self-determination, communication, and to exercise his or her rights.
Resident Rights Deficiencies · Dec 15, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Provide care and assistance to perform activities of daily living for any resident who is unable.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · Oct 8, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Provide appropriate treatment and care according to orders, resident’s preferences and goals.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · Jun 26, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Timely report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft and report the results of the investigation to proper authorities.
Freedom from Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation Deficiencies · Jun 26, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Provide and implement an infection prevention and control program.
Infection Control Deficiencies · Jun 26, 2025 · Full report (PDF)
Show all 12 deficiencies
- Potential for harm
Provide safe and appropriate respiratory care for a resident when needed.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · Jun 26, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Coordinate assessments with the pre-admission screening and resident review program; and referring for services as needed.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies · Jun 26, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Develop and implement policies and procedures to prevent abuse, neglect, and theft.
Freedom from Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation Deficiencies · Jun 26, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Honor the resident's right to a safe, clean, comfortable and homelike environment, including but not limited to receiving treatment and supports for daily living safely.
Resident Rights Deficiencies · Jun 26, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Ensure services provided by the nursing facility meet professional standards of quality.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies · Oct 22, 2024 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Protect each resident from the wrongful use of the resident's belongings or money.
Freedom from Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation Deficiencies · Oct 22, 2024 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Procure food from sources approved or considered satisfactory and store, prepare, distribute and serve food in accordance with professional standards.
Nutrition and Dietary Deficiencies · Aug 11, 2024 · Full report (PDF)
Read the full inspection reports on Medicare.gov Each inspection there has a “Read the full report” link with the inspectors’ written findings.
About this facility
- Address
- 2027 College Avenue
Elk Horn, IA 51531 - CMS certification #
- 165155
- Ownership
- For profit - Corporation
- Certified beds
- 64
- Avg residents/day
- 57.0
- Provider type
- Medicare and Medicaid
- First certified
- 1990-05-01
- Setting
- Rural
Not SLA enrolled. This facility hasn’t enrolled in resident survey verification. Learn about enrollment →
Location and nearby
Explore the area around Salem Lutheran Home using Google Maps.
Other public records
- Staff pay 1 federal wage case with violations found, since 2005
- Workplace safety 1 OSHA workplace safety inspection since 2020, no violations cited
Full public records, with dates and sources
Staff pay and workplace safety
Federal records about how the employer here treats its staff.
Federal wage and hour cases
The Department of Labor checks that staff are paid minimum wage and overtime as the law requires.
- Findings for Aug 21, 2005 to Feb 1, 2007. Violations found: Overtime. Back wages: $4,084 owed to 7 employees. DOL marked the employer as a repeat violator. Employer as DOL recorded it: Salem Lutheran Homes (AMERICAN LUTHERAN). Case 1488937.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division enforcement data, loaded Oct 15, 2026. Concluded cases only. The dates are the period in which DOL found violations, not when the case opened or closed. Back wages are what the employer agreed to pay; penalties are what DOL assessed. DOL does not publish a page for each case, so search the dataset by case number.
OSHA workplace safety inspections
OSHA inspects workplaces for staff safety, such as lifting, needles, chemicals and workplace violence. It does not inspect resident care.
- Dec 1, 2020: fatality or catastrophe inspection, partial (health). Case closed Jan 20, 2021. No violations cited. OSHA record. OSHA recorded the employer as American Lutheran Church. Matched by street address; the name OSHA recorded differs from the community's.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor OSHA enforcement data, as of Oct 15, 2026, inspections since 2016. Penalties can change while a case is open or contested.
Location and nearby care
- Nearest hospital with an emergency room
- Audubon County Memorial Hospital, Audubon. 10.4 miles away, straight line.
- Nearest Medicare nursing home
- Exira Care Center, Exira. 9.4 miles away, straight line.
- Nearest home health agency office
- Home Sweet Home Care, Atlantic. 13.2 miles away, straight line. Agencies travel to clients, so ask which ones serve this address.
- Nearest pharmacy
- Hy-Vee Pharmacy. 14.8 miles away, straight line. From OpenStreetMap, which does not list every pharmacy, so one may be closer.
- Area
- USDA classes ZIP code 51531 as rural (rural area).
- Dialysis within 15 miles
- Davita Harlan Dialysis, Harlan, 14.2 miles away, straight line (CMS rating 3 of 5 stars)
- Hospice
- 4 Medicare hospices tell CMS they serve ZIP code 51531.
Myrtue Medical Center Hospice, office in Harlan, 14.2 miles away, straight line (CMS family survey rating 4 of 5 stars) - Nearest geriatric medicine practice
- Unmc Physicians, Omaha. 52.8 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 risk
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 high. By hazard: inland flooding relatively high, wildfire relatively low, tornado very high, heat wave relatively moderate, 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.
What we checked
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 |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Department of Labor wage and hour cases | Oct 15, 2026 | See above |
| OSHA workplace safety inspections since 2016 | Oct 15, 2026 | See above |
| 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 | No plain statements of services found |
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Frequently asked questions
Is Salem Lutheran Home a good nursing home?
CMS gives Salem Lutheran Home an overall rating of 1 out of 5 stars, including 1/5 for staffing and 2/5 for health inspections. These ratings come from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and are updated monthly.
Has Salem Lutheran Home had inspection problems?
Its most recent CMS inspection cited 9 deficiencies.
How many beds does Salem Lutheran Home have?
Salem Lutheran Home is certified for 64 beds.