Des Moines Senior AdvisorBickford Cottage Urbandale, at 5915 Sutton Place in Urbandale (Polk County), is a dementia-specific assisted living program (ALP/D) certified by the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing under certificate S0042, with a maximum occupancy of 73 units and a certificate current through September 29, 2028.
Is Bickford Cottage Urbandale a certified assisted living program in Urbandale, Iowa?
DIAL's Entity Report lists Bickford Cottage Urbandale under certificate S0042 with 73 units and an expiration date of September 29, 2028, larger than the metro midpoint of 58 for ALP/D certificates.
| Field | From DIAL's records |
|---|---|
| DIAL certificate number | S0042 |
| Program type | Dementia-specific assisted living program (ALP/D) |
| First certified | September 30, 1999 |
| Current two-year certificate | September 30, 2026 through September 29, 2028 |
| Maximum occupancy | 73 units |
| Voluntary national accreditation | No; DIAL monitors it directly |
| Administrator on the DIAL record | Alex Millonig |
| State fines with exit dates since January 2023 | 1 |
| Months since DIAL's last survey or monitoring | 19.9 (next due March 19, 2027) |
| Phone on the DIAL record | (515) 331-3000 |
The certificate shown runs to September 29, 2028. Iowa issues ALP certificates for two-year terms and expects the operator to apply for recertification, with its fee, at least 30 days before the old one lapses.
DIAL dates the first certification to September 30, 1999, about 27 years ago, which places it 7 of 77 by age among the metro's certificates.
Is Bickford Cottage Urbandale a memory care program under Iowa rules?
Yes. DIAL certifies Bickford Cottage Urbandale as a dementia-specific assisted living program, Iowa's official category for programs that serve tenants with moderate to severe dementia (Global Deterioration Scale stages 4 to 7) or hold themselves out as providing specialized dementia care.
Dementia-specific programs must keep someone awake and on duty 24 hours a day in the proximate area, train all personnel for at least eight hours in dementia care within their first 30 days, and repeat eight hours of training every year for anyone with direct tenant contact.
The rules require enough trained staff to meet tenants' needs rather than a set ratio; ask to see two recent weeks of night-shift schedules.
The full rules are summarized on our dementia-specific program page.
What enforcement history does DIAL show for Bickford Cottage Urbandale?
Yes. DIAL's Assessed Fines Report lists 1 state fine for Bickford Cottage Urbandale from visits ending between January 2023 to November 2026, totaling $1,300 after adjustments; the most recent followed a visit that ended February 19, 2024.
- February 19, 2024 (visit exit date), enforcement no. 10383: $2,000 issued; $1,300 after adjustment
A fine follows a regulatory insufficiency serious enough to put tenants at risk or one that went uncorrected. The fines report gives amounts, not reasons, so ask to read the final report and the plan of correction for each visit listed.
Is Bickford Cottage Urbandale due for a state monitoring visit?
About 20 months had passed since DIAL's most recent visit to Bickford Cottage Urbandale (roughly March 2025) according to the state's Survey Due Report, and the report shows the next visit due by March 19, 2027.
Under 481 IAC 67.10 the cycle is at least one monitoring visit per 24 months; individual survey reports can also be looked up in DIAL's Health Facilities database.
Which certified programs are closest to Bickford Cottage Urbandale in Urbandale?
The nearest other certified program is StoryPoint Johnston in Johnston, about 1.4 miles away as the crow flies, with 128 units and a dementia-specific certificate.
| Facility | Miles away | Type | Units or beds | State fines since 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| StoryPoint Johnston 6750 Corporate Drive, 50131 | 1.4 | ALP/D | 128 | 0 |
| Martina Place 5815 Winwood Dr, 50131 | 1.4 | ALP | 120 | 0 |
| Senior Suites of Urbandale 4700 84th St, 50322 | 1.6 | ALP | 100 | 0 |
| Calvin Community AL 4210 Hickman Road, 50310 | 2.1 | ALP | 162 | 0 |
| StoryPoint Beaverdale 3410 Beaverdale Avenue, 50310 | 2.1 | ALP/D | 160 | 0 |
Where is Bickford Cottage Urbandale, and how close are the hospitals?
Bickford Cottage Urbandale is in Urbandale, Polk County, and Broadlawns Medical Center is the closest general hospital on DIAL's roster, about 4.7 miles away by straight line.
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center is next, roughly 4.7 miles away. Distances are straight-line measurements between mapped points, not driving times.
If nursing care becomes necessary, the two nearest CMS-certified nursing facilities are ChildServe Habilitation Center (0.9 mi; CMS rating 5 of 5) and Bishop Drumm Retirement Center (1.4 mi; CMS rating 1 of 5).
What does Bickford Cottage Urbandale's record suggest asking on a tour?
Let DIAL's data shape the visit: ask what DIAL found on the visit that ended February 19, 2024 and what changed afterward.
- Ask to read the latest DIAL monitoring report, the fire safety report and the plan of correction; Iowa rules require the program to share them on request.
- Ask which services cost extra as needs rise, and confirm the agreement promises 30 days' written notice of any change.
- Ask which conditions would trigger a transfer, beyond Iowa's list, since programs may add criteria if they disclose them in the agreement.
- Ask how many staff are awake inside the program overnight and how the written missing-tenant procedure works.
- Ask whether Bickford Cottage Urbandale accepts Elderly Waiver members if savings run out, and what part of the monthly bill the waiver would not cover.
