On With Life Long-Term Skilled Care in Polk City, Iowa, offers long-term nursing services with a special focus on people who have brain injuries, neurological disorders, stroke, spinal cord injuries, tumors, aneurysms, or anoxia, and it's one of the few places in the area that really digs deep into neurorehabilitation, with both inpatient and outpatient programs. The facility has 40 certified beds and usually about 39 residents a day, which means most folks have company but the place doesn't get too crowded, and residents have private bathrooms, air conditioning, and their own rooms, with staff providing 7.5 nurse hours per resident every day, which matters for folks who need help bathing, dressing, moving, or with medication management, and those who have diabetes can get special diets as well.
Residents can spend time outside in the small park area or garden, use the fitness room, visit the beauty salon, read in the library, or join in activities like fitness programs, planned day trips, gaming, and social group events that the community and residents themselves organize, and in the dining room, staff prepare meals that can meet special dietary restrictions. Some folks need mental wellness support, which is offered through special programs, and there's a variety of therapy options including neuropsychological services and therapies for brain injury and stroke, plus there's outpatient therapy, respite care, day programming, and independent living services, and for those who can't get around easily, the facility arranges transportation for doctor visits and other community outings.
The care here is designed to help people recover physical and mental skills, with a team of clinicians who know about concussion, Parkinson's, and other complex conditions, and the skilled nursing unit provides round-the-clock supervision by trained staff with a 24-hour call system. The place is nonprofit, managed by On With Life Extended Services and On With Life Inc, with Jennifer Lewis and Jeanette Shelton in charge, and it's part of a larger organization that's been around since 1987, known for brain injury services and based out of Ankeny, Iowa.
Rooms are fully furnished and the staff handles housekeeping, plus there's Wi-Fi, cable TV, a computer center, and a restaurant-style dining area, which makes the facility comfortable enough for folks who need extended care. The Polk City location, which recently moved to 1002 W. Washington Ave., is holding an open house with tours and a ribbon cutting on July 25 so people from the community can see what goes on there.
Now, the place has had some inspection problems, with seven reported deficiencies in recent inspections, mostly related to infection control and making sure food comes from approved sources; specifically, there were issues with keeping up with infection prevention standards and nutrition rules, so that's something to ask about if you're considering care there, but the facility does have services and features that support both very frail folks and those needing rehabilitation between hospital and home. On With Life Long-Term Skilled Care also connects to telehealth services and has a strong reputation for meeting the medical, social, spiritual, recreational, and therapy needs of its residents, and you can read more about it on their website.
