The Cottages
1742 Main Street, Pella, IA 50219 · Marion County · 100 certified beds · avg 87 residents/day · certified since May 30, 2014
Part of chain: WESLEYLIFE (10 facilities, chain avg rating 3.8★)
What health inspectors found (on-site government inspections — the most independent evidence available)
Health inspection rating: ★☆☆☆☆1/5 · CMS overall rating: 1/5
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, repeated · Feb 24, 2025 · 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 (K): A life-threatening or extremely dangerous situation affected several residents. Among the most serious findings an inspection can produce.
Corrected: Feb 25, 2025 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)
▲ Actual harm, one-off · Jun 4, 2026 · 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 (G): One or a few residents were actually harmed — physically or emotionally — though not put in immediate danger of serious injury or death.
Corrected: May 18, 2026 (Past Non-Compliance)
▲ Actual harm, one-off · Aug 25, 2025 · 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 (G): One or a few residents were actually harmed — physically or emotionally — though not put in immediate danger of serious injury or death.
Corrected: Sep 25, 2025 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)
All citations in the current public record (23)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 4, 2026 | ▲ G · Actual harm, 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 |
| Jun 4, 2026 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not treat residents with dignity and respect, or did not honor their rights to make their own decisions and communicate freely. This is one of the most fundamental resident rights. · from a complaint |
| Nov 25, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not protect residents from abuse or neglect. This covers physical, mental, and sexual abuse, physical punishment, and neglect, by anyone — staff, other residents, or visitors. · from a complaint |
| Nov 25, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft to the proper authorities quickly enough, or did not report the results of its investigation. · from a complaint |
| Aug 25, 2025 | ▲ G · Actual harm, 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 |
| Aug 25, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility gave residents unnecessary mind-altering (psychotropic) medications, or used drugs in a way that restrained residents by dulling their ability to think, move, or function. |
| Aug 25, 2025 | 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. |
| Aug 25, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide safe and appropriate respiratory care — such as oxygen, breathing treatments, or care for residents on breathing equipment — for residents who needed it. |
| Aug 25, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide pharmacy services that meet each resident's needs, or did not employ or contract with a licensed pharmacist. · from a complaint |
| Aug 25, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility's medication error rate was 5 percent or higher — meaning too many doses were given incorrectly, such as the wrong drug, dose, or time. |
| Aug 25, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not keep residents free from significant medication errors — such as giving the wrong drug, the wrong dose, or missing a critical medication. |
| Aug 25, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | 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. |
| Aug 25, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not develop and follow policies and procedures for offering residents flu and pneumonia vaccinations. |
| Feb 24, 2025 | ▲ K · Immediate jeopardy, repeated | 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 |
| Sep 26, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not honor residents' rights to request, refuse, or stop treatment, to decline participation in medical research, or to make an advance directive — a written statement of their wishes for future medical care. |
| Sep 26, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide enough food and fluids to keep residents healthy, such as preventing unplanned weight loss or dehydration. |
| Sep 26, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | 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. |
| May 16, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide the help residents need with basic daily activities — like bathing, dressing, eating, and using the bathroom — for residents who cannot do these things on their own. · from a complaint |
| Jun 29, 2023 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not have enough nursing staff each day to meet every resident's needs, or did not have a licensed nurse in charge on each shift. Adequate staffing is one of the strongest predictors of good care. |
| Jun 29, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | 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. |
| Jun 29, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility's menus did not meet residents' nutritional needs, or were not prepared in advance, followed as written, kept up to date, or reviewed by a dietician. |
| Jun 29, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not serve food and drinks that were appetizing, attractive, and at a safe and pleasant temperature. |
| Jun 29, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | 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. |
Inspection trend by year
Citations from standard inspections increased between the last two inspection cycles (3 → 9).
| Year | Citations | Serious (G–L) | Worst severity that year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 5 | 0 | E |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | D |
| 2025 | 12 | 2 | K ▲ |
| 2026 | 2 | 1 | G ▲ |
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)
3 fines totaling $52,060.
