Des Moines Senior AdvisorRock Creek Senior Living, at 3602 NW 5th Street in Ankeny (Polk County), is a dementia-specific assisted living program (ALP/D) certified by the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing under certificate S0359, with a maximum occupancy of 170 units and a certificate current through October 27, 2026.
Is Rock Creek Senior Living a certified assisted living program in Ankeny, Iowa?
Yes. Rock Creek Senior Living holds a current DIAL certificate as a dementia-specific assisted living program (ALP/D), sized at 170 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 | S0359 |
| Program type | Dementia-specific assisted living program (ALP/D) |
| First certified | October 27, 2016 |
| Current two-year certificate | October 27, 2024 through October 27, 2026 |
| Maximum occupancy | 170 units |
| Voluntary national accreditation | Yes (certified on the basis of accreditation) |
| Administrator on the DIAL record | Hannah Dannewitz |
| State fines with exit dates since January 2023 | 0 |
| Months since DIAL's last survey or monitoring | 64.9 (next due July 8, 2023) |
| Phone on the DIAL record | (515) 850-1718 |
The certificate shown runs to October 27, 2026. 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 October 27, 2016, about 10 years ago, which places it 38 of 77 by age among the metro's certificates.
What does the dementia-specific certificate at Rock Creek Senior Living require?
Yes. DIAL certifies Rock Creek Senior Living 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 Rock Creek Senior Living?
We found no state fine for Rock Creek Senior Living in DIAL's Assessed Fines Report covering visits that ended from January 2023 to November 2026.
A clean fines record means no penalty-level findings in that window. Ordinary regulatory insufficiencies are fixed through a written plan of correction that the fines report never shows.
Is Rock Creek Senior Living due for a state monitoring visit?
About 65 months had passed since DIAL's most recent visit to Rock Creek Senior Living (roughly June 2021) according to the state's Survey Due Report, and the report shows the next visit due by July 8, 2023.
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. Because this program is accredited, DIAL certifies it on the strength of that accreditation and its own visits are less frequent.
Which certified programs are closest to Rock Creek Senior Living in Ankeny?
The nearest other certified program is Independence Village of Ankeny AL in Ankeny, about 1.1 miles away as the crow flies, with 88 units and a general certificate.
| Facility | Miles away | Type | Units or beds | State fines since 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independence Village of Ankeny AL 1275 SW State Street, 50023 | 1.1 | ALP | 88 | 2 |
| StoryPoint Ankeny (assisted living) 2855 SW Vintage Parkway, 50023 | 1.1 | ALP | 182 | 0 |
| StoryPoint Ankeny (memory care) 2855 SW Vintage Parkway, 50023 | 1.1 | ALP/D | 64 | 1 |
| Independence Village of Ankeny MC 1275 SW State Street, 50023 | 1.9 | ALP/D | 20 | 0 |
| Suites of Ankeny 420 NW Ash Drive, 50021 | 2.0 | ALP | 68 | 0 |
How far is Rock Creek Senior Living from a hospital?
Rock Creek Senior Living is in Ankeny, Polk County, and Broadlawns Medical Center is the closest general hospital on DIAL's roster, about 9.1 miles away by straight line.
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center is next, roughly 9.1 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 Sunny View Care Center (1.7 mi; CMS rating 2 of 5) and The Bridges at Ankeny (1.7 mi; CMS rating 2 of 5).
What should we ask Rock Creek Senior Living before signing?
Start with what the state's own record raises: ask when DIAL last visited and whether you can read the final report and the plan of correction.
- Take the occupancy agreement home and read its fee schedule, service list and transfer criteria before signing.
- Ask how the program handles a tenant who needs two-person transfers or more than 28 hours a week of nursing, the point where Iowa rules usually require a move.
- Ask how many staff are awake inside the program overnight and how the written missing-tenant procedure works.
- Ask whether the program works with Iowa Medicaid's Elderly Waiver and which managed care organizations it contracts with.
