The cases of neglect and abuse are all too common occurrences in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and rehabilitation centers throughout America. Many seniors and the disabled and rehabilitating become victims of mistreatment due to the inability to communicate what happened or experience fear of retaliation from their caregivers or other residents.
If your loved one has been neglected, mistreated or abused, the New Mexico Nursing Home Law Center attorneys can take immediate legal action on your family's behalf. Our team of dedicated lawyers have successfully resolved many cases for our clients in Colfax County and can help you too. Let us begin working on your case now.
This Medicare/Medicaid-participating center is an 80-certified bed facility providing services to residents of Raton and Colfax County, New Mexico. The "for-profit" long-term care (LTC) home is located at:
1660 Hospital Drive
Raton, New Mexico, 87740
(575) 445-2734
In addition to providing around-the-clock skilled nursing care, Raton Nursing and Rehabilitation Center also offers:
State and federal investigators have the legal authority to penalize any nursing home cited for serious violations of regulations and rules. These penalties include levying monetary fines and denying payment of Medicare services. Typically, these deficiencies result in penalties when investigators found severe problems that harmed or could have harmed a resident. Within the last three years, state and federal regulators imposed a monetary penalty against Raton Nursing and Rehabilitation Center for $10,985 on January 19, 2017.
Over the same time frame, Medicare denied one payment for services rendered on January 19, 2017. Within the last thirty-six months, the nursing home has received two formally filed complaints due to substandard care. Additional information concerning penalties and fines can be located on the New Mexico Department of Health Nursing Home Reporting Website about this nursing home.
The state of New Mexico and the federal government routinely update their long-term care home database systems to reflect all safety concerns, opened investigations, incident inquiries, health violations, dangerous hazards, and filed complaints. This information can be found on numerous sites including the NM Department of Public Health and Medicare.gov.
According to Medicare, this facility maintains an overall rating of one out of five stars, including one out of five stars involving health inspections, three out of five stars for staffing issues and one out of five stars for quality measures. The Colfax County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Raton Nursing and Rehabilitation Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated March 7, 2018, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to assure one resident "received medication without a significant error. The facility failed to provide a prescribed medication due to not having the medication available. The deficient practice could likely cause residents not to receive the optimal effects of medications resulting in a decline of their physical, mental or social well-being."
As a part of the investigation, the survey team interviewed a Registered Nurse (RN) who confirmed that according to the resident's Medication Administration Record (MAR) the resident had not received their medication (for the three days and that the note indicated the medication had not been available."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated March 7, 2018, the investigative team documented that the nursing home had failed to "use the services of a Registered Nurse (RN) at least eight hours during each 24-hour period. This deficient practice is likely to affect all twenty-eight residents" at the facility.
The investigators reviewed the facility's daily posting of nursing staff providing direct care that revealed ten incidents between January 4, 2018 and March 2, 2018, where there was "no RN available during the 24-hour period." During one incident on February for 2018, no RN was available for six hours during a 24-hour period.
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 19, 2017, the state investigators noted that the facility had failed to "maintain the dignity of [one resident] reviewed during wound dressing change by not providing privacy for [that resident] while providing wound care. This deficient practice is likely to result in the residents feeling embarrassed or shamed."
The investigative team observed a Licensed Practical Nurse performing wound care on the morning of January 9, 2017, who "did not close the door or pull the curtain to provide privacy for [the resident] during a dressing change to his head wound." During an interview, the LPN "confirmed that the door should have been closed."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 19, 2017, the state investigators noted that the nursing home had failed to "give the resident council feedback on their concerns which were documented in the Resident Council Meeting minutes. This deficient practice has the potential to affect all forty-two residents in the facility."
The state surveyors interviewed the Activities Director who stated "I do not really have a system in place to let other departments know of problems that are brought up in the Resident Council Meetings other than verbally telling myself. I do not follow up on what happens after I tell them."
The investigators interviewed the facility Administrator who stated that "I am not involved in the Resident Council. I have not seen any grievances since I have been here. I know social services handles a lot of issues. We are trying to get a more active Resident Council. I do not think anything is reported directly back to the Resident Council; there is not a consistent procedure we follow. We should put one in place."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 19, 2017, the investigators noted the facility's failure to ensure that one resident "reviewed during random observation was provided necessary care and services to maintain the highest practicable physical well-being by not assessing and treating [the resident's] pain."
The facility "did not evaluate [the resident's] pain level after she was administered pain medication. Therefore the nurse was unaware that the pain medication was ineffective. After being informed by the resident she was still in pain, the nurse failed to provide additional pain medication for three hours and 30 minutes. This deficient practice likely resulted in [the resident] experiencing intense pain with no relief."
The investigative team interviewed a Registered Nurse (RN) providing the resident's care who stated they had given the resident their pain medication "at 8:30 AM and [gave] her a Tylenol at 12:00 PM, but [had] not had time to re-assess." The RN stated "I usually go back and checked within one-half hour to an hour. In my defense, I am the only nurse here, and I have to help serve the lunch trays and help feed residents. I have to help my staff (Certified Nursing Assistants). There is just not enough help or enough time to do follow-ups."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 19, 2017, the state investigators observed staff at the facility and saw a resident with an "8.0 cm gash to the right calf which required eight sutures and two surgical staples to close the gash."
An interview confirmed that "while the resident was being transferred from her bed to a wheelchair by a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), and a family member, she slipped." The record review and interview also confirmed that the Certified Nursing Assistant "had not received any training on transferring residents and requested the help of [the resident's family member] due to no other staff being available. This deficient practice resulted in an Immediate Jeopardy being identified on the scope and severity of Level J."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 19, 2017, the state survey team documented the facility's failure to "ensure [the administering of] pain medications received adequate monitoring." The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved three residents whose records were reviewed."
The state investigative team documented that the facility failed to "assess the residents' level of pain and anxiety [before] administering as needed medication, and after the medication had been administered to ensure effectiveness. If the facility is not adequately monitoring the resident's level of pain [before] and after administration of pain medication, then residents are likely to be receiving these medications unnecessarily and can experience adverse side effects or not receive the desired therapeutic effect. This deficient practice likely resulted in [one resident] experiencing intense pain with no relief."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 19, 2017, the state investigator documented the facility's failure to "ensure that the expired medications were removed and appropriately discarded from the resident stock medications."
The investigator said that "this deficient practice is likely to affect all forty-two residents identified in the Census List provided by the Director of Nursing on January 2017." The surveyor stated that "if the facility is not ensuring that expired medications are unavailable to be administered, then residents could likely receive medications that have lost potency, resulting in decreased effectiveness."
If your loved one suffered injury or harm while residing at Raton Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, call the New Mexico nursing home abuse attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 law offices now. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Colfax County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Raton.
Our team of skilled senior resident injury attorneys can assist your family and successfully resolve your case for financial recompense against all parties including the facility, doctors, nurses, staff members and other residents that caused your loved one's harm. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim. Let us begin working on your case now to ensure your rights are protected.
Our network of attorneys accepts every case involving nursing home neglect, wrongful death, or personal injury through a contingency fee agreement. This arrangement postpones your payment for our legal services until after we have successfully resolved your case through a jury trial award or a negotiated settlement. We provide each client a "No Win/No-Fee" Guarantee, meaning you owe us nothing if we cannot obtain compensation for your damages. We can provide legal representation starting today to ensure your family is adequately compensated for your losses. All information you share with our law offices will remain confidential.
Sources:
Carl R. Wilander, Esq.
Licensed in New Mexico
Chicago Nursing Home Injury Attorney Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home