If you relocate your loved one into a skilled nursing home, you likely did so to ensure that they receive the highest level of care and services in a compassionate, safe environment. Unfortunately, many nursing home residents are victimized by mistreatment, neglect, and abuse by their caregivers, facility employees or other residents. Do you suspect your loved one was injured or harmed by others? If so, the New Mexico Nursing Home Law Center attorneys can help.
Our team of dedicated lawyers have successfully resolved hundreds of cases throughout New Mexico including in Luna County and can assist your family too. Let us begin working on your case today to ensure you receive adequate financial recovery for your monetary damages and help you seek justice to hold those responsible legally accountable.
This long-term care (LTC) home is a "for-profit" 66-certified bed center providing cares and services to residents of Deming and Luna County, New Mexico. The Medicare/Medicaid-participating facility is located at:
900 West Ash Street
Deming, New Mexico, 88030
(575) 546-5886
In addition to providing around-the-clock skilled nursing care at the nursing home, Mimbres Memorial Hospital also offers the community:
The federal government and state of New Mexico have the legal authority to penalize any nursing home that has violated rules and regulations that have harmed or could have harmed a nursing facility resident. These penalties include denial of payment for Medicare services or an imposed a monetary fine. Within the last three years, the government agencies fined Mimbres Memorial Nursing Home on one occasion for $21,645 on March 6, 2018.
During this time, Medicare denied payment for services rendered on June 1, 2017. Over the last thirty-six months, this nursing facility received two formally filed complaints due to substandard. Additional documentation concerning penalties and fines can be found on the New Mexico Department of Health Nursing Home Reporting Website about this nursing home.
The state of New Mexico routinely updates their long-term care home database system to reflect all safety concerns, health violations, opened investigations, filed complaints, dangerous hazards, and incident inquiries. This detailed information can be found on numerous sites including Medicare.gov and the NM Department of Public Health website.
According to Medicare, this facility maintains an overall rating of one out of five stars, including two out of five stars concerning health inspections, one out of five stars for staffing issues and one out of five stars for quality measures. The Luna County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies, hazardous violations and safety concerns at Mimbres Memorial Nursing Home that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated March 6, 2018, the state investigator documented the nursing home's failure to "implement its written policies and procedures regarding abuse when they fail to report allegations of abuse to the state within 24 hours and provide documentation of a thorough investigation." The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved three residents "reviewed for allegations of abuse. This deficient practice could likely result in unidentified abuse issues and not thoroughly investigating issues and documenting issues of abuse that can put residents at risk for harm."
State investigators interviewed a resident's family member on the afternoon of February 26, 2018, who stated that the resident "was crying at the breakfast table. I asked him if something happened to you. He pointed to [the CNA] and started crying. I took him (my family member) to the room, and the Social Worker and the Director of Nursing talked to him (the resident). We never got into a meeting about it. The Social Worker said they talked to [the Certified Nursing Assistant]."
The resident appeared "like he was being shaken and thrown down. I talked to the Administrator and the Social Worker, but they talked round and round, but nothing happened. The Social Worker said the hospital is taking care of it."
The state investigator interviewed a Social Worker on the afternoon of February 28, 2018, who stated, "I did not find out about it (about the abuse complaint) from the family member until a week later. The family member said she did not want to make a formal complaint. I brought it up to the morning stand up meetings (morning briefing). It has been a while, maybe a month or so."
The Social Worker said, "I brought up the concern about [that Certified Nursing Assistant), how [the resident] was crying and pointed to the CNA. I just reported it (at the standup meeting) and did not follow up. The family member told me to let it go; she did not want to make any waves. I told her we need to know the problem so that we can get to the root. I did not follow up because I believed the Administrator and Director of Nursing took care of it."
The investigator asked the Social Worker "could this type of complaint be considered an abuse complaint and should you have reported it?" The Social Worker responded, "I would say so. I do not know why [the resident] was crying when he saw [the Certified Nursing Assistant]." The Social Worker stated "I talked to [the resident and] that he [was just fine]. You know he gave no signs of distress, he just looked at me. I didn't take notes of that discussion. I am under obligation to report abuse and neglect, that is why I brought it up at the meeting."
The state survey team interviewed the facility Director of Nursing concerning the incident who stated "I think the problem with [the Certified Nursing Assistant and the resident] was referred to the Social Worker. I believe it was that [the CNA] was rough with [the resident]. I did talk with the family member. She brought it (her concern) to me. I took it to the Social Worker, so she could investigate. It might be six or eight weeks ago. I do not have any notes from that meeting."
