Nursing home
West Ridge Specialty Care
1904 West Howard Street, Knoxville, IA 50138 · Map
Non profit - Corporation · Part of Care Initiatives (43 facilities) · 78 certified beds
West Ridge Specialty Care is a Medicare-certified nursing home in Knoxville, Iowa. CMS rates it 4 out of 5 stars overall (3/5 for staffing, 4/5 for health inspections). Nurse staffing is 3.24 hours per resident per day, below the Iowa average of 3.83. Its most recent inspection on Jul 3, 2024 cited 1 deficiencies.
CMS quality ratings
Ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), updated monthly. 5 stars is the highest quality.
How West Ridge 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) | 3.24 | 3.83 | 3.89 | below avg |
| RN staffing (hrs/resident/day) | 0.74 | 0.73 | 0.68 | above avg |
| Aide staffing (hrs/resident/day) | 2.11 | 2.53 | 2.34 | below avg |
| Nursing staff turnover | 54.2% | 43.9% | 46.4% | above 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.
What inspectors found at West Ridge 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
Honor the resident's right to a dignified existence, self-determination, communication, and to exercise his or her rights.
Resident Rights Deficiencies · Nov 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 · Aug 30, 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 · Mar 14, 2024 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Immediately tell the resident, the resident's doctor, and a family member of situations (injury/decline/room, etc.) that affect the resident.
Resident Rights Deficiencies · Mar 14, 2024 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Honor the resident's right to and the facility must promote and facilitate resident self-determination through support of resident choice.
Resident Rights Deficiencies · May 4, 2023
Show all 11 deficiencies
- Potential for harm
Ensure that the facility has sufficient staff members who possess the competencies and skills to meet the behavioral health needs of residents.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · May 4, 2023 - Potential for harm
Ensure each resident must receive and the facility must provide necessary behavioral health care and services.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · May 4, 2023 - Potential for harm
Provide safe, appropriate pain management for a resident who requires such services.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · May 4, 2023 - 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 · May 4, 2023 - Potential for harm
Ensure services provided by the nursing facility meet professional standards of quality.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies · Jul 22, 2021 - 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 · Jul 22, 2021
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
- 1904 West Howard Street
Knoxville, IA 50138 - CMS certification #
- 165308
- Ownership
- Non profit - Corporation
- Certified beds
- 78
- Avg residents/day
- 68.4
- Provider type
- Medicare and Medicaid
- First certified
- 1996-11-01
- 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 West Ridge 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 West Ridge 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)
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.
DOL also concluded 1 case here with no violations found, most recently for a period ending Oct 25, 2006.
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
- Knoxville Hospital & Clinics, Knoxville. 0.3 miles away, straight line. CMS overall hospital rating: 2 of 5 stars.
- Nearest Medicare nursing home
- Accura Healthcare of Knoxville, LLC, Knoxville. 1.5 miles away, straight line.
- Nearest home health agency office
- Pella Regional Home Health Agency, Pella. 12.3 miles away, straight line. Agencies travel to clients, so ask which ones serve this address.
- Nearest pharmacy
- Hy-Vee Pharmacy. 1.1 miles away, straight line. From OpenStreetMap, which does not list every pharmacy, so one may be closer.
- Area
- USDA classes ZIP code 50138 as small town (small town core).
- Dialysis within 15 miles
- Davita Pella Dialysis, Pella, 12.7 miles away, straight line (CMS rating 5 of 5 stars)
- Hospice
- 11 Medicare hospices tell CMS they serve ZIP code 50138.
Hospice Of Pella, The Comfort House, office in Pella, 12.6 miles away, straight line (CMS family survey rating 5 of 5 stars) - Nearest geriatric medicine practice
- Lucas County Health Center, Chariton. 21.9 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 low. By hazard: hurricane very low, inland flooding relatively low, wildfire relatively low, tornado relatively 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 | 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 West Ridge Specialty Care a good nursing home?
CMS gives West Ridge Specialty Care an overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars, including 3/5 for staffing and 4/5 for health inspections. These ratings come from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and are updated monthly.
How is West Ridge Specialty Care staffed?
West Ridge Specialty Care reports 3.24 total nurse hours per resident per day, compared with the Iowa average of 3.83.
Has West Ridge Specialty Care had inspection problems?
Its most recent CMS inspection cited 1 deficiencies.
How many beds does West Ridge Specialty Care have?
West Ridge Specialty Care is certified for 78 beds.