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Nursing homeFAID #4166

Dubuque Specialty Care

2935 KAUFMANN AVENUE, DUBUQUE, IA, 52001
(563) 556-0673
84 licensed beds
★★★★★2/5CMS Five-Star overall2/5 health inspections3/5 staffing3/5 quality measuresSource: CMS Care Compare

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Public record summary

What we can show you for free.
Bed capacity
84
CMS facility ID
165228
Care type
Nursing home
County
Dubuque
Facility name
Dubuque Specialty Care
Street address
2935 KAUFMANN AVENUE
City / state / ZIP
Dubuque, IA 52001
Phone
(563) 556-0673

About this facility — Dubuque Specialty Care

Dubuque Specialty Care is a Medicare/Medicaid-certified skilled nursing facility in Dubuque, Iowa. It is licensed for 84 beds — above the median for skilled nursing facilities in Iowa (57 beds).

It is one of 21 senior care facilities in Dubuque and 389 skilled nursing facilities across Iowa. Families comparing options should weigh inspection history, ownership record, and litigation — not just the tour — before deciding.

Federal inspectors have cited Dubuque Specialty Care 38 times across 9 inspections in the last three years, including 2 food-safety citations, and CMS has imposed $53,372 in fines. Every citation is listed, dated, and graded in the inspection record below.

This listing draws on federal CMS Nursing Home Compare records, and was last updated on August 31, 2026. Background reports are compiled from primary sources — state inspection files, federal CMS data, corporate registrations, and court records — at the time of order.

Facility background

What the public record shows.

Ownership & operator

Parent company
Care Initiatives
Ownership type
Non profit - Corporation

Registered owners & officers

Care Initiatives
Direct owner — 100% stake — since 2009
Baedke, Charissa
Operational control — since 2024
Beal, Michael
Director · Officer — since 2020
Bird, Lavern
Additional disclosable party — since 2025
Bowen, Lane
Director — since 2021
Carothers, Mary Jane
Director — since 2023
Childs, Kevin
Director — since 2023
Computershare Corporate Trust Company, Na
Mortgage holder · Additional disclosable party — since 2025
Corless, Peter
Director — since 2025
Dixon, David
Officer — since 2016
Drake, Emily
Officer — since 2023
Duve, Jamie
Operational control · Additional disclosable party — since 2024
Gilyard, Tanya
Officer — since 2025
Krein, Keith
Director — since 2022
Kuhn, Jeramy
Officer — since 2008
Mcdyer, Jessica
Officer — since 2023
Rust, Elizabeth
Director — since 2023
Sturm, Denise
Director — since 2021
Upmeyer, Linda
Director — since 2022
Volm, Johanna
Officer — since 2021
Whyms, Brian
Operational control · Additional disclosable party — since 2024

Regulatory standing

Federal court records
18 naming its parent company — view the cases (a listed case is not a finding of wrongdoing)
Licensed / certified since
1994-05-01
CMS overall rating
2 of 5 stars
Health deficiencies
8 at the last standard inspection
Federal fines
$53,372 total
Last standard inspection
2025-07-30
Nurse staffing
2.9 hours per resident per day

Cost & payer profile (FY2023 cost report)

Average billed charges
$465 per day (≈ $14,140/month). Private-pay prices typically track billed charges; Medicare and Medicaid pay set rates.
Payer mix (resident days)
83% Medicaid · 5% Medicare · 12% private/other
Occupancy
74% (fiscal year 2023)
Vs. state median
36% above the IA median of $342/day — full state cost breakdown

Services & coverage

Licensed beds
84
Medicare
Accepted
Medicaid
Accepted
Compiled from CMS Nursing Home Compare; owners/officers from the CMS Ownership dataset; cost & occupancy from the facility's own CMS cost report · last verified 2026-08-31. Facilities can submit a correction.

Inspection record

Every citation, dated and graded.

