Nursing home inspections across New Mexico find at least one violation in 88% of facilities

Recent unannounced inspections of nursing homes across New Mexico found at least one violation in 88% of them, authorities said Wednesday.

State health officials said just 11 of the 91 assisted living facilities received a perfect score, while 55 got a 90% rating.

Four nursing homes — two each in Albuquerque and Gallup — failed their inspections.

“These findings are unacceptable,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said at a news conference in Albuquerque. “Our seniors deserve the highest standard of care and respect.”

Health department staff conducted the inspections over a three-day span in May.

Infractions detailed in a 31-page report ranged from violations of rules and regulations to room uncleanliness.

“We take the findings of this report very seriously,” state Health Secretary Patrick Allen said in a statement. “The quality of long-term care in New Mexico falls short of what our seniors deserve. This must change, and we are committed to making it happen.”

Nursing homes in New Mexico were once ranked among the worst in the country.

The Albuquerque Journal reported that of 74 Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes located in the state, inspectors reported serious deficiencies in 36 of them between 2015 and 2018.

“The need to protect our most vulnerable New Mexicans is the foundation of this project,” according to the report released Wednesday. “To ensure that those in need of long-term care services receive the best care, it is necessary to not only visit licensed facilities on a regular basis, but at times to conduct unannounced visits. This report describes the effort to use state resources to conduct such unscheduled visits.”

Thirteen counties, or 33% of New Mexico counties, were included in the visits based on location of staffing: Bernalillo, Chaves, Colfax, Curry, Doña Ana, Eddy, McKinley, San Juan, San Miguel, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Taos and Valencia.

By starting the visits on Friday afternoon and completing them during the weekend, facilities were less “prepared” for a visit, according to the report. However, several representatives did note that some facilities had received warning of the visits by later in the weekend. The report states a quicker, broader push on Friday afternoon might avoid the information being transmitted to others by late in the weekend.

While 31% of facilities appeared to be institutional in nature rather than “homelike,” most residents’ rooms were furnished with their own belongings with only 5% not having personal items in the rooms, according to the report. Of the nine facilities where it was noted that rooms were also impersonal, six of those facilities were either a skilled nursing facility/nursing facility or skilled nursing facility. However, there were three assisted living facilities that had resident rooms that were impersonal.

Some of the complaints from residents in the survey included:

• Food trays being left with food decaying, trash overflowing, and cleanliness of resident rooms are found in between 5-10% of facilities.
• The results on the smell of the food are in line with the earlier results on whether food looks appetizing. On the appetizing question, 10% of representatives found that it did not, and 9% do not find the smell appetizing. Food is a major concern for many residents and was frequently mentioned to those conducting the interviews.
• Likewise, 10% of residents smelling unclean is also aligned with the earlier questions around grooming and hygiene where 7% of residents were found to be ungroomed, according to the report. A number of Department of Health representatives commented on the issue of strong urine or feces smells in certain faclities. In most of these cases, the cause was known, already such as someone just having an accident and needing assistance.
• The report found that while 95% of staff are respectful and pleasant when dealing with residents, there is a percentage of staff that ignore residents when they need assistance. Other basic techniques to demonstrate respect need improvement, including knocking on doors and waiting for permission to enter as well as using the names of residents. Specifically, one resident believes that more “etiquette” needs to be demonstrated.
• When residents complained about room temperature, it was almost always in response to a roommate desiring a different temperature, according to the report. However, in eight facilities (5%) the representative noted uncomfortable temperatures.

These comments are taken directly from the evaluations that were completed:

A resident at the Rio Rancho Center, a Genesis HealthCare facility on Sabana Grande, said “I wouldn’t say I enjoy living here, but it is better than the place I was at before. However, they are telling me I have to pay to use the phone here — at the last place it was provided free. The food is edible but not fantastic. Some of the staff are very helpful but others treat me like an inconvenience. I used to participate in the Resident’s Council but not anymore — everything gets said but nothing is done. They need to have better communication here. The PT didn’t even know who the head nurse is.”

Many comments revolved around food. One resident commented that she liked being at the facility, but stated, “the food is not good, and it could use some flavor.”