Nursing home
St Luke Lutheran Nursing Home
1301 Saint Luke Drive, Spencer, IA 51301 · Map
Non profit - Corporation · 79 certified beds
St Luke Lutheran Nursing Home is a Medicare-certified nursing home in Spencer, Iowa. CMS rates it 2 out of 5 stars overall (5/5 for staffing, 1/5 for health inspections). Nurse staffing is 4.01 hours per resident per day, above the Iowa average of 3.83. Its most recent inspection on Sep 4, 2025 cited 9 deficiencies.
- 2 fines totaling $90,076In CMS records: 3 total penalties, 1 Medicare payment denial.
CMS quality ratings
Ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), updated monthly. 5 stars is the highest quality.
How St Luke Lutheran Nursing 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) | 4.01 | 3.83 | 3.89 | above avg |
| RN staffing (hrs/resident/day) | 0.88 | 0.73 | 0.68 | above avg |
| Aide staffing (hrs/resident/day) | 2.51 | 2.53 | 2.34 | below avg |
| Nursing staff turnover | 47.7% | 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.
- Every deficiency from the September 4, 2025 inspection was corrected by September 17, 2025
Penalties in CMS records: 2 fines totaling $90,076, 3 total penalties, 1 Medicare payment denial.
What inspectors found at St Luke Lutheran Nursing Home
Specific deficiencies cited in recent CMS health inspections, most recent first. Severity follows the CMS scope/severity scale. Source: CMS Care Compare.
- Immediate jeopardy
Ensure that a nursing home area is free from accident hazards and provides adequate supervision to prevent accidents.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · Sep 4, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - 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 · Sep 4, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Give their staff education on dementia care, and what abuse, neglect, and exploitation are; and how to report abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
Freedom from Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation Deficiencies · Sep 4, 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 · Sep 4, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Keep residents' personal and medical records private and confidential.
Resident Rights Deficiencies · Sep 4, 2025 · Full report (PDF)
Show all 12 deficiencies
- Potential for harm
Provide and implement an infection prevention and control program.
Infection Control Deficiencies · Sep 4, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Ensure each resident receives an accurate assessment.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies · Sep 4, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Provide the required documentation or notification related to the resident's needs, appeal rights, or bed-hold policies.
Resident Rights Deficiencies · Sep 4, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Ensure that each resident is free from the use of physical restraints, unless needed for medical treatment.
Freedom from Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation Deficiencies · Sep 4, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Immediate jeopardy
Ensure that a nursing home area is free from accident hazards and provides adequate supervision to prevent accidents.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · Aug 22, 2024 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Provide and implement an infection prevention and control program.
Infection Control Deficiencies · Aug 22, 2024 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Provide safe and appropriate respiratory care for a resident when needed.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · Aug 22, 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
- 1301 Saint Luke Drive
Spencer, IA 51301 - CMS certification #
- 165484
- Ownership
- Non profit - Corporation
- Certified beds
- 79
- Avg residents/day
- 69.8
- Provider type
- Medicare and Medicaid
- First certified
- 2003-07-07
- Setting
- Rural
Not SLA enrolled. This facility hasn’t enrolled in resident survey verification. Learn about enrollment →
Location and nearby
Explore the area around St Luke Lutheran Nursing Home using Google Maps.
Other public records
- Staff pay 1 federal wage case with violations found, since 2005
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 May 2, 2005 to May 1, 2007. Violations found: Overtime, Child labor. Back wages: $3,249 owed to 38 employees. Civil money penalties assessed: $2,200. Employer as DOL recorded it: St. Luke Lutheran Home (St. Luke Homes and Services, Inc.). Case 1476156.
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.
Location and nearby care
- Nearest hospital with an emergency room
- Spencer Municipal Hospital, Spencer. 1.9 miles away, straight line. CMS overall hospital rating: 4 of 5 stars.
- Nearest Medicare nursing home
- Spencer Post Acute Rehabilitation Center, Spencer. 2.2 miles away, straight line.
- Nearest home health agency office
- Avera At Home Of Spencer Hospital, Spencer. 1.8 miles away, straight line. Agencies travel to clients, so ask which ones serve this address.
- Nearest pharmacy
- Hy-Vee Pharmacy. 1.8 miles away, straight line. From OpenStreetMap, which does not list every pharmacy, so one may be closer.
- Area
- USDA classes ZIP code 51301 as micropolitan (micropolitan core).
- Dialysis within 15 miles
- Warner Dialysis Center Spencer, Spencer, 3.0 miles away, straight line (CMS rating 4 of 5 stars)
- Hospice
- 6 Medicare hospices tell CMS they serve ZIP code 51301.
Avera @ Home Of Spencer Hospital, office in Spencer, 1.8 miles away, straight line
St Croix Hospice, office in Spirit Lake, 20.7 miles away, straight line (CMS family survey rating 4 of 5 stars)
Gentiva, office in Spirit Lake, 21.5 miles away, straight line (CMS family survey rating 3 of 5 stars) - Nearest geriatric medicine practice
- Mayo Clinic Health System-Southeast Minnesota Region, Austin. 114.4 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 very 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.
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 | 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 | No plain statements of services found |
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Frequently asked questions
Is St Luke Lutheran Nursing Home a good nursing home?
CMS gives St Luke Lutheran Nursing Home an overall rating of 2 out of 5 stars, including 5/5 for staffing and 1/5 for health inspections. These ratings come from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and are updated monthly.
How is St Luke Lutheran Nursing Home staffed?
St Luke Lutheran Nursing Home reports 4.01 total nurse hours per resident per day, compared with the Iowa average of 3.83.
Has St Luke Lutheran Nursing Home had inspection problems?
Its most recent CMS inspection cited 9 deficiencies.
How many beds does St Luke Lutheran Nursing Home have?
St Luke Lutheran Nursing Home is certified for 79 beds.