The investigator interviewed the Administrator who said "I heard about it a few days after it happened. Something about (the CNA) shaking the resident by his ears. The Social Worker investigated [and] got the statements, and we reviewed them. I was overseeing the Social Worker process investigation. We (the Social Worker) concurred there was not enough information to be sure that it happened. There was no harm done. The abuse was unsubstantiated, and I did not report it because nothing happened."
The Administrator stated, "I talked to [the resident]. I asked him 'did anything wrong happen,' and he did not respond. It was not reported to the state because [the resident] did not show harm. His behavior and activity were not noticeably changed, [and] there was just no evidence of abuse."
The investigator asked the Director of Nursing if there were any standup meeting notes. The Director said, the Administrator stated in an interview that occurred on March 5, 2017, that "the abuse allegations for [the resident] on January 29, 2018, and for [another resident] on February 5, 2018, were not reported to the state because both allegations were investigated by a staff and were unsubstantiated." The Administrator also said that "I did not find the standup meeting notes that talked about the incident."
The Administrator confirmed that "he could not provide any documentation regarding the allegation of abuse or investigation that had taken place regarding [the resident]" and that "after reviewing the facility documentation for [both residents], that he would not call the investigations a thorough investigation." The state survey team reviewed the facility policy titled: Reporting Abuse to Facility Management that reads in part:
"When an alleged or suspected case of mistreatment, neglect, injuries of unknown source, or abuse is reported, the facility Administrator, or his/her designee, will immediately (within twenty-four hours of the alleged incident) notify the following persons or agencies of such incident: The State licensing/certification agency responsible for surveying and licensing the facility."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated March 6, 2018, the state investigators documented that the nursing home had failed to "keep residents free from accidents." The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved two residents "reviewed for falls, when they fail to update care plans for falls and reassess interventions for [two residents] and two secure medications and treatment carts. The deficient practice could likely result in resident suffering injuries or harm from preventable events."
The state investigator team revealed a resident's Progress Notes that revealed that the resident had "falls on January 29, 2018, and February 22, 2018." A review of the resident's Care Plan dated April 13, 2017, revealed that the resident is "at risk to fall" with the goal that the resident "will have minimal fall risk through July 13, 2017, continue through December 12, 2017, with interventions that include: Assist with toileting as needed, provide wheelchair."
However, after reviewing the resident's Progress Notes, it was revealed that the resident was found on the floor on December 31, 2018, and January 15, 2018." On February 20, 2018, the resident had a "witnessed fall, healed area on the knee reopened." Again, on February 22, 2018, the resident was "found on the floor" and February 20, 2018, the resident was "found on the floor with skin tears."
A review of the resident's care plan dated July 14, 2017, and October 6, 2017, revealed that there is a problem with the resident "at risk of falls as evidenced by cognitive impairment, physical impairment, unsteady gait, recent fall, uses a wheelchair." New interventions were listed in the Care Plan including "assess for toileting as needed, provide assistance to use assistive devices, bed alarm, chair alarm, floor mat when in bed, anti-rollback on a wheelchair."
During an interview with the MDS (Minimum Data Set) Coordinator on March 1, 2018, at noon, it was confirmed that the Care Plans for two residents were "outdated and should have been updated for falls." The Director of Nursing stated that both resident's Care Plans "should have been updated for any falls. They should have been evaluated, and new interventions tried." The investigator reviewed the facility policy titled: Falls - Clinical Protocol and the facility policy titled: Falls and Fall Risk - Managing that read in part:
"Follow-up: If the individual continues to fall, the staff and physician will re-evaluate the situation [and] consider other possible reasons for the resident's falling (besides those that have already been identified) and will re-evaluate the continued relevance of current interventions."
"If falling recurs despite initial interventions, … or indicate whether the current approach remains relevant."
If you have suspicions that your loved one was injured or harmed while living at Mimbres Memorial Nursing Home, contact the New Mexico nursing home abuse lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565. Our network of attorneys works on behalf of Luna County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Deming. Our knowledgeable attorneys can offer legal assistance on your behalf to ensure your case for financial compensation is successfully resolved against every party that caused your loved one harm.
Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim. Let us fight aggressively on your behalf to ensure your rights are protected.
We accept all cases of wrongful death, nursing home abuse, and personal injury through a contingency fee arrangement. This agreement postpones your need to make a payment for our legal services until after your case is successfully resolved through a negotiated out of court settlement or jury trial award. We provide each client a "No Win/No-Fee" Guarantee, meaning you owe us nothing if we cannot obtain compensation for your damages. Let our team begin working on your case today to ensure you receive adequate compensation. All information you share with our law offices will remain confidential.
Sources:
Carl R. Wilander, Esq.
Licensed in New Mexico
Chicago Nursing Home Injury Lawyer Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home