New Mexico targets complaints at nursing homes and long-term care facilities

SANTA FE - Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's office announced a multi-agency effort Wednesday, headed by the state's ombudsman, to address complaints about nursing homes and long-term care facilities statewide.

The ombudsman program, in partnership with the Department of Health and Adult Protective Services, will serve as a hub for complaints or problems, reviewing and referring issues to investigators with the state Attorney General or State Auditor's office as appropriate, the administration announced.

The program would also identify patterns of bad practices and systemic problems, from care at facilities to assuring

State Aging and Long-Term Services Secretary Katrina Hotrum-Lopez said in an interview Wednesday that the program's aim will be to support the rights of residents and their families, as well as "looking out for those most vulnerable populations that don't have anybody that looks out for them."

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"In the cases where the resident has Alzheimer's or dementia, and has really no other family contact, we can still pursue these types of cases in a way that's dignified for the resident," Hotrum-Lopez said.

The partnership will also involve local district attorneys, the state Department of Health and the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance, as appropriate.

State Ombudsman Zack Quintero said the program would establish a simple process for New Mexicans "in the event something goes wrong, in the event that somebody needs additional focus and has their rights violated or has faced neglect, abuse or … assault."

Lujan Grisham had requested that Quintero review complaints filed during the state's COVID-19 health emergency and make recommendations as to boosting support for residents and their families.

Besides outbreaks of the disease at long-term care facilities, residents have also suffered from social isolation in the midst of public health orders restricting most visits.

Families were limited to viewing their loved ones through windows until last month, when outdoor visits behind transparent barriers were permitted by appointment, but only at facilities with no active cases and in counties with low test positivity rates.

Additionally, the program will address transfers of residents to other facilities, assuring their preferences in placement and right to wraparound services are respected.

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For example, in 2019 the rural city of Lordsburg saw the abrupt closure of its only nursing home, Sunshine Haven, by corporate owner Preferred Care, Inc. The company moved 37 residents to facilities in other communities or out-of-state within a few weeks as the state Department of Health worked, unsuccessfully, to head off the closure and find alternative management for the site.

Hotrum-Lopez called oversight of transfers and discharges "a huge priority" for the department, and said Quintero is assembling a team of law students from the University of New Mexico to pursue illegal activities by providers.

Algernon D'Ammassa can be reached at 575-541-5451, adammassa@lcsun-news.com or @AlgernonWrites on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: New Mexico targets complaints at nursing homes and long-term care facilities

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