Nursing home
Wapello Specialty Care
601 Highway 61 South, Wapello, IA 52653 · Map
Non profit - Corporation · Part of Care Initiatives (43 facilities) · 49 certified beds
Wapello Specialty Care is a Medicare-certified nursing home in Wapello, Iowa. CMS rates it 4 out of 5 stars overall (4/5 for staffing, 3/5 for health inspections). Nurse staffing is 3.38 hours per resident per day, below the Iowa average of 3.83. Its most recent inspection on Nov 20, 2025 cited 1 deficiencies.
CMS quality ratings
Ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), updated monthly. 5 stars is the highest quality.
How Wapello Specialty Care 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) | 3.38 | 3.83 | 3.89 | below avg |
| RN staffing (hrs/resident/day) | 1.03 | 0.73 | 0.68 | above avg |
| Aide staffing (hrs/resident/day) | 2.06 | 2.53 | 2.34 | below avg |
| Nursing staff turnover | 33.3% | 43.9% | 46.4% | below avg |
| Deficiencies cited, last inspection | 1.0 | 6.2 | 9.5 | below 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 November 20, 2025 inspection was corrected by December 2, 2025
Penalties in CMS records: 1 total penalty, 1 Medicare payment denial.
What inspectors found at Wapello Specialty Care
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
Provide and implement an infection prevention and control program.
Infection Control Deficiencies · Nov 20, 2025 · 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 · Oct 3, 2024 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Ensure that a nursing home area is free from accident hazards and provides adequate supervision to prevent accidents.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · Oct 3, 2024 · 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 3, 2024 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Provide appropriate care for residents who are continent or incontinent of bowel/bladder, appropriate catheter care, and appropriate care to prevent urinary tract infections.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · Oct 3, 2024 · Full report (PDF)
Show all 12 deficiencies
- Potential for harm
Develop the complete care plan within 7 days of the comprehensive assessment; and prepared, reviewed, and revised by a team of health professionals.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies · Oct 3, 2024 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Ensure that a nursing home area is free from accident hazards and provides adequate supervision to prevent accidents.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · Apr 11, 2024 · 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 · Apr 11, 2024 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Protect each resident from all types of abuse such as physical, mental, sexual abuse, physical punishment, and neglect by anybody.
Freedom from Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation Deficiencies · Apr 11, 2024 · Full report (PDF) - Actual harm
Provide appropriate care for residents who are continent or incontinent of bowel/bladder, appropriate catheter care, and appropriate care to prevent urinary tract infections.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · Sep 21, 2023 - Actual harm
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 21, 2023 - Actual harm
Provide appropriate pressure ulcer care and prevent new ulcers from developing.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · Sep 21, 2023
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
- 601 Highway 61 South
Wapello, IA 52653 - CMS certification #
- 165452
- Ownership
- Non profit - Corporation
- Certified beds
- 49
- Avg residents/day
- 36.4
- Provider type
- Medicare and Medicaid
- First certified
- 2002-04-03
- Chain
- Care Initiatives (43 facilities)
- Setting
- Rural
Part of Care Initiatives
Care Initiatives operates 43 nursing facilities across the United States. View all Care Initiatives facilities →
Not SLA enrolled. This facility hasn’t enrolled in resident survey verification. Learn about enrollment →
Location and nearby
Explore the area around Wapello Specialty Care using Google Maps.
Other public records
- Website says Works with hospice
Full public records, with dates and sources
Care and services
From the community’s website
What Wapello Specialty Care says about itself, quoted from its own site. We have not checked these claims against licensing records. Ask about each one on a tour.
- Offers hospice care on site or works with hospice providers.
Care Initiatives is Iowa’s largest nonprofit provider of high-quality skilled nursing care, hospice care, assisted living, independent living, memory care and more.
(page, checked Oct 12, 2026)
Location and nearby care
- Nearest hospital with an emergency room
- Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center, West Burlington. 18.2 miles away, straight line. CMS overall hospital rating: 4 of 5 stars.
- Nearest Medicare nursing home
- Azria Health Prairie Ridge, Mediapolis. 4.9 miles away, straight line.
- Nearest home health agency office
- Louisa County Phns, Wapello. 11.0 miles away, straight line. Agencies travel to clients, so ask which ones serve this address.
- Nearest pharmacy
- Hy-Vee Pharmacy. 7.5 miles away, straight line. From OpenStreetMap, which does not list every pharmacy, so one may be closer.
- Area
- USDA classes ZIP code 52653 as rural (rural area).
- Hospice
- 7 Medicare hospices tell CMS they serve ZIP code 52653.
Southeast Iowa Regional Hospice, office in West Burlington, 16.6 miles away, straight line (CMS family survey rating 5 of 5 stars)
Everystep, office in Mount Pleasant, 20.6 miles away, straight line (CMS family survey rating 5 of 5 stars) - Nearest geriatric medicine practice
- Progressive Rehabilitation Associates LLC, Iowa City. 42.7 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: hurricane very low, inland flooding relatively high, wildfire relatively low, tornado relatively high, heat wave relatively high, earthquake relatively 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 | 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 | See above |
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Frequently asked questions
Is Wapello Specialty Care a good nursing home?
CMS gives Wapello Specialty Care an overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars, including 4/5 for staffing and 3/5 for health inspections. These ratings come from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and are updated monthly.
How is Wapello Specialty Care staffed?
Wapello Specialty Care reports 3.38 total nurse hours per resident per day, compared with the Iowa average of 3.83.
Has Wapello Specialty Care had inspection problems?
Its most recent CMS inspection cited 1 deficiencies.
How many beds does Wapello Specialty Care have?
Wapello Specialty Care is certified for 49 beds.