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Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites

Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites is a nursing facility in Albuquerque that has been cited for abuse. If your loved one has experienced nursing home abuse at Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites, an Albuquerque nursing home abuse lawyer at Levin & Perconti will fight vigorously to get justice for your loved one.

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Nursing home residents at Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites have a legal right to stay at a facility that provides a safe, hospitable environment where they receive a reasonable standard of care. Unfortunately, residents regularly experience substandard, neglectful, and abusive care at this facility.

Our nursing home abuse attorneys in Albuquerque stand up to skilled nursing facilities that fail their patients through abuse, neglect, exploitation, or substandard care.

About Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites

Sign for Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites

Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites is a 134-bed skilled nursing facility established in 2017 and located at: 

1610 N Renaissance Blvd. NE 
Albuquerque, NM 87107 
Phone: (505) 600-4800 

Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites advertises itself as a luxurious senior community with a patient-centered, compassionate approach to care. It offers the following amenities: 

  • Therapy gym 
  • Outdoor therapy courtyard 
  • Internet cafe with Wi-Fi 
  • Salon and barber services 
  • Spa room with a whirlpool tub 
  • Restaurant-style dining 
  • Resident enrichment and social activities 

Services offered at Spanish Trails include the following: 

  • Short-term and long-term care 
  • Hospice care 
  • Respite care 
  • Rehabilitation therapy 

Spanish Trails Rehabilitations Suites Ratings

Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites has a ranking of 20 out of 21 nursing homes within a 25-mile radius, according to the Nursing Home Database. Google reviewers have given it a rating of 2.8 stars. It has a 1-star Medicare rating, the lowest rating available.

History of Nursing Home Abuse at Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites

Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites has been flagged for abuse by Medicare due to a history of having been cited for mistreatment. This facility received 4 complaint inspections in less than six months from December 15, 2021, to June 2, 2022.

Heavy-Handed Diaper Change

During the complaint inspection that took place on March 17, 2022, inspectors learned that a certified nursing assistant (CNA) had abused a patient during a diaper change by: 

  • Hard wiping 
  • Planting their knee in the resident’s back 
  • Touching the resident without permission 
  • Resting in a resident’s bed 

State law requires nursing homes to investigate incidents of abuse and report the results to the New Mexico Department of Health within five days, but Spanish Trails failed to investigate for 18 days following the incident.

Financial Exploitation

During the inspection that occurred on December 15, 2021, inspectors learned that residents’ credit cards were stolen from their wallets. The victims found unauthorized charges on their cards.  

Though the police were called, the nursing home failed to investigate or report the incident to the Department of Health as required by law.

Health Violations

Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites had 28 violations during the past year, according to Medicare, compared with a national average of 8.4 and a state average of 15.5. In the last three years, Medicare received 35 complaints about the facility that resulted in citations.

June 2022 Inspection

During the complaint inspection on June 2, 2022, inspectors found several violations. One violation involved the failure to prevent and manage pressure ulcers in a resident who was alert enough to be taken to the bathroom when she needed to go.  

Instead of taking the resident to the restroom, the CNA left her on a bedpan for an extended period. She had a triple layer of blankets on the bed because the nursing staff failed to provide her with showers, and her sheets were dirty. The facility also failed to provide weekly skin checks. 

During the inspection, Medicare also found the following deficiencies: 

  • Failure of nursing staff to follow the doctor’s orders for daily weighing that was necessary to evaluate a patient for pain management 
  • Failure to order pain medication promptly from the pharmacy, causing a patient to suffer long periods with no pain relief  
  • Insufficient staff to meet patient needs, including showers, timely administration of medication, and answering call lights within a reasonable window

January 2022 Infection Control Inspection

During the January 26, 2022, infection control inspection, the inspector found that staff reused the gowns worn into COVID-positive patient rooms, claiming they had been instructed to do so by the facility administrator.  

The administrator denied staff had been instructed to reuse gowns. Inspectors also observed a registered nurse (RN) walking into a quarantined patient’s room without a gown.  

The inspection further revealed that an RN failed to provide a COVID-positive patient with basic health and hygiene care, including the prompt insertion of dentures and changing of briefs. This occurred when the RN was the only staff assigned to the patient’s care.

Quality of Care at Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites

Despite the serious deficiencies and record of abuse, Medicare’s overall rating for the quality of care at Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites is 3 stars, or average.

