Azria Health Park Place: Mice in Resident Rooms - IA
The housekeeping supervisor told federal inspectors she personally saw mice in at least two resident rooms, finding the rodents inside dressers where people stored their belongings. Staff had asked residents to put their snacks in plastic containers because of the infestation.
Meanwhile, the Regional Director of Operations told inspectors on September 11 that she "had never seen a mouse at the facility" and claimed she only learned about rodent activity two weeks earlier. She blamed staff for not reporting problems to her.
But the housekeeping supervisor painted a different picture. She had been documenting mice droppings on laundry and seeing rodents throughout the building for months. The supervisor said she knew there had been mice in resident rooms "a few months ago" and confirmed seeing them personally while cleaning.
The disconnect between front-line staff and management extended beyond pest control.
Resident 19 complained that housekeeping cleaned her room only once a week, far less frequently than other facilities where she had lived. She also reported the facility ran short on adult diapers toward the end of each week, forcing residents to go without adequate supplies.
"She thought it all came down to the money and why the facility did not have adequate supplies," inspectors wrote.
The building itself was deteriorating around residents and staff. The housekeeping supervisor's office had a broken, leaking ceiling that had been dripping for over a year. She started reporting the leak before the facility's last federal inspection in November 2024, but the problem had only gotten worse.
Corporate officials had visited to view the ceiling damage, the supervisor said. "They say it's terrible but nothing gets done."
The laundry room suffered the same neglect. Water leaked directly down to a drain, creating water stains on walls that the Regional Director of Operations couldn't say how long had been there. She admitted she "doesn't spend time in the basement" where much of the deterioration was occurring.
The facility's problems created a cascade of health and safety risks. Flies swarmed through the building because staff left exterior doors open for residents who wanted to smoke outside. The Regional Director acknowledged that an exit door near the kitchen likely contributed to mice entering the building.
Yet no one was tracking the sanitation issues. The Regional Director told inspectors she was unaware that kitchen sanitation documentation hadn't been completed until the survey team requested it during their inspection.
The facility had dealt with rodent problems before. The Regional Director said there had been mice activity in March 2025, and again in January or February 2025. Each time, she claimed, the facility contacted pest control. But the problems kept returning.
Staff on the ground level saw the pattern differently. The housekeeping supervisor told inspectors that mice issues had been "ongoing for at least two weeks" as of early September, suggesting a persistent problem rather than isolated incidents.
The Acting Administrator, who had only recently been informed of the current rodent activity, seemed as disconnected as other corporate leadership. She was aware of the March 2025 rodent problems but claimed she "had not heard about it since."
This communication breakdown extended to other operational failures. The Regional Director acknowledged that previous facility leadership had not followed through with a quality improvement plan created after the facility's last standard survey.
The inspection revealed a facility where basic maintenance, pest control, and supply management had broken down while corporate executives remained largely unaware of conditions affecting daily life for residents. Mice roamed freely through the building, ceiling leaks went unrepaired for over a year, and residents faced shortages of essential supplies.
The housekeeping supervisor, working in a basement office with a collapsing ceiling and water-stained walls, continued documenting problems that corporate leadership claimed never to have seen.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Azria Health Park Place from 2025-09-11 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Additional Resources
Data source: Official federal inspection data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Editorial process: AI-synthesized regulatory data, reviewed for accuracy by our editorial team.
Professional review: All content reviewed by Christopher F. Nesbitt, Sr., NH EMT & BU-trained Paralegal.
Last verified: June 22, 2026 · Our methodology
Azria Health Park Place in Des Moines, IA was cited for violations during a health inspection on September 11, 2025.
Staff had asked residents to put their snacks in plastic containers because of the infestation.
Health inspections identify deficiencies that facilities must correct. Violations range from minor documentation issues to serious safety concerns. Review the full report below for specific details and facility response.