By: Clark Kauffman – Iowa Capital Dispatch
(Story City) An Iowa nursing home has been fined $325 for failing to protect residents of the home from abuse in the form of recurring “sexual advances” made by a female resident.
According to state inspection reports, the staff at the Bethany Life care center in Story City entered a female resident’s room on the afternoon of April 20, 2025, and found the woman lying in bed with her pants and underwear around her knees and a male resident of the home lying on top of her with his pants around his knees.
The staff separated the residents, and the nurse completed a head-to-toe assessment of the female resident. According to inspectors, a review of records at the home indicated the woman had a history of being “overly friendly,” and was at times inappropriate, with men in her unit.
The inspectors reported the woman had previously tried to get a male resident to go into her room with her, and that she “constantly tried touching a male residents’ thigh/leg … Other residents told (the woman) to leave them alone due to her constantly trying to help them or ask them the same questions over and over.”
The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing imposed a $500 fine for resident abuse, which was later reduced to $325 due to the home opting not to appeal the penalty.
Inspectors last cited Bethany Life for resident abuse in March 2024, after a worker at the home allegedly told a resident, “Trust me, you don’t want to piss me off,” and yelled at the resident, “Shut up! Shut up! Shut the f— up!”
According to the inspectors’ report, there may have been video of the incident at one time, but the administrator indicated to them that the “video coverage in the facility 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 home had offered sexual favors to a resident.
Other Iowa care facilities recently cited for abuse include:
Corning Specialty Care – This home was cited for failing to properly inform the state of the verbal abuse of a resident by a staff member in February 2025. According to inspectors, a certified nurse aide told state inspectors in May that she heard a female CNA at the home tell a male resident, “You did this to yourself, so you can get yourself up and clean yourself up.” A licensed practical nurse also reported hearing the comment and told inspectors the resident was left crying.
A third worker reported she had seen the accused CNA “on many occasions” tell the resident that he was “a grown-a– man” and that he needed to “wipe your own a–.” A fourth employee of the home corroborated that claim, adding that she had assumed other staffers had reported the aide’s conduct. A fifth worker reported that on one occasion she heard the accused aide tell the man, “I’m not going to clean your a–. If you’re going home, you need to do it yourself.”
Salem Lutheran Home, Elk Horn – This facility was cited for failing to properly investigate and report the alleged abuse of a resident. A resident of the home told inspectors in June 2025 that a few months earlier, a female CNA at the home had left her sitting on a bedpan for five hours with her call-light placed out of reach.
The woman also reported that on one occasion the worker was “acting drunk” and being disrespectful to her – throwing a pile of blankets in her lap and telling her to pick the one that she wanted. The woman told inspectors she didn’t report the incidents to management because she feared the CNA was friends with the director of nursing. According to inspectors, the home’s administration was aware of the incident involving the bedpan and acknowledged that no report of the matter had been sent to the state.
Stacyville Community Nursing Home — This facility was cited for failing to properly investigate and report the alleged abuse of a resident. In June, a resident of the home told inspectors someone at the facility had stolen his money. He allegedly told inspectors that $250 to $400 in cash was discovered to be missing from his room more than a month ago, and another $57 appeared to have been taken within the past week. Although the resident had reported the two suspected thefts to management, the facility didn’t report either incident to the state, inspectors alleged.
Chapters Living, Council Bluffs – This facility was cited for failing to properly report the alleged abuse of a resident. A resident of the home had reported that a CNA had come to her room during the night and then spilled the contents of her bedpan onto the bed. According to inspectors, the worker at first denied spilling the bedpan, rudely informed the resident she was on her call-light too much, tossed the resident’s call-light out of reach, and then left the resident in soiled bedding before later returning to change the sheets. According to the inspectors, the home’s administrator later admitted the call-light had been placed out of the resident’s reach, but said that was inadvertent.
