Ladera Center
Ladera Center is a skilled nursing facility in Albuquerque with a history of neglect and abuse. Nursing home residents have a right to feel safe and receive quality care. If your beloved family member has experienced nursing home abuse at Ladera Center, Levin & Perconti can get the justice your loved one deserves.
A nursing home is legally obligated to provide a safe, hospitable environment where residents can rely on consistent quality care. When a nursing home fails to honor its obligations, a resident’s quality of life may be severely compromised.
The Albuquerque nursing home abuse attorneys at Levin & Perconti hold nursing homes accountable for allowing their residents to be harmed.
About Ladera Center
Ladera Center is a 120-bed skilled nursing facility located at:
5901 Ouray Road Northwest
Albuquerque, NM 87120
Phone: 505-836-0023
Residents at Ladera Center have access to a garden courtyard area and are allowed to have pets. It is VA-contracted and accepts Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance. Ladera Center offers the following services:
- Short-stay care
- Long-term care
- Respite care
- Palliative care
- Rehabilitation therapy
- Physical therapy
- Dementia care
- Pet therapy
Who owns Ladera Center?
Ladera Center is owned by Genesis HealthCare, one of the largest for-profit nursing home providers in the United States, which owns hundreds of facilities across the nation, including 25 in New Mexico.
Genesis HealthCare has a reputation for understaffing nursing homes and has been named in dozens of lawsuits throughout the country for nursing home abuse and neglect, including 65 in New Mexico. Eleven cases have been filed against Ladera Center.
In 2017, the United States Justice Department referred to Genesis HealthCare as an “unscrupulous provider.” This characterization came after Genesis HealthCare agreed to pay $53.6 million to settle a False Claims Act lawsuit after billing Medicare and Medicaid for unnecessary services and for “grossly substandard care.”
Ladera Center Ratings
According to the Nursing Home Database, Ladera Center has a ranking of number 11 out of 17 nursing facilities within a 10-mile radius and 14 out of 21 facilities within a 25-mile radius. It has a 3.4-star Google rating, and Medicare has given it a 1-star, which is the lowest rating possible.
History of Nursing Home Abuse at Ladera Center
Failure to Prevent Sexual Abuse
During a complaint inspection on May 5, 2022, Medicare found that Ladera Center failed to protect two residents from sexual abuse when an activities assistant sexually assaulted them.
The employee had been consuming drugs and alcohol during her shift. While she was under the influence, she entered the room of two traumatic brain injury patients and allowed them to see and touch her breasts. The facility’s social worker caught her in the act and had to remove her from the patients’ room.
Delayed Diagnosis of a Stroke
During the complaint inspection on December 10, 2021, the Medicare inspector discovered a severe case of neglect that may have permanently harmed a resident.
The resident’s daughter visited her at 10:30 in the morning on the day in question and learned that her mother had been unable to complete physical therapy due to feeling dizzy and weak. The therapist said it was unusual for the resident. A nurse assessed the mother and told the daughter she was okay.
This change in the patient’s condition was not reported to a physician. At approximately 4:00 p.m., the daughter returned and observed that her mother’s speech was slurred, and she had left-side weakness and numbness. She notified the nursing home staff. The doctor ordered the patient to be assessed at the hospital.
The resident had suffered a stroke, resulting in permanent left-side weakness and a new permanent disability. The nursing home might have never noticed the stroke were it not for the daughter’s intervention.
The permanent disability could have been prevented if nursing staff had promptly notified the physician of the patient’s symptoms.
Health Violations and Safety Concerns at Ladera Center
Ladera Center has had 51 inspections since 2004. Nursing homes are typically inspected once annually. They are inspected more frequently if Medicare receives complaints or if the facility has a history of deficiencies.
Ladera Center was fined $182,182 in 2022 and $49,845 in 2021 for deficiencies, and Medicare has denied payment twice in the last three years.
During the last 12 months, Ladera Center has been cited for 35 deficiencies. This is substantially higher than the national average of 8.4 and the state average of 15.5. During the last three years, 20 complaints have resulted in citations.
Ladera Center has the red-hand designation assigned to its Medicare.gov profile to signify that the facility has been cited for abuse.
June 2022 Health Inspection
During the June 1, 2022, inspection, the health inspector found that Ladera Center has routinely failed to provide prompt, courteous assistance and a reasonable standard of care.
The inspector learned that staff do not provide residents with regular showers following their preferences. Resident interviews and records checks revealed residents only receive 1 to 2 showers per month. One resident reported that the nurses become agitated when she requests a bath or shower.
