Buchanan County Health Center
1600 First Street East, Independence, IA 50644 · Buchanan County · 39 certified beds · avg 35 residents/day · certified since Oct 1, 1974
What health inspectors found (on-site government inspections — the most independent evidence available)
Health inspection rating: ★★★★☆4/5 · CMS overall rating: 5/5
The health inspection star above is graded on a curve within each state — a set share of each state's facilities gets each star level — so a facility can have few citations and still rate 2–3 stars if others in its state did even better. The overall rating combines that inspection score with staffing and self-reported quality measures.
Most serious findings (actual harm or immediate jeopardy)
▲ Immediate jeopardy, one-off · Nov 26, 2024 · F-0689 · triggered by a complaint
The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls.
Why it matters: This is one of the most common citations and directly relates to falls and injuries, which can be devastating for older adults.
Severity (J): Inspectors found a situation that put a resident's life or safety in immediate danger, affecting one or a few residents. The facility must fix it immediately — these citations often come with large fines.
Corrected: Oct 31, 2024 (Past Non-Compliance)
All citations in the current public record (12)
CMS publishes roughly the last three inspection cycles plus recent complaint investigations. Older surveys drop out of the record as new ones are completed.
| Date | Severity | What the facility was cited for |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 19, 2026 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not have or follow an effective program to prevent and control infections — such as proper hand washing, cleaning, and isolation practices. This is the most commonly cited deficiency nationwide. |
| Mar 20, 2025 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not get its food from approved, safe sources, or did not store, prepare, and serve food according to professional food safety standards. |
| Mar 20, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility provided care that did not meet professional standards of quality — the accepted standards that nurses and other clinicians are expected to follow. |
| Mar 20, 2025 | B · Minimal risk, repeated | The facility did not reassess a resident after a significant change in their condition, such as a sudden decline in health. A full new assessment is required when a resident's condition changes in a major way. |
| Mar 20, 2025 | B · Minimal risk, repeated | The facility did not develop a resident's complete plan of care within 7 days of the full assessment, or the plan wasn't prepared, reviewed, and updated by a team of health professionals as required. |
| Nov 26, 2024 | ▲ J · Immediate jeopardy, one-off | The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls. · from a complaint |
| Nov 26, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not have enough staff with the right skills to meet the mental and behavioral health needs of its residents, such as those living with dementia or depression. · from a complaint |
| Jun 6, 2024 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not employ enough qualified food and nutrition staff, including a qualified dietician, to properly run its food service. |
| Jun 6, 2024 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not get its food from approved, safe sources, or did not store, prepare, and serve food according to professional food safety standards. |
| Jun 6, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not reassess a resident after a significant change in their condition, such as a sudden decline in health. A full new assessment is required when a resident's condition changes in a major way. |
| Jun 6, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not develop or follow a complete care plan for each resident — the written roadmap covering all of a resident's needs, with measurable goals and timelines. |
| Jun 6, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide the care needed to maintain or improve residents' movement and flexibility — such as range-of-motion exercises — leading to avoidable decline. |
Inspection trend by year
Citations from standard inspections decreased between the last two inspection cycles (4 → 1).
| Year | Citations | Serious (G–L) | Worst severity that year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 7 | 1 | J ▲ |
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | F |
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | E |
Counts reflect the current CMS public record (~3 inspection cycles plus complaint investigations); years with no surveys show no row. Inspection frequency varies, so compare severity as well as counts.
Fines and enforcement (last 3 years)
1 fine totaling $4,011.
| Date | Type | Amount / length |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 26, 2024 | Fine | $4,011 |
Nurse staffing (from payroll records, adjusted for how much care residents need)
| Measure | This facility | Iowa avg | U.S. avg | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total nurse staffing (hours per resident per day) | 5.52 | 4.37 | 3.95 | top 6% in Iowa; top 7% in the U.S. |
| Registered Nurse hours | 1.61 | 0.85 | 0.69 | top 3% in Iowa; top 4% in the U.S. |
| Weekend total nurse staffing | 4.46 | 3.86 | 3.50 | top 17% in Iowa; top 13% in the U.S. |
| Weekend RN hours (not acuity-adjusted) | 0.86 | 0.51 | 0.48 | top 8% in Iowa; top 9% in the U.S. |
| Total nursing staff turnover (%) | 26.3 | 44.0 | 45.8 | top 8% in Iowa; top 9% in the U.S. |
| RN turnover (%) | 12.5 | 42.1 | 42.9 | top 8% in Iowa; top 6% in the U.S. |
Hours are per resident per day, case-mix adjusted by CMS so facilities caring for sicker residents can be compared fairly (same basis as the CMS staffing star). "Top X%" means better than most facilities: more staffing hours, or lower turnover. Raw (unadjusted) reported hours: total 4.19, RN 1.22, weekend 3.38. Staffing rating: 5/5.
Self-reported quality measures
Note: these ratings are based on data the facility reports about itself to CMS. They are not independently verified by inspectors, and can look better than inspection findings. Give more weight to the inspection results above.
Quality measures rating: 4/5 · long-stay residents: 4/5 · short-stay residents: —/5
Who owns this facility
Government - County
| Owner / manager | Type | Role | Stake | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ownership Data Not Available |
Questions to ask on your visit
Generated from this facility's actual citation record — bring them to a tour and ask the administrator directly.
- "What is your falls rate, and what specific steps do you take to prevent falls and supervise residents at risk?"
- "Who leads your infection prevention program, and how do you make sure staff follow practices like hand hygiene every day?"
- "What did your most recent kitchen inspection find, and can I see how food is stored and prepared?"
- "Can you tell me what this citation involved and what steps you took to bring care back up to standard?"
- "If my family member's health suddenly changes, how quickly do you reassess them and update their care?"
- "Who is on the team that builds each resident's care plan, and how quickly is it in place after admission?"
- "What training does your staff have in dementia and behavioral health, and how many residents with these needs do you serve?"
- "Do you have a qualified dietician on staff, and how involved are they in each resident's nutrition plan?"
- "What is your current ratio of nursing staff to residents on day, evening, and weekend shifts?"
- "Can I see the results and plan of correction from your most recent state inspection?"
Nearby facilities (within 20 miles)
| Facility | Distance | City | Overall | Inspection | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rehabilitation Centers of Independence West Campus | 0.2 mi | Independence, IA | ★★★☆☆ | 2/5 | |
| Oelwein Health Care Center | 14.0 mi | Oelwein, IA | ★★★☆☆ | 3/5 | |
| Grandview Healthcare Center | 14.1 mi | Oelwein, IA | ★★★★☆ | 4/5 |
Compare this facility with the 3 closest →
All facilities in Independence →
Facility data as of CMS processing date 2026-08-01. CCN 16E050.