Des Moines Senior AdvisorBickford Cottage West Des Moines, at 5050 Hawthorne Dr in West Des Moines (Polk County), is a dementia-specific assisted living program (ALP/D) certified by the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing under certificate S0043, with a maximum occupancy of 66 units and a certificate current through April 30, 2027.
What does Iowa's certificate record show for Bickford Cottage West Des Moines in West Des Moines?
Yes. Bickford Cottage West Des Moines holds a current DIAL certificate as a dementia-specific assisted living program (ALP/D), sized at 66 units, larger than the 58-unit midpoint of the 39 dementia-specific programs we track in the six counties.
| Field | From DIAL's records |
|---|---|
| DIAL certificate number | S0043 |
| Program type | Dementia-specific assisted living program (ALP/D) |
| First certified | April 30, 1999 |
| Current two-year certificate | April 30, 2025 through April 30, 2027 |
| Maximum occupancy | 66 units |
| Voluntary national accreditation | No; DIAL monitors it directly |
| Administrator on the DIAL record | Ayla Repp |
| State fines with exit dates since January 2023 | 0 |
| Months since DIAL's last survey or monitoring | 19.5 (next due April 1, 2027) |
| Phone on the DIAL record | (515) 327-9400 |
Iowa certifies assisted living programs for two years at a time (Iowa Code 231C.3), and this certificate period began April 30, 2025. Recertification costs a program $1,000 and an initial certificate $750, under Iowa Code 231C.18.
DIAL dates the first certification to April 30, 1999, about 28 years ago, which places it 4 of 77 by age among the metro's certificates.
Is Bickford Cottage West Des Moines a memory care program under Iowa rules?
Yes. DIAL certifies Bickford Cottage West Des Moines 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.
That certificate brings extra duties under 481 IAC chapter 69: staff awake and on duty around the clock on site, eight hours of dementia training for every employee within 30 days of hire, eight more hours a year for direct-care staff, and written procedures for a tenant who goes missing.
No fixed ratio applies, which makes the overnight headcount the number to ask for in writing.
The full rules are summarized on our dementia-specific program page.
What enforcement history does DIAL show for Bickford Cottage West Des Moines?
We found no state fine for Bickford Cottage West Des Moines in DIAL's Assessed Fines Report covering visits that ended from January 2023 to November 2026.
Fines are reserved for serious or repeated problems, so read the latest monitoring report as well; the program must make it available to the public on request.
Is Bickford Cottage West Des Moines due for a state monitoring visit?
The state's own scheduling report shows 19.5 months since Bickford Cottage West Des Moines was last surveyed, so the visit fell near March 2025, with the next due by April 1, 2027.
Iowa rules require DIAL to monitor every certified program at least once in each 24-month period (481 IAC 67.10), plus complaint and incident investigations in between. Ask the program for the final report from that visit.
If Bickford Cottage West Des Moines has no opening, where else should we look?
The nearest other certified program is Grand Living at Tower Place in West Des Moines, about 1.8 miles away as the crow flies, with 204 units and a general certificate.
| Facility | Miles away | Type | Units or beds | State fines since 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Living at Tower Place 540 S 51st Street, 50265 | 1.8 | ALP | 204 | 0 |
| Grand Living at Tower Place MC 540 S 51st Street, 50265 | 1.8 | ALP/D | 76 | 1 |
| Cedar Ridge Village 8950 Coachlight Drive, 50266 | 2.0 | ALP | 68 | 0 |
| Edgewater Assisted Living - Brookside 9225 Cascade Avenue, 50266 | 2.0 | ALP | 62 | 0 |
| Morningstar at Jordan Creek 525 S. 60th Street, 50266 | 2.0 | ALP | 93 | 0 |
What health care is near Bickford Cottage West Des Moines in West Des Moines?
Bickford Cottage West Des Moines is in West Des Moines, Polk County, and UnityPoint Health - Des Moines Methodist West Hospital is the closest general hospital on DIAL's roster, about 2.0 miles away by straight line.
Broadlawns Medical Center is next, roughly 7.8 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 Harmony West Des Moines (1.4 mi; CMS rating 1 of 5) and Arbor Springs of West Des Moines LLC (2.7 mi; CMS rating 1 of 5).
What should we ask Bickford Cottage West Des Moines before signing?
Start with what the state's own record raises: 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.
- Take the occupancy agreement home and read its fee schedule, service list and transfer criteria before signing.
- Ask the program to show you, in writing, its own admission and retention criteria on top of the state's.
- Ask how many staff are awake inside the program overnight and how the written missing-tenant procedure works.
- Ask whether Bickford Cottage West Des Moines accepts Elderly Waiver members if savings run out, and what part of the monthly bill the waiver would not cover.
