Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center
If your beloved family member has suffered nursing home abuse at Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center, you are not alone. Medicare has rated this nursing home as below average in multiple categories and flagged it as a high risk for abuse.
A nursing home is a health care provider with a duty to provide a reasonable standard of care to all residents. This standard includes the right to be treated with dignity, participate in decisions related to their health care, and live without fear of abuse.
Tragically, nursing homes often violate this standard of care to such a degree that patients are forced to endure such maltreatment as outright abuse and severe neglect. Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center is no exception, with two lawsuits having been filed against it.
If your loved one has experienced nursing home abuse or neglect at Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center, an Albuquerque nursing home abuse lawyer at Levin & Perconti can hold the facility accountable and get justice for your loved one.
About Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center
Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center is a for-profit 178-bed skilled nursing facility located at the following address:
5123 Juan Tabo Boulevard NE
Albuquerque, NM 87111
Phone: (505) 292-3333
Bear Canyon is owned by Genesis Healthcare, which is headquartered in Pennsylvania. Genesis Healthcare and its subsidiaries own nearly 250 skilled nursing centers and senior communities in 22 states, in addition to 1,100 rehabilitation facilities in 43 states.
The Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center offers the following services:
- Short-term care
- Long-term care
- Memory care
- Respite care
- Palliative care
- Rehabilitation
Residents may choose between semi-private and private rooms. They have access to an activity room, sunroom, beauty salon, computer with internet access, and a garden courtyard area.
Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center participates in Medicare, Medicaid, VA health care, and private insurance.
Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center Ratings
Medicare provides a detailed five-star rating system of skilled nursing facilities, with a rating of one being the lowest and five being the highest.
Medicare has given Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center an overall rating of one star, or “much below average.” This is the lowest rating available.
Medicare is far from the only agency to rate Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center poorly. NursingHomeDatabase.com lists the facility among the 10 worst nursing homes in Albuquerque and ranks it 13th of 18 nursing facilities within a 10-mile radius.
This facility is also poorly rated by patients and family members, with a two-star rating on Caring.com and a rating of 2.8 out of five stars on Google.
Deficiencies
Medicare’s ratings of Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center are the result of the numerous deficiencies and violations that have been uncovered during health inspections. During the past three years, Bear Canyon has received citations for 86 deficiencies and faced $96,600 in fines.
Health Violations
Medicare’s current health inspection rating of Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center is one star. This is based on the most recent three health inspections and the last three years of infection control inspections.
Routine health inspections are carried out annually, but more frequent inspections are performed in response to complaints or poor performance by the nursing home.
In the last three years, Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center has had 11 complaints that resulted in citations. The facility had two infection control inspections in 2022 and has had four infection control citations in the last three years.
The most recent health inspection occurred on August 5, 2022. The violations discovered during this inspection combined with the previous 12 months of infection control and complaint inspections totaled 35 health violations. This is far above the national average of 8.4 and the state average of 15.5. The following violations were discovered:
- Failure to honor a resident’s right to a dignified existence, self-determination, communication, and to exercise his or her rights
- Improper discharge of a patient and lack of documentation upon discharge or transfer of a patient
- Failure to provide care and assistance to perform activities of daily living
- Failure to follow treatment orders and resident preferences
- Failure to provide appropriate treatment and prevention of bedsores
- Failure to help a resident maintain or improve mobility and range of motion
- Failure to remove accident hazards and properly supervise residents
- Improper management of bladder or fecal incontinence
- Unnecessary use of feeding tubes and improper care
- Medication error rate greater than five percent
- Failure to offer dental services
An inspection on June 16, 2022, revealed eight deficiencies, including the following:
- Failure to timely report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft to the proper authorities
- Failure to provide services that meet professional standards
- Failure to provide enough nursing staff to meet resident needs
- Failure to establish an infection control program
The inspection on March 23, 2022, revealed nine deficiencies, including serious infection control violations, such as the following:
- Failure to carry out COVID health screenings of visitors
- Allowing visitors with COVID symptoms to visit residents
- Failure to offer pneumococcal vaccines
Staffing at Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center
Understaffing at skilled nursing facilities increases the risk that patients will experience abuse, neglect, and medical errors. Medicare has given Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center a one-star rating for staffing after determining it is chronically understaffed and suffers from a high level of staff turnover.
