N’West Iowa nursing homes short staffed and struggling

May 8, 2023

REGIONAL—Across the state of Iowa, nursing homes are under strain, short staffed and in peril of closing. Rising costs, coupled with Iowa’s long-stagnant Medicaid reimbursement rate, have joined staffing issues to put the long-term viability of many facilities into question.

Rural areas of the state are among the hardest hit by these challenges.

“We used to run about 130 employees,” Wendy Nelson said. “We have not been there for a bit.”

Nelson is administrator of Prairie View Campus in Sanborn, which includes a 57-bed skilled nursing facility.

Read the full story from NWest Iowa.