B
Lakeside Lutheran Home
72/100 score
0.76 hrs RN staffing
2 deficiencies
Palo Alto County Hospital
3201 First Street, Emmetsburg, IA 50536
- Provider number (CCN)
- 16E668
- Certification
- Medicaid
- Ownership
- Government - County
- Certified beds
- 22
- Phone
- (712) 852-5520
- CMS data as of
- August 1, 2026
A
●
stable
Staffing 0% · Deficiencies 0% over tracking period
What the records show
CMS rates Palo Alto County Hospital 4 out of 5 stars overall, with 4 of 5 for health inspections, 4 of 5 for staffing, 4 of 5 for quality measures. Federal inspectors cited 1 health deficiency across the last three survey cycles, most recently surveyed in 2025. CMS lists no fines or payment denials for this facility in the covered period.
Reviews, Ratings and Official Records
This page reviews Palo Alto County Hospital using federal government records — CMS star ratings, health-inspection findings, staffing data and enforcement actions. NursingHomeGrade does not collect, host or publish resident or family testimonials, and no star rating below is a consumer review score.
At or above the 2024 benchmark — review the inspection and enforcement records below for the safety history behind the grade.
Ratings and Grade Breakdown
|
RN Staffing
Registered nurse time each resident receives daily. 2024 federal benchmark: 0.55 hrs. Repealed February 2026.
|
1.36 — At or above the repealed 0.55 hr benchmark |
The 0.55 hour RN standard was repealed effective February 2, 2026 and is not currently enforced. We still grade against it. Why |
|
|
Health Deficiencies (last 3 survey cycles)
Violations found during federal inspections, with how many remain open and how many involved actual harm.
|
Total
1
Outstanding
0
Actual harm or worse (G–L)
0
|
|
CMS Ratings
Federal five-star ratings published by CMS. These are regulatory ratings, not consumer review scores.
|
Overall: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Health inspection: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Quality: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Staffing: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
|
|
NursingHomeGrade Score
|
90/100 |
Loaded into NursingHomeGrade on September 5, 2026. This is the load date, not the date CMS published the underlying survey data — see release dates.
CMS scores each facility from one to five stars — one is in the bottom fifth of facilities in its state on health inspections, five is in the top tenth. Our own A–F grade is a separate 0–100 score built from staffing hours, inspection citations, and the severity and correction status of those citations, weighted as described in our grading methodology.
Staffing Compared With State and National Levels
| This facility | 1.36 hrs |
|---|---|
| IA median | 0.69 hrs |
| National average | 0.69 hrs |
Registered nurse turnover: 14.3% · Total nursing staff turnover: 17.6%
Staffing figures are the values CMS published in its file processed August 1, 2026, drawn from payroll-based journal reporting.
Audit and Inspection Reports
Palo Alto County Hospital is a Government - County facility. The records on this page are the federal health-inspection and enforcement records CMS publishes. We do not hold, and have not reviewed, any separate financial or performance audit issued by a county, state or independent auditor — if one exists for this facility, it is not part of the data described below.
- Most recent standard health survey: July 17, 2025.
- Citations shown below span 1 recorded inspection cycle.
Source records: CMS Care Compare profile for provider 16E668 ↗ · the federal files we load and when.
Inspection Deficiencies
Health inspections identify violations of federal standards. Severity ranges from no actual harm (A–F) to immediate jeopardy (J–L).
1 deficiency found. 1 corrected. None involved actual harm.
Most recent inspection (July 17, 2025)
F
Potential harm — widespread
F0851
Status: Corrected
Electronically submit to CMS complete and accurate direct care staffing information, based on payroll and other verifiable and auditable data.
Administration Deficiencies — Deficient, Provider has date of correction, corrected August 7, 2025
Fines and Enforcement Actions
CMS lists no fines and no payment denials for Palo Alto County Hospital in the enforcement records covering the last three years, as published in the file processed August 1, 2026.
Ownership and Contact Information
- Facility name
- Palo Alto County Hospital
- Legal business name
- Legal Business Name Not Available
- Address
- 3201 First Street, Emmetsburg, IA 50536
- Phone
- (712) 852-5520
- Provider number (CCN)
- 16E668
- Ownership type
- Government - County
- Medicare/Medicaid certified since
- February 5, 1986
- Official record
- CMS Care Compare profile ↗
- Details verified against CMS data dated
- August 1, 2026
The federal nursing-home files publish no email address for certified facilities, so none is listed here. We do not guess or construct contact addresses. Contact details above are reproduced from CMS Provider Information; call the facility to confirm before relying on them.
How We Stay Independent
NursingHomeGrade is strictly independent. We do not accept payments from facilities. Our grades are calculated solely from federal CMS datasets.
Learn about our data methodology →Nearby facilities in Emmetsburg
Compare local nursing homes using the same CMS-backed grading method.
D
Emmetsburg Care Center
44/100 score
0.65 hrs RN staffing
16 deficiencies
B
Ruthven Community Care Center
73/100 score
0.47 hrs RN staffing
2 deficiencies
B
West Bend Health and Rehabilitation
73/100 score
0.59 hrs RN staffing
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C
Estherville Community Care Center
63/100 score
0.91 hrs RN staffing
8 deficiencies
Sources and Methodology
- CMS Provider Information (file processed August 1, 2026) — ratings, staffing, ownership, certification and contact details. Dataset 4pq5-n9py ↗
- CMS Health Deficiencies — inspection citations, scope and severity, correction status. Dataset r5ix-sfxw ↗
- CMS Ownership — owning and managing organisations. Dataset y2hd-n93e ↗
The NursingHomeGrade score is our own calculation from these federal files — it is not a CMS rating and not a consumer review score. See exactly how the score is calculated · full methodology · source files and load dates.
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