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Dubuque Specialty Care

⌖ Dubuque, IA · Dubuque County
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Medicare overall rating 2 of 5 stars
Certified beds84
Medicare / MedicaidMedicare & Medicaid
OwnershipNon-profit (corporation)

About Dubuque Specialty Care

Dubuque Specialty Care is a 84-bed nonprofit nursing home in Dubuque, IA. Medicare rates it 2 out of 5 stars overall (below average); the average in Iowa is 3.1. At its last full inspection (Jul 2025), inspectors found 8 problems, close to the Iowa average of 6.5. None of the problems in its recent inspections were found to have harmed residents. Nurses and aides spend about 2 hr 54 min a day with each resident, less than the Iowa average of 3 hr 49 min. About 57% of its nursing staff left in the past year. Medicare fined it $53,372 in the last three years. Its quality ratings are stronger for short-term rehab than for long-term care.

Written from Medicare’s published figures; nothing here is paid for or written by the home. Our methodology

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Key details

Facility nameDubuque Specialty Care
LocationDubuque County, Iowa
Address2935 Kaufmann Avenue, Dubuque, IA 52001 · Dubuque County
CMS provider number165228
Ownership typeNon-profit (corporation)
Operating companyCare Initiatives · 43 homes
Official inspection reportsRead them on Medicare.gov ↗
Medicare enrolled sinceMay 1, 1994 (32 years)
✓ Medicare✓ Medicaid

Certified for Medicaid; ask whether a Medicaid bed is available.

Quality & inspections

Explore this facility's official CMS inspection history, staffing levels and quality measures below — sourced directly from Medicare's public records.

Overall rating2 of 5Below average
Health inspections2 of 5Below average
Quality measures3 of 5Average
Staffing3 of 5Average

Ratings and inspection data on this page come directly from CMS's public records and are never altered for any paid listing. Medicare data as of September 2026.

What Medicare found

1 strength and 4 things to ask about in Medicare's inspection, fine and staffing records for this home. 2 care-quality measures are worse than the state average in the rehab and long-term care section below.

Strengths

  • Serious health citationsNone on recordNo citations for actual harm or immediate jeopardy since Jul 2025.
    Strength

About average

  • Health citations at last inspection8 (Jul 2025)Iowa average: 6.5. Most citations are minor and corrected within weeks.
    About average

Things to ask about

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  • Fines and penalties1 fine totaling $53,372; 1 Medicare payment denialFederal penalties from the last three years, most recently in Jul 2024 (about 2 years ago). The national average is $30,972 per home.
    Ask about this
  • Nurse staffing per resident2 hr 54 min a dayIowa average: 3 hr 49 min
    Worse than state average
  • Registered nurse time per resident34 min a dayIowa average: 45 min
    Worse than state average
  • Nursing staff turnover57% a yearIowa average: 44%
    Worse than state average

Source: Medicare (CMS) inspection, penalty and staffing records, compared with the Iowa average. Problems may have been corrected since; ask the home about anything listed here. How we choose these

Short-term rehab or long-term care?

Medicare rates these separately, and many homes are better at one than the other.

Short-term rehab

For a stay of a few weeks after a hospital visit, such as after surgery or a stroke.

Medicare quality rating: 4 of 5 (above average)

  • Newly given antipsychotic drugs0.0%State average: 2.1%
    Better than average

Physical therapist time: about 5 minutes per resident a day. That is more than the state average of 2 minutes. If rehab is the goal, ask how many therapy sessions a week to expect.

Long-term care

For residents who live at the home for months or years.

Medicare quality rating: 2 of 5 (below average)

  • Falls with a major injury5.2%State average: 3.8%
    Worse than average
  • Pressure sores (bedsores)3.0%State average: 4.2%
    Better than average
  • Given antipsychotic drugs27.7%State average: 19.5%
    Worse than average

Source: Medicare (CMS) quality measures, compared with the Iowa average. Lower is better for every rate shown.

Who pays, and how full it is

Most residents here have their care paid by Medicaid. In Iowa, Medicaid pays for 50% of resident days at a typical home.

  • 86% Medicaid
  • 2% Medicare
  • 11% Private pay, insurance and other
Beds in use, on average70%Iowa typical: 79%
Cost of care per resident day$270Iowa typical: $311

Shares of resident days, from the home’s Medicare cost report for the year ending December 2024. The cost per day is what care costs the home to provide, not the price you would pay; ask the home for its private-pay rate. A busy home may have fewer open beds, so ask about availability.

Ratings over time

Its overall Medicare rating is 2 stars now, down from 5 stars in January 2019. It has ranged from 1 to 5 stars and changed 15 times.

Overall rating2★
Health inspections2★
Staffing3★
Quality of care3★
Nurse hours per resident per day2.9
20192020202120222023202420252026
Show the values by year
MonthOverallInspectionsStaffingQualityNurse hours
Jan 201955233.0
Jan 202034313.1
Jan 202123313.1
Jan 202233223.0
Jan 202333242.9
Jan 202411133.0
Feb 202522343.5
Feb 202622343.2
Sep 202622332.9

Source: Medicare (CMS) monthly Care Compare releases since 2019. Medicare has changed how some ratings are calculated over the years and paused most inspections in 2020, so some jumps reflect rule changes rather than changes at the home. Our methodology

See the full inspection reportEvery citation, fine, staffing figure and quality measure Medicare publishes for this home

From Medicare’s September 2026 data. Each inspection is dated below; staffing comes from payroll records for a recent quarter, and resident outcomes cover the latest period Medicare reports.

Inspection summary

How this facility compares to state and national averages on CMS-reported problems.

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Three-survey history

Citation counts across this facility's three most recent inspection cycles, so you can see whether problems are trending up, down, or holding steady.

Other nursing homes near Dubuque

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Explore the area

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Family reviews

No family reviews of this home yet. Reviews are separate from Medicare’s ratings and are checked before they’re published.