Greater Southside Health and Rehabilitation
Nursing Home Facility
5608 Sw Ninth Street, Des Moines, IA 50315
Greater Southside Health and Rehabilitation is a senior care community located in Des Moines, IA. It provides nursing home care and senior living for older adults in the Des Moines area. To learn more or schedule a tour, call (515) 285-3070.
Operated by The Ensign Group, which runs 419 communities in our directory.
Greater Southside Health and Rehabilitation is licensed for 80 beds, about typical for the area, where senior care communities in Des Moines average about 70 beds.
Federal reporting puts occupancy at about 86% of its licensed beds.
Medicare rates this community 1 out of 5 stars overall, a score based on health inspections, staffing levels and quality measures. Communities in Des Moines average about 2.5 stars. Its most recent standard health inspection was in June 2025 and recorded 29 deficiencies.
Residents receive about 3.4 hours of nursing care per day on average, including 0.3 hours from a registered nurse. Communities in Des Moines average about 3.9 hours. Nursing staff turnover over the past year was about 62%, which is high and can affect continuity of care.
The community is located in Polk County, IA.
Inspection record
In its last three standard inspections and any complaint visits, federal inspectors cited 63 problems at Greater Southside Health and Rehabilitation. 7 findings involved harm to a resident, including 5 that put residents in immediate danger. 48 came from investigating complaints by residents or families.
In the last three years Medicare fined this home 5 times, a total of $252,963. Medicare also stopped paying for new admissions once in that period.
Findings from the most recent inspection cycle
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Put residents in immediate danger, a pattern
Pharmacy Service
Ensure that residents are free from significant medication errors.
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Caused harm to a resident, one or a few residents
Freedom from Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation
Protect each resident from all types of abuse such as physical, mental, sexual abuse, physical punishment, and neglect by anybody.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, widespread
Nursing and Physician Services
Ensure that nurses and nurse aides have the appropriate competencies to care for every resident in a way that maximizes each resident's well being.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Freedom from Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation
Timely report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft and report the results of the investigation to proper authorities.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Resident Assessment and Care Planning
Develop the complete care plan within 7 days of the comprehensive assessment; and prepared, reviewed, and revised by a team of health professionals.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Quality of Life and Care
Ensure that a nursing home area is free from accident hazards and provides adequate supervision to prevent accidents.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Quality of Life and Care
Provide safe and appropriate respiratory care for a resident when needed.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Pharmacy Service
Ensure that residents are free from significant medication errors.
Show 21 more
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Freedom from Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation
Timely report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft and report the results of the investigation to proper authorities.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Freedom from Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation
Respond appropriately to all alleged violations.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Resident Assessment and Care Planning
Provide doctor's orders for the resident's immediate care at the time the resident was admitted.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Quality of Life and Care
Provide safe, appropriate pain management for a resident who requires such services.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, a pattern
Nursing and Physician Services
Provide enough nursing staff every day to meet the needs of every resident; and have a licensed nurse in charge on each shift.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Resident Rights
Honor the resident's right to a dignified existence, self-determination, communication, and to exercise his or her rights.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Quality of Life and Care
Provide appropriate treatment and care according to orders, resident’s preferences and goals.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Infection Control
Provide and implement an infection prevention and control program.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, a pattern
Nutrition and Dietary
Ensure menus must meet the nutritional needs of residents, be prepared in advance, be followed, be updated, be reviewed by dietician, and meet the needs of the resident.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, a pattern
Nutrition and Dietary
Procure food from sources approved or considered satisfactory and store, prepare, distribute and serve food in accordance with professional standards.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, a pattern
Infection Control
Provide and implement an infection prevention and control program.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Resident Rights
Honor the resident's right to request, refuse, and/or discontinue treatment, to participate in or refuse to participate in experimental research, and to formulate an advance directive.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Freedom from Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation
Prevent the use of unnecessary psychotropic medications or use medications that may restrain a resident's ability to function.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Resident Assessment and Care Planning
Ensure each resident receives an accurate assessment.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Resident Assessment and Care Planning
Create and put into place a plan for meeting the resident's most immediate needs within 48 hours of being admitted
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Quality of Life and Care
Provide appropriate care for a resident to maintain and/or improve range of motion (ROM), limited ROM and/or mobility, unless a decline is for a medical reason.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Quality of Life and Care
Provide enough food/fluids to maintain a resident's health.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Pharmacy Service
Ensure medication error rates are not 5 percent or greater.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Pharmacy Service
Ensure drugs and biologicals used in the facility are labeled in accordance with currently accepted professional principles; and all drugs and biologicals must be stored in locked compartments, separately locked, compartments for controlled drugs.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Nutrition and Dietary
Ensure each resident receives and the facility provides food prepared in a form designed to meet individual needs.
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Could cause more than minimal harm, one or a few residents
Resident Assessment and Care Planning
Safeguard resident-identifiable information and/or maintain medical records on each resident that are in accordance with accepted professional standards.
A citation on its own does not mean poor care, and most are corrected within weeks. What matters most is how serious the findings were and whether the same problems keep coming back. When you visit, it is fair to ask the administrator what inspectors found and what has changed since.
Greater Southside Health and Rehabilitation offers nursing home care and senior living.
Facility details
- Organization type for-profit corporation
- Beds / units 80
- Occupancy 86%
- Nursing hours per resident/day 3.4
- Annual staff turnover 62%
- Last health inspection June 2025
Resident & family reviews
No one has shared a review of Greater Southside Health and Rehabilitation yet. If you or someone you love has lived here, what you saw could help another family make this decision with more confidence.