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The state has fined an Iowa nursing home $500 after gift cards meant for residents were stolen.
State inspectors allege that in September, Walmart gift cards belonging to residents of the REM Iowa care facility on 33rd Street in Cedar Rapids were found to have been “fraudulently used and no receipts could be found.”
Also that month, at least four McDonald's gift cards belonging to another resident were also discovered to have been fraudulently used. Inspectors subsequently determined that the facility's program supervisor had stored resident gift cards in an unlocked cabinet in an unlocked office during June, July, and August 2025.
Offices and cabinets used to be locked, but program supervisors stopped locking them because it “became a hassle,” inspectors reported.
The facility was fined $500 for failing to timely report all allegations of abuse, neglect and exploitation to the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing.
The department has fined three other nursing homes in Iowa.
REM Iowa Birch Cottage (Shelby)
REM Iowa Birch Cottage was fined $500 for failing to provide nursing interventions to meet the needs of a resident after a 44-year-old male resident died from an intestinal obstruction that caused acute respiratory failure. The medical examiner's report said the man was breathing heavily on the morning of Sept. 19 and at some point began having convulsions and convulsions.
An ambulance was called, at which point the resident “acted normally, answered questions and jumped from the chair onto a cot” before being taken to hospital, according to inspectors. The man's heart stopped beating while in the hospital, and he was pronounced dead at 10:40 a.m., about two hours after the incident at Rem Iowa Birch Cottage.
Stratford Specialty Care, Hamilton County
Stratford Specialty Care was fined $500 for improper use of physical restraint. In this incident, a nurse placed two cafeteria chairs behind the wheelchair of a male resident who was sitting in a common area to prevent him from moving and the wheelchair from tipping backwards. The facility was cited for not reporting the issue in a timely manner and for not immediately separating the nurse, who was later suspended, from the resident.
Sunrise Hill Care Center, Trea
Sunrise Hill Care Center was fined $500 for failing to timely conduct background checks on employees for abuse or convictions. Inspectors claimed that employees at the home underwent background checks in January but were not hired until mid-April. By law, background checks must be conducted within 30 days of hire.
Read this article at Iowa Capital Dispatch, part of States Newsroom, a network of newsrooms supported by a coalition of grants and donors as a 501c(3) public charity. The Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. If you have any questions, please contact editor Kathie Obradovich at kobradovich@iowacapitaldispatch.com.