Short-Stay Quality of Care

Medicare gave Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites a short-stay quality rating of 4 stars, which is above average. However, Medicare has identified a few areas of concern related to care quality: 

  1. 22.6 percent of short-stay residents had an outpatient emergency room visit compared with 11.4 percent nationally and 16.2 percent across the state. 
  2. While an average of 74.1 percent of short-stay patients improve their mobility nationwide, only 56.1 percent do so at Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites. The state average is 66.5 percent. 
  3. By the time patients at Spanish Trails are discharged, only 23.6 percent are at or above the expected mobility level, compared with 40.1 percent nationwide.  
  4. At Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites, short-stay patients were significantly less likely to experience a change in their ability to care for themselves or move around independently compared with the rest of the country.

Long-Stay Quality of Care

Medicare gave Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites an overall rating of 3 stars, or average. The primary area of concern identified is that 25.9 percent of long-term patients experience reduced mobility at Spanish Trails, while the national and state averages are 17.2 percent and 19.2 percent, respectively.

Staffing at Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites

Despite having been recently cited for understaffing, this facility has an average overall staffing rating with 3 stars.

Specific Nursing Staff Hours

While patients receive above-average RN hours daily, they receive just 25 minutes of licensed practical nurse hours compared with 53 minutes nationally and 40 minutes statewide. 

Patients also see lower CNA hours per resident per day, with an average of 2 hours, compared with a national average of 2 hours and 13 minutes and a state average of 2 hours and 17 minutes. 

Nationally, nursing home residents see a physical therapist for an average of four minutes per day, and New Mexico’s state average is five minutes per day. However, Spanish Trails residents see a physical therapist an average of one minute per day.

Weekends

On the weekends, each patient at Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites receives an average of 2 hours and 57 minutes of nursing care per day — less than the average of 3 hours and 15 minutes nationwide and 3 hours and 8 minutes statewide.

Staff Turnover

Spanish Trails experiences high staff turnover, which is associated with poorer patient outcomes and staff dissatisfaction. The frequent introduction of new staff strains facilities that must provide adequate training. It also disrupts the continuity of care because new staff must familiarize themselves with patients over time. 

The staff turnover rate at Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites is 87.6 percent. The national average is 53.5 percent, and the state average is 61 percent. Registered nurse turnover is 100 percent, significantly higher than the national average of 52.3 percent and the state average of 63.1 percent.  

Even administrative staff turnover is high at this facility, with 2 administrators leaving. The national average is 0.8, and the state average is 1.

What To Do if You Suspect Abuse at Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites

The New Mexico long-term care ombudsman provides patient advocacy services and investigates abuse allegations. You can report abuse to the long-term care ombudsman by calling 866-451-2901. You can also report abuse to the New Mexico Health Facility Complaints Hotline by calling 1-800-752-8649.  

After a report of abuse is made, Spanish Trails will be notified. The facility will then be required to perform an investigation and file a report detailing the findings within five days. 

If you believe your loved one is in danger, you may need to take immediate action by dialing 911. After you are certain your loved one is safe, contact an Albuquerque nursing home abuse lawyer to learn more about pursuing a nursing home abuse lawsuit against Spanish Trails Rehabilitation Suites.

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Levin & Perconti Will Fight for You

Nursing home companies are often large corporations with the best corporate attorneys money can buy. When you hire an Albuquerque nursing abuse attorney at Levin & Perconti, you level the playing field by selecting attorneys who not only have extensive experience in nursing home litigation, but have vast resources to go against powerful corporations.

Our attorneys know what it takes to hold skilled nursing facilities accountable, and we have the firepower to negotiate a fair settlement or, if necessary, take your case to trial.

With more than 200 years of combined experience, we will stand by your loved one and go to whatever lengths necessary to get justice. We have consistently achieved remarkable results against nursing homes on behalf of our clients, including the following: 

  • $2.9 million jury verdict on behalf of the family of a deceased 57-year-old who suffocated to death due to a nursing home’s negligent care of a tracheostomy tube 
  • $2.3 million settlement for an 88-year-old assisted living facility resident who passed away as a result of bedsore complications 
  • $1.4 million verdict on behalf of a nursing home resident who fell during a shoving match with another patient whose behavior was negligently mismanaged by the nursing home 

Your loved one deserves a voice against nursing home abuse. We are passionate about giving your loved one the means to be heard. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.