Not all cases involving neglect and abuse that occur in nursing homes are obvious to family members, especially if the mistreatment is the result of substandard care that leads to a life-threatening condition. In many incidents, caregivers, other residents, visitors, and employees will mistreat, abuse or neglect a patient who was afraid to tell others for fear of retaliation.
The New Mexico Nursing Home Law Center attorneys have represented many injured victims living in Grant County nursing homes. Our team of legal experts can protect your rights to ensure you are adequately compensated for your financial damages. We can take swift action to ensure that all those that caused your harm are held legally accountable. Let us begin working on your case today.
This Medicare/Medicaid-participating long-term care (LTC) center is a "for-profit" 100-certified bed home providing cares to residents of Silver City and Grant County, New Mexico. The facility is located at:
3514 Fowler Ave
Silver City, New Mexico, 88061
(575) 388-3127
Along with providing skilled nursing care, Silver City Care Center also offers other services that include:
The investigators for the state of New Mexico and federal nursing home regulatory agencies have the legal responsibility to penalize any facility that has violated rules and regulations that harmed or could have harmed a resident. These penalties often include monetary fines and denying payment of Medicare services, or both.
Over the last three years, the government has imposed three substantial monetary penalties against Silver City Care Center, including a $34,093 fine on December 10, 2015, a $14,950 fine on August 26, 2016, and a $22,945 fine on March 15, 2018, for a total of $71,988 in penalties. During that time, Medicare denied payment for some of the services that this facility rendered. The denials came on two occasions including on December 10, 2015, and March 15, 2018.
Over the last thirty-six months, the nursing home received five formally filed complaints and self-reported one serious problem that resulted in a citation. Additional information concerning penalties and fines can be located on the New Mexico Department of Health Nursing Home Reporting Website about this nursing facility.
Families can visit the New Mexico Department of Public Health and Medicare.gov websites to obtain a complete list of all opened investigations, filed complaints, dangerous hazards, health violations, safety concerns, and incident inquiries. The regularly updated information can be used to make a well-informed decision on which LTC facilities in the community provide the highest level of care.
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 Grant County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies, hazard violations and safety concerns at Silver City Care Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated September 22, 2017, the state investigative team noted the facility's failure to "ensure residents are free from mental abuse and involuntary seclusion." The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved one resident "identified during random observation, by imposing restrictions on [the resident's] ability to socialize, have visitors of his choosing, and leave his room without an escort." The failed practice by the nursing staff "is likely to result in the resident becoming withdrawn, angry and depressed."
The state investigative team reviewed the facility Incident Report dated May 4, 2016, that showed that a member of the staff was "called to the room and observed three small bags of white powder in the resident's hands." The staff member asked the resident "what it was."
The nursing staff "explained to the resident he could not have that." The resident responded that "he was dealing it to get money because they cut off his social security." The staff member asked the resident if they would give it to the staff member to keep for him. "He consented, placed [the powder bags] in a cigarette box and handed to" the nursing staff."
During an interview with the Social Services Manager at the facility on September 20, 2017, it was revealed that the manager had called the resident "trying to sell drugs to other residents in the facility. They did not take him to jail. The next day the Administrator wanted him taken to jail, but the jail refused to take him because of his medical condition. The resident was trying to sell [his drugs to others who] were not cognitive. He was high himself at the time."
The Manager said that "the facility and Police Department conducted investigations, and he is still going to court for it now. The Court did not agree to the guidelines we set, one we sequestered (isolated) him to his room; he can go to activities if there is a staff member with him."
The Social Services Manager "wrote a letter to the court to explain that we do not always have the staff to monitor him (all the time), so that is why we have him stay in his room. He can have visits with his mother, but someone has to be monitoring him. We were afraid that his visitors would bring him drugs, they are known drug users around here and would do that. So, we have asked them not to visit because they might bring him drugs. It is not just community knowledge; it is because in the past we have noticed there has been an increase in his behaviors after his daughter would visit. I knew him before from another job, he is of felon and that limits his eligibility and options as to where he can live and go."
The Social Services Manager said that the resident was admitted to the facility as a known felon and said, "I am worried about the other residents who do not have the cognition to say no if he offers them drugs. There is no place for him to go. He is being sequestered because of his criminal record; he's been here about three years. It has been about a year since this incident first happened. The Court has been postponed over and over again. There has been no leeway on the restrictions to see if he can be trusted again."
The Manager stated that "Maybe, if we got together as a team and looked back, maybe we could see that yes, maybe we could give him a little more leeway. Well, he can go to meals when he chooses, but the trust is gone. In the past, if he did something he was not supposed to do, we would just redirect him. He could not be in the dining room or activity room unless there was a staff member present. If he was seen wandering around the facility, he was to be escorted back to his room. He was only to visit the other residents from his doorway. He [the resident] is not allowed to leave the facility without a staff escort."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated September 22, 2017, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to "ensure that the resident environment is free from smoking-related hazards." The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved two residents "reviewed for accidents by not completing safe smoking assessments upon admission for [two residents], not ensuring [these two residents] are supervised while smoking, [and allowing one resident] to keep her lighter."
The surveyor stated that if the facility is not ensuring that the environment is safe, that smoking assessments are completed, and that supervision is provided when needed, the residents are likely to be at risk of accident hazards." The surveyors interviewed the Director of Nursing on the morning of September 21, 2017, who "confirmed that the safe smoking assessments were not completed upon admission for [these two residents]. Findings related to not ensuring residents are supervised while smoking."
The investigators observed and interviewed a Certified Nursing Assistant on the evening of September 17, 2017, who "walked out onto the patio and stated, 'I am sorry, I am late. I'm usually out here with them [the resident], but I lost track of time. They [the resident's that smoke] should not be out here alone; staff should always be out here with them." The investigators observed smokers on the patio on the morning of September 20, 2017, during a random observation and noted one resident "was sitting out in the smoking area, without any supervision, smoking a cigarette."
The investigators again interviewed the Director of Nursing who "confirmed that the resident should be supervised while they are smoking." The Director stated, "Yes, there is a staff member present during designated smoking times."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated September 22, 2017, the surveyor's stated that the nursing home failed to properly notify "residents and visitors when a resident is on isolation precautions to prevent other residents and visitors from contracting the infection/disease."
The nursing home also failed to follow "standard contact precautions protocols when providing care with the resident that has [a contagious infection like Clostridium difficile, a bacterium that causes diarrhea]." Additionally, the nursing home failed to ensure that catheter tubing of a resident "remained off of the floor." A state investigator stated that "if proper infection control practices are not maintained, residents are likely to be exposed to disease-causing organisms resulting in illness or infection."
If your loved one has suffered an injury or died unexpectedly while living at Silver City Care Center, call the New Mexico nursing home abuse lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 now. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Grant County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Silver City. Our dedicated attorneys have represented clients with victim cases involving nursing home mistreatment.
With our years of success, our attorneys can assist your family in successfully resolving your financial recompense case against all those who 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.
The attorneys accept all personal injury claims, nursing home abuse suits, medical malpractice cases, and wrongful death lawsuits through a contingency fee agreement. This arrangement postpones the need to pay for legal services until after we have resolved your case through a jury trial award or negotiated out of court settlement. Our network of attorneys provides every client a "No Win/No-Fee" Guarantee. This promise means if our legal team is unable to obtain compensation on your behalf, you owe us nothing. Let us begin working on your case today to ensure your family is adequately compensated for the damages that caused your harm. 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