New Mexico has 268 facilities that are licensed as an ALF (assisted living facilities), SNF (skilled nursing facility)/NF (nursing facility), SNF only, and/or NF. On May 17 – 19, 2024, representatives from the New Mexico Department of Health made unannounced visits to ninety- one long-term care facilities (LTC) including assisted living facilities (ALF), skilled nursing facilities (SNF), and nursing facilities (NF). Thirteen counties, or 33% of New Mexico counties, were included in the visits based on location of staffing. Staff completed a total of one hundred seventy-two evaluations from the ninety-one visits.
During calendar year 2023 and through April 2024, fifty-six LTC facilities had substantiated complaints with a resulting deficiency finding. Of these fifty-six facilities, 71% or forty were visited during this unannounced project. The sixteen facilities with substantiated complaints that were not visited were in counties that were not visited. The remainder or fifty-one of the facilities were randomly selected in locations and counties where staff were available.
As a result of these reviews, two facilities were immediately reported to the Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation (ANE) hotline during the weekend. Further review of the evaluations suggests that additional inspection be conducted on three facilities that failed the evaluation. One facility is also being referred due to a COVID outbreak that should be
reviewed to ensure compliance with the most recent guidance from the CDC. The facilities that were reported the weekend of the visits included one SNF/NF and one ALF. The facilities that are being suggested for further review are one ALF and two SNF/NF.
Outside of these facilities that need additional attention, eleven facilities had perfect scores on their reviews. These included ten ALFs and one SNF/NF. Another fifty-five scored in the 90% range, and eleven in the 80% range. Of the two-hundred sixty-eight LTC facilities in New Mexico, only 34% were inspected during the May 17 – 19, 2024 time period, leaving the majority uninspected and not reflected in the results reported.
The Long-Term Care Visits Summary Report that was last updated on June 5, 2024 stated, “The benefit of a program such as this is enormous. By starting the visits on Friday afternoon and completing them during the weekend, facilities were less “prepared” for a visit. However, several representatives did note that some facilities had received warning of the visits by later in the weekend. A quicker, broader push on Friday afternoon might avoid the information being transmitted to others by late in the weekend. However, the ability to immediately report two situations shows the value of such an effort.”
If you or a loved one may have been injured (or worse) as a result of malpractice in a nursing home in New Mexico or in another U.S. state due to nursing home staff shortage, nursing home understaffing, nursing home pressure ulcer (nursing home bedsore) negligence, a nursing home infection, nursing home fall, nursing home aspiration, nursing home neglect, nursing home negligence, nursing home abuse, or the nursing home failing to properly care for a vulnerable adult, you should promptly find a nursing home malpractice lawyer in New Mexico or in your state who may investigate your nursing home malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a nursing home malpractice case, if appropriate.
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