Table of Contents
- Our Methodology for Choosing New Mexico’s Worst Nursing Homes
- New Mexico Nursing Homes With Low Ratings and Serious Deficiencies
- How Does New Mexico Regulate Nursing Homes?
- How Are Nursing Homes Rated in New Mexico?
- What Low Ratings Actually Mean for Your Loved One
- How to Report a Nursing Home in New Mexico
- What Should Your Report Include?
- Your Legal Rights as a Nursing Home Resident or Family Member in New Mexico
- Understanding New Mexico Comparative Negligence Rules
- Talk to a New Mexico Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Today
Finding the right nursing home for yourself or a loved one is a daunting task. Worries about choosing the right facility can cause anxiety. Unfortunately, concerns about abuse and neglect at New Mexico nursing homes are not entirely unfounded.
Persistent issues in New Mexico nursing homes, like understaffing and declining care standards, create a risk of serious and even fatal harm. Incidents such as falls or failures to follow protocols to protect residents from infection only add to those risks.
It is always important to understand your rights. A nursing home abuse attorney at Olson Personal Injury Lawyers can help if nursing home abuse affects you or someone you love. Solid research can also give you peace of mind as you look for a nursing home for yourself or your loved one. To help you in your search, we’ve compiled a list of the worst-ranked nursing homes in New Mexico.
Our Methodology for Choosing New Mexico's Worst Nursing Homes
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) uses a five-star rating system for nursing homes and publishes details about inspection reports and staffing ratios. CMS created this rating system to help families compare nursing homes. Each facility has an overall star rating (1 to 5 stars) plus separate ratings in health inspection, staffing, and quality measures. You can search for a facility on the CMS website to see its star rating and evaluate its ratings. You can also see a history of inspections that led to citations.
It does not publish a list of the worst-ranked nursing homes in New Mexico. To create our list, we reviewed data from CMS, ProPublica, and other publicly available sources. Our goal was to identify nursing homes with a persistent history of low ratings and citations.
New Mexico Nursing Homes With Low Ratings and Serious Deficiencies
Here are some nursing homes in New Mexico with persistent issues. These issues may impact the quality of resident care due to repeat violations and documented patterns.
- Casa Real – Santa Fe, NM: This facility has a documented history as a Special Focus Facility candidate. Inspectors have cited numerous deficiencies, including high rates of medication errors and failures in infection control.
- Princeton Health & Rehabilitation – Albuquerque, NM: Princeton Health & Rehabilitation has been a Special Focus Facility and maintains low overall ratings with CMS, with documented issues including failures in resident care and safety protocols. Past problems leading to citations include, among other things, a failure to change a resident’s wound dressing after multiple hours.
- Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites – Albuquerque, NM: CMS has given this facility just two stars in staffing and health inspections. Recorded deficiencies that resulted in citations include failure to protect residents from neglect and failure to follow physician orders.
- Ladera Center – Albuquerque, NM: This Genesis facility only earned two stars from CMS and has recorded deficiencies in care planning, medication administration, and resident protection.
- Las Palomas Center – Albuquerque, NM: Las Palomas Center was rated one-star overall by CMS, with a one-star rating in health inspections. The facility has had multiple serious deficiencies, including failures to protect residents from abuse/neglect.
Disclaimer: The inspection information displayed above is sourced from publicly available records. Olson Personal Injury Lawyers does not guarantee that the information on this page is complete, accurate, or up to date. For the latest information, visit Propublica or Medicare. Any deficiencies identified may have been addressed or corrected after the inspection date or before this page was published.
This page is intended for informational and advertising purposes only. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by the facility named above or any government agency. Olson Personal Injury Lawyers has no affiliation with the facility discussed on this page.
How Does New Mexico Regulate Nursing Homes?
Nursing homes in New Mexico are regulated by both the federal and state governments. Nursing homes must follow federal standards enforced through CMS. State licensing requirements are managed by the New Mexico Health Care Authority (HCA), primarily through its Division of Health Improvement (DHI).
How Are Nursing Homes Rated in New Mexico?
In addition to the CMS five-star rating scale, the Division of Health Improvement (DHI) in New Mexico also conducts federal surveys for CMS, investigates complaints, and enforces both state and federal rules. Upon receiving complaints, DHI investigates immediate safety issues. DHI also investigates state-specific licensing violations and day-to-day operational problems.
