Iowa Code » Chapter 135C — HEALTH CARE FACILITIES
Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 135C.3 (2026)

Nature of care

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section IA-LEGlegis.iowa.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

1. A licensed nursing facility shall provide an organized twenty-four-hour program of services commensurate with the needs of its residents and under the immediate direction of a licensed nurse. Medical and nursing services must be provided under the direction of either a house physician or an individually selected physician. Surgery or obstetrical care shall not be provided within the facility. An admission to the nursing facility must be based on a physician’s written order certifying that the individual being admitted requires no greater degree of nursing care than the facility to which the admission is made is licensed to provide and is capable of providing. The nursing facility is not required to admit an individual through court order, referral, or other means without the express prior approval of the administrator of the nursing facility.

2. A licensed intermediate care facility for persons with mental illness shall provide an organized twenty-four-hour program of services commensurate with the needs of its residents and under the immediate direction of a licensed registered nurse, who has had at least two years of recent experience in a chronic or acute psychiatric setting. Medical and nursing services must be provided under the direction of either a house physician or an individually selected physician. Surgery or obstetrical care shall not be provided within the facility. An admission to the intermediate care facility for persons with mental illness must be based on a physician’s written order certifying that the individual being admitted requires no greater degree of nursing care than the facility to which the admission is made is licensed to provide and is capable of providing. [C58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §135C.3] 90 Acts, ch 1039, §7; 96 Acts, ch 1129, §113; 2012 Acts, ch 1079, §3; 2022 Acts, ch 1032, §36 Referred to in §135C.2 \n

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2003–2022 · leading case: Mosher v. Dep't of Inspections & Appeals, Health Facilities Div., 671 N.W.2d 501 (Iowa 2003).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Mosher v. Dep't of Inspections & Appeals, Health Facilities Div., 671 N.W.2d 501 (Iowa 2003). · cites it 7× “§ 135C.3(1) (emphasis added); accord Iowa Admin.”
State of Iowa v. Pamela Mildred Middlekauff (Iowa 2022). · cites it 2× “For instance, Iowa Code section 135C.3(2) states, An admission to the intermediate care facility for persons with mental illness must be based on a physician’s written order certifying that the individual being admitted requires no greater degree of nursing care than the…”
Iowa Code § 135C.3(1): 1 case
Mosher v. Dep't of Inspections & Appeals, Health Facilities Div., 671 N.W.2d 501 (Iowa 2003). “§ 135C.3(1) (emphasis added); accord Iowa Admin.”
Iowa Code § 135C.3(2): 1 case
State of Iowa v. Pamela Mildred Middlekauff (Iowa 2022). “For instance, Iowa Code section 135C.3(2) states, An admission to the intermediate care facility for persons with mental illness must be based on a physician’s written order certifying that the individual being admitted requires no greater degree of nursing care than the…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.