As of 2018, nearly all of the nursing homes in New Mexico are Medicare or Medicaid certified. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, there were more than 5,500 residents in the state’s nursing homes in 2016. However, a 2018 analysis shows that New Mexico may very well be the worst in the country for serious deficiencies on a per-nursing home basis.
More than 2,200 infractions have been reported in the state in recent years, ranging from relatively minor to potentially deadly. For example, while some of the complaints are minor, like failing to give proper notice before switching roommates, others are much more serious. One hundred and fifteen of the infractions were considered serious-one that causes immediate risk to a patient’s health or safety. Consequently, nursing homes have been fined more than $2.4 billion between April 2015 and April 2018 and have had payments suspended 44 times for compliance issues.
A number of reasons have been identified for the decline in quality of care in nursing home, such as the lower staffing hours per resident compared to the national average. Better quality of care is linked to high staffing levels, according to many accounts.
When someone decides to place a loved one in a nursing home, it is a decision made after considering a number of factors, the most important being the quality of care provided in the facility. When a reasonable standard of care is not being given, it might be possible to file a case for nursing home neglect. An experienced attorney may be able to review various options with those who believe their loved ones are not getting the care they deserve.