Nursing homes rarely close immediately, even in cases of caregiver neglect. CMS and the state prioritize correction over termination. Therefore, facilities can remain operational even with poor ratings and a history of violations.
What Low Ratings Actually Mean for Your Loved One
Low ratings are more than just a number. When a nursing home has a low staffing ratio, it may mean there is not enough staff to meet residents’ basic needs. If there are problems with health inspections or low-quality measure scores, residents face a greater risk of injuries due to nursing home neglect or abuse. This could include things like falls, bedsores, and dehydration.
Avoiding some of the worst nursing homes in New Mexico is a good place to start in keeping your loved one safe. It doesn’t mean that the nursing home you pick won’t have problems, but reputation and ratings matter. If a facility has a history of problems, there’s often a greater risk that those issues will recur.
How to Report a Nursing Home in New Mexico
You should report nursing home abuse to the New Mexico Health Care Authority’s Division of Health Improvement (DHI). You can call the hotline at 1-800-752-8649 (toll-free), or you can download and submit the Health Facility Consumer Complaint Form.
You can also contact Adult Protective Services (APS) if you suspect any type of abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult. This includes physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect. Call 1-866-654-3219 or use the online form found on the APS page.
The New Mexico Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, which is operated by the Aging and Long-Term Services Department, may also be able to help. The Ombudsman advocates for the rights of nursing home residents and can sometimes help resolve complaints informally or by advocating for the patient. You can call the statewide hotline at 1-866-451-2901 or visit the Ombudsman website.
What Should Your Report Include?
No matter what type of incident you are reporting or where you are reporting your incident, there are certain details that can be helpful to have ready. When you make your report, some of the details to prepare in advance include:
- The resident’s full name, date of birth, admission date, and specific location, such as their room or floor
- The nursing home name, address, and phone number
- The dates and times of the incidents and detailed descriptions of what happened
- The names and titles of involved staff members, if you know them
- The type of issue, such as physical abuse, neglect, medication errors, falls, and infection control failures
- Any supporting evidence, like pictures, medical records, or witness testimony
Reporting the incident to the authorities is different from taking legal action. It might also be possible to pursue a legal claim. An experienced attorney can help you evaluate your potential personal injury claim. You may be able to seek compensation for any damage and loss. Our attorneys have a successful track record of pursuing claims to hold nursing homes accountable.
Your Legal Rights as a Nursing Home Resident or Family Member in New Mexico
Many rules and regulations give nursing home residents specific legal rights in New Mexico. The federal Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 and New Mexico state regulations, including the New Mexico Care Facility Residents’ Bill of Rights, provide certain guaranteed rights to residents to protect their well-being.
Some of these rights include:
- Freedom from abuse of all types (physical, verbal, emotional, or sexual abuse, as well as neglect, and financial exploitation)
- Access to a safe, clean environment and nutritious food
- The right to be treated with dignity
- The right to make daily life choices about things like activities, schedules, and medical care
- The right to be part of their care plan development
- Privacy, including private communication, with family, doctors, and advocates
- The right to make complaints without fear of retaliation
- The ability to keep and manage personal belongings and their own assets
If staff members fail to protect patient rights, this could give rise to nursing home abuse liability. It is important to note that if you believe you have a claim, you have to act within the state’s three-year statute of limitations found in N.M. Stat. § 37-1-8 for personal injury cases. For medical malpractice claims, the filing deadlines in N.M. Stat. § 41-5-13 apply.
Understanding New Mexico Comparative Negligence Rules
New Mexico follows a pure comparative negligence system. Even if the nursing home claims the resident was partially at fault by not following instructions, for example, if they refused to take steps to limit their fall risk, you can still pursue a claim. With help from an experienced attorney, you can often recover at least partial compensation for the damage done by a nursing home’s negligence or wrongdoing.
Talk to a New Mexico Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Today
We are Protecting The West, one case at a time. Our New Mexico nursing home abuse lawyers will help you to take legal action to get compensation when your loved one was harmed by nursing home abuse or neglect. Contact us online or give us a call at (505) 391-8978 to find out how we can help.