Medicare evaluates staff ratios by calculating the number of hours nursing staff spends with each patient per day. Bear Canyon is lower than the state and national average on almost every measure.
According to Medicare’s findings, Bear Canyon Rehabilitation’s nursing staff spends an average of two hours and 59 minutes per patient per day. The national average is three hours and 46 minutes, and the state average is three hours and 37 minutes.
This facility also has a significantly higher staff turnover rate than the state and national averages at 79.6 percent compared to 53.5 percent nationally and 61 percent statewide.
Quality of Care
Medicare rates the quality of care for short-stay and long-stay patients separately. Bear Canyon has an overall rating of below average, or two stars, with long-stay and short-stay quality of care each earning the same rating.
Long-Stay Ratings
The below-average quality ratings for long-term care stem from the following findings:
- Above-average cases of bedsores
- Significantly above-average cases of reduced ability of patients to move independently and perform activities of daily living for themselves
- Higher-than-average use of antipsychotic medications
- Increased incidence of long-stay residents developing urinary or fecal incontinence
All of these findings point to neglect. Bedsores are highly preventable through repositioning of the patient and implementing a proper care plan. A patient’s continued ability to move independently is strongly influenced by regular supervised exercise and compliance with treatment plans.
The higher-than-average incidence of antipsychotic medication use is a red flag that the facility may be improperly using the medication as a chemical restraint of patients that the staff finds difficult.
Bowel and bladder incontinence can be prevented in many cases through prompted toileting. This was noted as far back as 2008 after a study by Gastroenterology Clinics of North America found that both forms of incontinence can be prevented with quality care.
Short-Stay Ratings
The below-average rating for short-stay quality of care stems from the following findings:
- 32.6 percent of short-stay patients were readmitted to the hospital, compared to a national average of 22.1 percent and a state average of 20.2 percent.
- Short-stay residents were given antipsychotic medications more often than the state or national average.
- Significantly lower percentages of improvement in patients’ ability to move around, including at discharge.
Safety Concerns at Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center
The staff shortage and high numbers of violations indicate that patients at Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center face a higher-than-average risk of experiencing nursing home abuse as well as neglect and poor quality of care. Medicare has designated this facility as a high-risk facility for abuse and neglect.
What to Do if You Suspect Neglect or Abuse at Bear Canyon Rehabilitation Center
If you suspect your loved one is being abused or neglected, you should file a report with the New Mexico Department of Health by calling (800) 752-8649. The state must investigate within five days.
Your highest priority is ensuring your loved one is safe. If they are in immediate danger, call 911. If your loved one has been assaulted, contact the Albuquerque Police Department by calling 911. The non-emergency number is (505) 242-COPS (2677). As soon as your loved one is safe, contact a nursing home abuse lawyer.
Levin & Perconti Will Fight for You
Levin & Perconti is a nationally recognized law firm that has been holding nursing homes accountable for abuse and neglect since 1992. With more than 200 years of combined experience, our compassionate attorneys are willing to fight to get justice for your loved one.
Our commitment to our clients has helped us achieve the following case results on their behalf:
- $4.1 million record-breaking verdict for an 85-year-old woman injured by a nursing home’s mismanagement of her medication
- $2.8 million settlement for a 59-year-old nursing home resident who developed multiple bedsores that took years to heal
- $1.3 million for the family of a nursing home resident who died as a result of being beaten by a younger resident who was negligently placed in his room
Nursing home residents deserve to receive a high level of care and enjoy a quality standard of living while residing in an Albuquerque nursing home. No resident should experience a single instance of abuse. If your loved one has been abused or neglected in a nursing home, contact us today for a free consultation.
Legally Reviewed by
Steven M. Levin
Contact Us
- Free Consultation
- (312) 332-2872
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Notable Results
VERDICT
on behalf of an 85-year-old woman injured in a nursing home when her medications were mismanaged.
VERDICT
for the estate of a 67-year-old man who died from complications related to a fall
SETTLEMENT
for a 59-year-old resident who developed multiple painful and infected bedsores which took four years to heal.
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