Kitchen & food safety

Federal surveyors inspect the kitchen at every standard visit. This facility has 2 food-safety citations on its three-year record — flagged below among the inspections.
2025-07-30Health inspectionComplaint-triggered8 citations
F-0644
D · No harm found
Coordinate assessments with the pre-admission screening and resident review program; and referring for services as needed.
Corrected 2025-08-28
F-0657
D · No harm found
Develop the complete care plan within 7 days of the comprehensive assessment; and prepared, reviewed, and revised by a team of health professionals.
Corrected 2025-08-28
F-0725
D · No harm found
Provide enough nursing staff every day to meet the needs of every resident; and have a licensed nurse in charge on each shift.
Corrected 2025-08-28
F-0740
D · No harm foundFrom a complaint
Ensure each resident must receive and the facility must provide necessary behavioral health care and services.
Corrected 2025-08-28
F-0760
D · No harm found
Ensure that residents are free from significant medication errors.
Corrected 2025-08-28
F-0812
D · No harm foundFood safety
Procure food from sources approved or considered satisfactory and store, prepare, distribute and serve food in accordance with professional standards.
Corrected 2025-08-28
F-0865
F · No harm found
Have a plan that describes the process for conducting QAPI and QAA activities.
Corrected 2025-08-28
F-0880
D · No harm found
Provide and implement an infection prevention and control program.
Corrected 2025-08-28
2024-07-15Health inspectionComplaint-triggered14 citations
F-0550
D · No harm foundFrom a complaint
Honor the resident's right to a dignified existence, self-determination, communication, and to exercise his or her rights.
Corrected 2024-08-06
F-0580
D · No harm foundFrom a complaint
Immediately tell the resident, the resident's doctor, and a family member of situations (injury/decline/room, etc.) that affect the resident.
Corrected 2024-08-06
F-0584
D · No harm found
Honor the resident's right to a safe, clean, comfortable and homelike environment, including but not limited to receiving treatment and supports for daily living safely.
Corrected 2024-08-06
F-0623
B · No harm found
Provide timely notification to the resident, and if applicable to the resident representative and ombudsman, before transfer or discharge, including appeal rights.
Corrected 2024-08-06
F-0625
B · No harm foundFrom a complaint
Notify the resident or the resident’s representative in writing how long the nursing home will hold the resident’s bed in cases of transfer to a hospital or therapeutic leave.
Corrected 2024-08-06
F-0657
D · No harm found
Develop the complete care plan within 7 days of the comprehensive assessment; and prepared, reviewed, and revised by a team of health professionals.
Corrected 2024-08-06
F-0658
E · No harm foundFrom a complaint
Ensure services provided by the nursing facility meet professional standards of quality.
Corrected 2024-08-06
F-0684
D · No harm foundFrom a complaint
Provide appropriate treatment and care according to orders, resident’s preferences and goals.
Corrected 2024-08-06
F-0686
G · Actual harm
Provide appropriate pressure ulcer care and prevent new ulcers from developing.
Corrected 2024-08-06
F-0689
D · No harm foundFrom a complaint
Ensure that a nursing home area is free from accident hazards and provides adequate supervision to prevent accidents.
Corrected 2024-08-06
F-0725
E · No harm foundFrom a complaint
Provide enough nursing staff every day to meet the needs of every resident; and have a licensed nurse in charge on each shift.
Corrected 2024-08-06
F-0812
E · No harm foundFood safety
Procure food from sources approved or considered satisfactory and store, prepare, distribute and serve food in accordance with professional standards.
Corrected 2024-08-06
F-0880
D · No harm found
Provide and implement an infection prevention and control program.
Corrected 2024-08-06
F-0919
D · No harm foundFrom a complaint
Make sure that a working call system is available in each resident's bathroom and bathing area.
Corrected 2024-08-06
4 earlier / fire-safety inspections (16 citations)
2023-10-24Health inspectionComplaint-triggered1 citation
F-0689
G · Actual harmFrom a complaint
Ensure that a nursing home area is free from accident hazards and provides adequate supervision to prevent accidents.
Corrected 2023-12-04
2025-07-30Fire-safety inspection2 citations
K-0353
F · No harm found
Inspect, test, and maintain automatic sprinkler systems.
Corrected 2025-07-22
K-0363
F · No harm found
Install corridor and hallway doors that block smoke.
Corrected 2025-07-22
2024-07-15Fire-safety inspection6 citations
E-0039
F · No harm found
Conduct testing and exercise requirements.
Corrected 2024-07-31
E-0041
F · No harm found
Implement emergency and standby power systems.
Corrected 2024-07-30
K-0223
E · No harm found
Provide exit doors that are held open by devices that will automatically close on the activation of a fire alarm or smoke detector.
Corrected 2024-07-16
K-0321
D · No harm found
Ensure that special areas are constructed so that walls can resist fire for one hour or have an approved fire extinguishing system.
Corrected 2024-07-16
K-0353
F · No harm found
Inspect, test, and maintain automatic sprinkler systems.
Corrected 2024-08-05
K-0918
F · No harm found
Have generator or other power source capable of supplying service within 10 seconds.
Corrected 2024-08-23
2023-05-04Fire-safety inspection7 citations
K-0223
E · No harm found
Provide exit doors that are held open by devices that will automatically close on the activation of a fire alarm or smoke detector.
Corrected 2023-05-11
K-0321
E · No harm found
Ensure that special areas are constructed so that walls can resist fire for one hour or have an approved fire extinguishing system.
Corrected 2023-05-15
K-0324
F · No harm found
Provide properly protected cooking facilities.
Corrected 2023-05-11
K-0345
F · No harm found
Have approved installation, maintenance and testing program for fire alarm systems.
Corrected 2023-05-11
K-0353
F · No harm found
Inspect, test, and maintain automatic sprinkler systems.
Corrected 2023-05-17
K-0511
D · No harm found
Have properly installed electrical wiring and gas equipment.
Corrected 2023-05-11
K-0918
F · No harm found
Have generator or other power source capable of supplying service within 10 seconds.
Corrected 2023-05-15

Federal penalties

2024-07-15Fine$53,372
2024-07-15Medicare payment denial — 16 days
Citations and penalties from the CMS Provider Data Catalog (three-year survey window, refreshed monthly). Severity codes follow the federal scope/severity grid; “Immediate jeopardy” is the most serious grade CMS issues. CCN 165228.

Inside your report

What unlocks when you order.

Ownership & corporate history

Primary tier
Prior operators & transfers
Corporate network & affiliates
,
Owners' other facilities
· · 2 more

Inspection citations — last 5 years

Locked
The 38 citations above are shown free. The report takes each one and explains it in plain English — what the tag requires, how serious the scope/severity grade really is, whether it recurred across surveys — plus the five-year pattern a single inspection can't show.

Civil & criminal lawsuits

Advanced tier only
Active civil suits
#
Federal dockets
CDC infection data
Unlock the full file
Citations, owner history, lawsuits — decoded into one PDF.
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Original records

Sources we pull for this facility.
Source
CMS Nursing Home Compare
data.cms.gov Provider Data Catalog
Last verified 2026-08-31
Source
Secretary of State filings
Entity & officer search
Pulled when a report is ordered
Source
PACER federal dockets
pacer.uscourts.gov
Pulled when a report is ordered