Iowa nurses cited for patient-care issues or working without a valid license

State regulators have sanctioned Iowa two nurses for working more than a year without valid licenses and two nurses for patient-care issues.

The Iowa Board of Nursing alleges that Baxter McNeal, 56, of Anita, while employed as a registered nurse at the Caring Acres Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Anita, failed to provide proper assessments and interventions with regard to two residents of the home after they experienced a change in condition.

The board has disclosed no information as to when the alleged conduct occurred or the impact on the patients.

After charging McNeal with one count of failing to assess, accurately document, evaluate, or report the status of a patient, the board agreed to resolve the case with a settlement that calls for McNeal’s license to be placed on probationary status for one year. As part of the settlement, McNeal has agreed to complete 30 hours of educational training on ethics and standards of care.

Board records indicate that McNeal was convicted of drunken driving in 2003 and 2006, which led to him receiving a probationary nursing license from Nebraska regulators. In 2007, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services initiated steps to revoke McNeal’s nursing license due to allegations that he had tested positive for alcohol. The board and McNeal later settled the matter by censuring McNeal and imposing a $500 civil penalty.

According to board records, McNeal was again convicted of drunken driving in 2010, which resulted in his Nebraska nursing license being placed on probation for five years.

In June 2012, McNeal received an Iowa nursing license and, according to the board, in 2014 he was convicted of felony operating a vehicle while his driver’s license was revoked. That conviction resulted in his Nebraska nursing license being suspended for six months. In September 2014, McNeal relinquished his right to practice in Iowa.

In January 2018, the Iowa Board of Nursing reinstated McNeal’s license to practice.

The Iowa Capital Dispatch was not able to reach McNeal for comment.

Other Iowa nurses recently sanctioned by the board include:

Sabryna Simon of Fort Dodge — The board alleges video evidence shows that on Sept. 11, 2025, Simon directed profane language at an infant client, and then “removed the client from the client’s highchair and placed the client on the floor.” The board, which has not disclosed where the incident took place, charged Simon with committing an act or omission that might adversely affect a patient’s welfare; failing to assess, accurately document, evaluate, or report the status of a patient; and engaging in behavior that is contradictory to professional decorum.

To settle the matter, Simon recently agreed to have her license placed on probation for two years. As part of the written settlement, Simon agreed to a provision that states she “shall not engage in the practice of No Home Health Care” — that terminology is left unexplained in the agreement — during her probation. Simon also agreed to complete 60 hours of educational training on ethics and documentation.

Suzanne Mentzer of West Des Moines – The board alleges Mentzer practiced as a registered nurse at The Iowa Clinic for more than a year, from April 23, 2024, through Aug. 7, 2025, without a valid nursing license. She and the board recently agreed to a settlement that calls for Mentzer to pay a $1,000 civil penalty.

Delilah Heuton of Atlantic — The board alleges that in April 2025, while Heuton worked at Heritage House Senior Living Community in Atlantic, it was discovered that she had been working without a valid nursing license for more than a year, since December 2023 when her Iowa license had expired.  She and the board recently agreed to a settlement that calls for Heuton to pay a $550 civil penalty.