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Nursing homeFAID #4495

Palo Alto County Hospital

3201 FIRST STREET, EMMETSBURG, IA, 50536
(712) 852-5520
22 licensed beds
★★★★★4/5CMS Five-Star overall4/5 health inspections4/5 staffing4/5 quality measuresSource: CMS Care Compare

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Public record summary

What we can show you for free.
Bed capacity
22
CMS facility ID
16E668
Care type
Nursing home
County
Palo Alto
Facility name
Palo Alto County Hospital
Street address
3201 FIRST STREET
City / state / ZIP
Emmetsburg, IA 50536
Phone
(712) 852-5520

About this facility — Palo Alto County Hospital

Palo Alto County Hospital is a Medicare/Medicaid-certified skilled nursing facility in Emmetsburg, Iowa. It is licensed for 22 beds — well below the median for skilled nursing facilities in Iowa (57 beds).

It is one of 10 senior care facilities in Emmetsburg 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 Palo Alto County Hospital 7 times across 6 inspections in the last three years; no federal fines are on record. 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

Ownership type
Government - County

Regulatory standing

Licensed / certified since
1986-02-05
CMS overall rating
4 of 5 stars
Health deficiencies
1 at the last standard inspection
Federal fines
None on record
Last standard inspection
2025-07-17
Nurse staffing
3.1 hours per resident per day

Services & coverage

Licensed beds
22
Medicare
Accepted
Medicaid
Accepted
Compiled from CMS Nursing Home Compare · last verified 2026-08-31. Facilities can submit a correction.

Inspection record

Every citation, dated and graded.

Kitchen & food safety

CleanNo food-safety or dietary citations in the last three years of federal inspections.
2025-07-17Health inspection1 citation
F-0851
F · No harm found
Electronically submit to CMS complete and accurate direct care staffing information, based on payroll and other verifiable and auditable data.
Corrected 2025-08-07
3 earlier / fire-safety inspections (6 citations)
2025-07-17Fire-safety inspection2 citations
K-0712
F · No harm found
Have simulated fire drills held at unexpected times.
Corrected 2025-07-22
K-0918
F · No harm found
Have generator or other power source capable of supplying service within 10 seconds.
Corrected 2025-07-22
2024-08-29Fire-safety inspection2 citations
K-0222
F · No harm found
Add doors in an exit area that do not require the use of a key from the exit side unless in case of special locking arrangements.
Corrected 2024-10-05
K-0712
F · No harm found
Have simulated fire drills held at unexpected times.
Corrected 2024-09-12
2023-12-07Fire-safety inspection2 citations
K-0354
F · No harm found
Follow proper procedures when the automatic sprinkler systems was out of service for more than 10 hours.
Corrected 2023-12-19
K-0918
F · No harm found
Have generator or other power source capable of supplying service within 10 seconds.
Corrected 2024-01-08
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 16E668.

Inside your report

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Ownership & corporate history

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

Inspection citations — last 5 years

Locked
The 7 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
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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