Do Fines Improve Operations?

The Iowa nursing home, Bethany Life Care Center in Story City, has been fined $325 for failing to protect residents of their facility from abuse of recurring “sexual advances” made by a female resident, according to the Iowa Dispatch.

According to state inspection reports, on April 20, 2025, the staff at Bethany Life Care Center found a woman lying in bed with her undergarments around her knees and a male resident of the home lying on top of him, in a similar appearance to the woman resident. The inspectors reported that the woman had previously tried to get a male resident to go into her room with her and that she was always physically touching other male residents’ thighs/legs. Other residents would tell her to leave them alone.

The $500 fine imposed by the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing was later reduced to $325 due to the home opting not to appeal the penalty.

This is not the first citation for Bethany Life Care Center. The facility was also cited by inspectors in March 2024, after a worker at the home allegedly told a resident, “Trust me, you don’t want to piss me off” and “Shut up! Shut up! Shut the f-up!” According to the inspector’s report, there may have been video of the incident at some point. Still, the administration indicated that video coverage is “deleted at the end of each day.” Inspectors also found that the home failed to “thoroughly” investigate an April 2023 report that a worker in the house had offered “sexual favors” to a resident.

Below is a list of various Iowa care facilities that have also been cited for abuse:

Corning Specialty Care- cited in February 2025 for failing to properly inform the state of the verbal abuse of a resident by a staff member. Allegedly, a female CNA told a male resident, “You did this to yourself, so you can get yourself up and clean yourself up,” and other various verbally abusive comments.

Salem Lutheran Home in Elk Horn was cited in June 2025 for failing to investigate and report the alleged abuse of a resident properly. Allegedly, a female CNA at the home left her sitting on a bedpan for five hours with a call-light out of reach, and was “acting drunk” and disrespectful to the resident she was caring for. Despite being aware of the incident involving the bedpan, the facility was not informed that the matter was not sent to the state.

Stacyville Community Nursing Home- cited in June 2025, for failing to investigate and report the alleged abuse of a resident properly. The resident informed inspectors that someone at the facility had stolen his money. Specifically, $250 to $400 in cash was discovered missing from his room, and an additional $57 was found missing the following week. The facility did not report either incident to the state.

Chapters Living, Council Bluffs, was cited for failing to report the alleged abuse of a resident properly. A resident had reported that a CNA purposefully split the contents of their bedpan onto the bed, tossed the resident’s call-light out of reach, and left the resident soiled in their bedding.