Buchanan County Health Center
1600 First Street East, Independence, IA 50644 · 39 beds · Government - County
The records flag: 1 citation at the most serious level.
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 47% at weekends.
Staff turnover: 26%
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 12 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 |
|---|---|
| Immediate jeopardy | 1 |
| Potential for harm | 9 |
| No harm | 2 |
2 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. All findings are recorded as corrected.
Medicare has issued $4,011 in fines here over the past three years.
Disclosed affiliations
Medicare has not published ownership or affiliation information for this facility. That is a gap in the federal record, not a finding about the facility — the great majority of facilities do have entries, so it is a reasonable thing to ask about on a visit.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rehabilitation Centers of Independence West Campus | 0.2 | 3 | 0.66 | −46% |
| Oelwein Health Care Center | 14.0 | 3 | 0.43 | −54% |
| Grandview Healthcare Center | 14.1 | 4 | 0.45 | −33% |
| Laporte City Specialty Care | 20.2 | 4 | 0.91 | −50% |
| Virginia Gay Nursing & Rehab, LLC | 21.6 | 5 | 0.82 | +77% |
| Good Neighbor Home | 22.3 | 3 | 1.19 | −60% |
| The Vinton Lutheran Home | 22.7 | 2 | 1.04 | −62% |
| Northcrest Specialty Care | 22.9 | 2 | 0.83 | −56% |
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?
- Medicare's records show a citation at the most serious level. What happened, and what changed afterwards?
- Who will actually be caring for my relative at 3am on a Saturday — an agency nurse or someone on staff?