54/100
Below average
Northgate Care Center
960 4Th Street Nw, Waukon, IA 52172
- Certified beds
- 50
- Occupancy
- 82%
- Ownership
- For-profit
- Accepts
- Medicare + Medicaid
What to ask about before you visit
These are findings in the public CMS record for this home. They are not our opinion, each one comes straight from a federal inspection or enforcement file.
Special Focus Facility
CMS has placed this home in its Special Focus Facility program for a persistent pattern of poor care. These homes get inspected twice as often.
$87,160 in federal fines
CMS has fined this facility across 1 penalty action(s).
Our read on Northgate Care Center
Northgate Care Center in Waukon carries 20 deficiencies on its current record, and two of those are serious enough to involve actual harm or jeopardy to residents. One is abuse-related, and CMS has placed the home in its Special Focus Facility program, which is reserved for the homes with the most persistent problems. A single fine of $71,110 is on record, and the last inspection was March 4, 2026. Nurse staffing sits at 2.97 hours per resident day, roughly 23% below the national average, and weekends run about 12% thinner than weekdays. Turnover of 34.3% is better than the national 45.8%, so that's not the issue here.
Written from the CMS figures for this home shown further down this page. Nothing here is paid for or supplied by the home.
How this grade was calculated
Every point is shown. Nothing is weighted behind the scenes, the full formula is on How we grade.
A full pentagon is full marks. The shape shows what kind of good or bad a home is, two homes can share a score and look nothing alike.
Inspection safety
30/30Citations from state health inspections over the last three surveys, weighted by how much harm CMS says they caused.
- →No citations recorded in the last 3 years
Staffing
13/30Nursing hours per resident per day, adjusted for how sick the residents are, plus RN cover and weekend consistency.
- →3.58 total nurse hours per resident per day (national median 3.77)
- →0.4 RN hours per resident per day
- →Weekend staffing drops 12% against weekdays
Staff stability
15/15How much of the nursing team leaves in a year. High turnover means a resident rarely sees the same face twice.
- →34% of nursing staff left in the last year
Resident outcomes
9/15The CMS quality-measure rating, built from resident outcomes like falls, pressure ulcers, infections and antipsychotic use.
- →3 of 5 stars on the CMS quality-measure rating
Enforcement history
2/10Fines and payment denials CMS has imposed. A denial of payment means CMS stopped paying for new admissions.
- →$87,160 in federal fines across 1 action(s)
Grade ceiling applied
- Capped at 54 (grade D), CMS Special Focus Facility
Staffing, against the national average
Full detailHours of nursing care each resident receives per day. The marker on each bar is the national average.
RNs are the licence level most likely to catch a resident deteriorating.
The shift most families visit, and the one thinned first.
The share of nursing staff who left over the last year.
Recent inspection findings
Last standard health inspection: March 4, 2026 (8 months ago). No citations were recorded.
No health-inspection citations on record for this facility in the current CMS release.
Who owns this home
Full recordPart of LEGACY HEALTHCARE, which operates 95 homes. Staffing budgets are usually set at chain level, not in the building.
What families say
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Common questions about Northgate Care Center
What is the ElderGrade for Northgate Care Center? +
Northgate Care Center holds an ElderGrade of D (54 out of 100), which we describe as "below average". The grade combines its inspection citations, nurse staffing levels, staff turnover, resident outcomes and enforcement history from the federal CMS record.
How many nursing hours does each resident get at Northgate Care Center? +
Residents receive an average of 2.97 nursing hours per day across all nursing staff, against a national average of 3.86 hours.
Has Northgate Care Center been cited for harming residents? +
No. None of the 0 citations on record were scored at the levels CMS uses to indicate actual harm or immediate jeopardy.
Does Northgate Care Center accept Medicaid? +
Yes, Northgate Care Center is certified to accept Medicaid, which is the programme that pays for long-term custodial care once a resident meets their state's income and asset limits.
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