Iowa Code Title IV. Public Health [Chs. 123-158] § 135C.3. Nature of care

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.