A northeast Iowa nursing home has been added to a federal list tracking the country’s worst care facilities. Northgate Care Center in Waukon was added to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ list of candidates for special focus status. That designation is reserved for homes with a history of serious problems in resident care, according to Iowa Capital Dispatch. State inspectors blamed the addition to the list on repeated staffing and medication-related failures.
No more than two nursing homes per state carry a formal special focus designation at any one time (much like a probation). A longer candidate list, usually about 10 per state, names the homes eligible for it. Northgate joined Iowa’s 10 candidates on May 27, 2026. That was the same day a Mount Pleasant facility graduated from the designated list after 26 months.
More than half of people who reach 65 will need some form of long-term care at some point, according to federal estimates. For many older homeowners, their house is their biggest and most expensive asset. Needing to enter long-term care often forces them to choose whether to sell it or borrow against it to cover the costs…