Salem Lutheran Home
2027 College Avenue, Elk Horn, IA 51531 · 64 beds · For profit - Corporation
The records flag: 3 citations where a resident was harmed.
These are drawn straight from Medicare's records. We report what the record says — we don't rate facilities or judge the care given in them.
Who's actually on the floor
Staffing is the thing most closely tied to day-to-day quality of care, and it's the number families most often never see. This is registered nurses only — a smaller figure than the all-staff total above, because it counts the most highly qualified staff on their own — per resident, per day, comparing an average weekday against an average weekend.
Registered nurses only — hours per resident per day. Longer is better.
Registered nurse coverage drops about 61% at weekends.
Staff turnover: 63%
High turnover matters because continuity does — a nurse who knows your mother notices when something is different about her. Someone on their second shift doesn't have that baseline.
What inspectors found
State inspectors visit at least once a year and after complaints. Over the last three years this facility received 46 citations. Raw counts mislead, though — a paperwork slip and a resident being harmed both count as one. Here they are by how serious inspectors judged them.
| Severity | Citations |
|---|---|
| Actual harm | 3 |
| Potential for harm | 43 |
| No harm | 0 |
16 of these came from someone filing a complaint rather than a routine visit — worth weighing differently, because it means a person picked up the phone. 8 citations are not yet recorded as corrected.
Disclosed affiliations
Medicare requires every facility to disclose the people and companies connected to it. Most names below are not owners — they are officers, directors, managers, trustees, and what Medicare calls “additional disclosable parties.” The role beside each name is the one Medicare recorded. This is worth reading because operators tend to run their facilities alike: where the same group stands behind a dozen homes, the record across all twelve tells you more than any single inspection does.
| Name | Role recorded by Medicare | Since |
|---|---|---|
| American Lutheran Church | Direct owner (5% or more), Operational or managerial control, Additional disclosable party | 02/14/2003 |
| Norby, Nicklos | Operational or managerial control | 02/14/2020 |
| Shell, Stephen | Operational or managerial control, Additional disclosable party | 08/01/2025 |
| The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society | Operational or managerial control | 11/20/2007 |
| Blakestad, Alan | Corporate officer | 03/01/2020 |
| Gude, Paul | Corporate officer | 03/01/2021 |
| Nielsen, Phil | Corporate officer | 03/06/2016 |
| Schechinger, Tami | Corporate officer | 03/01/2021 |
Other options nearby
Most families are choosing between whatever is close enough to visit often — and visiting often is itself one of the better protections a resident has. These are the closest 8 facilities.
| Facility | Miles | Rating | Nurse hrs | Weekend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exira Care Center | 9.4 | 2 | 0.80 | −33% |
| Friendship Home Association | 10.8 | 4 | 0.74 | −46% |
| Heritage House | 13.8 | 5 | 0.83 | −50% |
| Elm Crest Retirement Community | 14.3 | 3 | 0.78 | −38% |
| Atlantic Specialty Care | 14.3 | 3 | 0.61 | −18% |
| Avoca Specialty Care | 18.0 | 1 | 1.25 | −38% |
| Caring Acres Nursing and Rehab Center | 18.6 | 1 | 1.67 | −30% |
| Oakland Manor | 25.7 | 1 | 1.05 | −37% |
Worth asking on a visit
Records only tell you so much. These are the questions this facility's particular numbers suggest you ask — go on a weekend if you possibly can.
- Can I visit on a Sunday rather than a weekday? How many registered nurses are on duty then, and for how many residents?
- Turnover here is about 63%. How long has the director of nursing been in post?
- 8 findings are not confirmed as corrected yet. Where do those stand?
- Who will actually be caring for my relative at 3am on a Saturday — an agency nurse or someone on staff?