| Date | Type | Amount / length |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 4, 2026 | Fine | $12,006 |
| Aug 25, 2025 | Fine | $26,800 |
| Feb 24, 2025 | Fine | $13,254 |
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) | 4.77 | 4.37 | 3.95 | top 27% in Iowa; top 17% in the U.S. |
| Registered Nurse hours | 1.05 | 0.85 | 0.69 | top 24% in Iowa; top 14% in the U.S. |
| Weekend total nurse staffing | 4.44 | 3.86 | 3.50 | top 19% in Iowa; top 13% in the U.S. |
| Weekend RN hours (not acuity-adjusted) | 0.61 | 0.51 | 0.48 | top 25% in Iowa; top 22% in the U.S. |
| Total nursing staff turnover (%) | 50.0 | 44.0 | 45.8 | bottom 32% in Iowa; bottom 38% in the U.S. |
| RN turnover (%) | 57.1 | 42.1 | 42.9 | bottom 30% in Iowa; bottom 26% 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 4.18, RN 0.92, weekend 3.89. Staffing rating: 4/5.
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: 3/5 · short-stay residents: 4/5
Who owns this facility
Non profit - Corporation
| Owner / manager | Type | Role | Stake | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hearthstone a Ministry of Wesleylife LLC | Organization | 5% or Greater Direct Ownership Interest | — | 09/25/2009 |
| Wesley Retirement Services INC | Organization | 5% or Greater Indirect Ownership Interest | 100% | 09/25/2009 |
| Wesleylife | Organization | 5% or Greater Direct Ownership Interest | — | 09/21/2010 |
| Albertson, Kermit | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 01/01/2018 |
| Gilroy, Abbey | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 01/01/2016 |
| Hamilton, Nancy | Individual | W-2 Managing Employee | NOT APPLICABLE | 12/07/2009 |
| Hartsook, Londa | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 04/09/2012 |
| Kretzinger, Robert | Individual | Corporate Officer | NOT APPLICABLE | 09/25/2009 |
| Lagree, Roger | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 01/01/2015 |
| Lorence, Joanne | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 09/25/2009 |
| Rasmussen, Chad | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 01/01/2011 |
| Ruch, Robert | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 09/25/2009 |
| Stout, David | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 01/01/2011 |
| Taylor, Christina | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 01/01/2018 |
| Watson, Susan | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 01/01/2014 |
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?"
- "Can you give me examples of how your staff protect residents' dignity in everyday care, like bathing and dressing?"
- "Tell me about this abuse or neglect citation — what happened, and what specific changes did you make afterward?"
- "When abuse or theft is suspected, who do you notify, how fast, and how do you inform the family?"
- "What percentage of your residents are on antipsychotic or sedating medications, and how do you work to reduce that?"
- "Can you show me an example care plan, and how are families included when it's created and updated?"
- "How many residents here use oxygen or breathing equipment, and who checks that equipment each shift?"
- "How does your pharmacist review residents' medications, and how quickly can you fill new or urgent prescriptions?"
- "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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accura Healthcare of Knoxville, LLC | 11.4 mi | Knoxville, IA | ★★☆☆☆ | 2/5 | |
| West Ridge Specialty Care | 12.9 mi | Knoxville, IA | ★★★☆☆ | 3/5 | |
| Oskaloosa Care Center | 15.5 mi | Oskaloosa, IA | ★☆☆☆☆ | 1/5 | |
| Crystal Heights Care Center | 15.9 mi | Oskaloosa, IA | ★★☆☆☆ | 2/5 | |
| Northern Mahaska Specialty Care | 16.0 mi | Oskaloosa, IA | ★★☆☆☆ | 2/5 | |
| Accura Healthcare of Pleasantville, LLC | 18.6 mi | Pleasantville, IA | ★☆☆☆☆ | 1/5 | |
| Traditions Memory Care of Newton | 19.5 mi | Newton, IA | ★★★☆☆ | 4/5 | |
| Accura Healthcare of Newton East, LLC | 19.5 mi | Newton, IA | ★☆☆☆☆ | 1/5 | |
| Valley Vista for Nursing and Rehabilitation | 19.9 mi | Newton, IA | ★★★☆☆ | 2/5 |
Compare this facility with the 3 closest →
Facility data as of CMS processing date 2026-08-01. CCN 165607.