As a result, inspectors observed the following:
- Greasy hair
- Dirty fingernails
- Dirty bed linens
- Patients wearing the same clothes for several days
Ladera Center has a resident council that is meant to provide a collective voice for the residents when they have grievances or requests. However, the inspection revealed that the facility has failed to address the following grievances filed by the resident council:
- Lack of consistent showers
- Rude staff
- Staff not wearing masks
- Lost laundry
- Rotating staff
- Poor communication
- Dietary concerns
Inspectors also observed poor housekeeping and unsanitary conditions concerning a patient’s toilet. The inspector observed visible feces that did not move when the toilet was flushed.
The resident complained that the room smelled bad because the housekeeper regularly failed to remove the toilet seat adapter during cleaning, so it was never properly cleaned.
The inspector also found the following deficiencies during this inspection:
- Administration of oxygen that was not ordered
- Failure to provide appropriate and effective pain management
- Failure to change personal protective equipment after leaving a COVID-19 patient’s room and failure to wear it properly
May 2022 Complaint Inspection
In addition to the aforementioned sexual assaults, inspectors found the following deficiencies during the May 5, 2022, complaint inspection:
- Failure to report medication errors to doctors and families
- Failure to properly monitor oxygen equipment and levels
- Failure to ensure staff is competent
- Failure to prevent repeated medication errors in multiple residents
Staffing at Ladera Center
Patients at Ladera receive similar nursing staff hours of care as the state and national averages, except for lower hours of care by registered nurses (RNs), who have more training than other nursing staff.
At the state and national levels, patients receive an average of 40 minutes of RN care per day, but patients at Ladera Center receive an average of just 23 minutes per day. During the weekends, patients nationwide receive 27 minutes of RN care per day, but Ladera Center residents receive just 8 minutes per day.
Ladera Center has a significantly higher turnover rate than the state and national averages. High staff turnover can disrupt the continuity of care and increase the risk of poor staff training. It also indicates that workers are undercompensated or overworked, leading to frustration that can negatively impact patients.
Quality of Care at Ladera Center
Medicare’s overall quality rating for Ladera Center is below average at 2 stars.
Short-Stay Quality Measures
Medicare has given Ladera Center a 1-star rating for care quality for short-stay patients. This is the lowest rate available. When compared with state and national averages:
- Ladera short-stay residents are more likely to be hospitalized.
- Ladera residents are more than twice as likely to develop new or worsened bedsores.
- Ladera residents are less likely to see improvements in their mobility.
Long-Stay Quality Measures
Medicare’s rating for Ladera Center’s long-term care quality is 4 stars, which is above average. However, Medicare has identified some areas of concern. When compared with the state and national averages:
- Ladera Center’s long-term care high-risk residents are more than twice as likely to develop bedsores.
- Ladera Center residents are more likely to experience worsened mobility.
- Ladera Center residents are more likely to lose their ability to care for their own needs.
- Ladera Center residents are nearly twice as likely to lose too much weight.
- Ladera Center residents are more likely to experience symptoms of depression.
What To Do if You Suspect Abuse at Ladera Center
If you suspect your family member has experienced abuse at Ladera Center, you can report it to the New Mexico Health Facility Complaints Hotline by calling 1-800-752-8649.
The New Mexico Department of Health Improvement will notify Ladera Center, and the facility will have five days to investigate and file a follow-up report.
You can also report the abuse to the New Mexico long-term care ombudsman by calling 1-866-451-2901. A long-term care ombudsman will investigate the abuse, visit your family member upon request, and provide advocacy services.
If you believe your loved one is in danger, call 911. You can also file a police report if you believe a crime has been committed. It may be necessary to remove your family member from the facility.
If your loved one has been harmed emotionally or physically while under the care of the Ladera Center, contact an Albuquerque nursing home abuse lawyer.
Levin & Perconti Will Fight for You
The Albuquerque nursing home abuse lawyers at Levin & Perconti have a proven track record of successfully standing up to nursing home companies and forcing them to take responsibility for harming their patients. Below are just a few examples of our nursing home case results:
- $4.1 million record-breaking verdict on behalf of an 85-year-old nursing home resident who was injured due to medication mismanagement
- $2.9 million record-breaking verdict on behalf of the family of a deceased 57-year-old nursing home resident who suffocated as a result of negligent tracheostomy care
- $2.8 million record-breaking settlement for a 59-year-old nursing home resident who developed multiple painful bedsores that took 4 years to heal
Levin & Perconti is one of the most highly respected nursing home abuse law firms in the country and we are proud to protect the rights of people who have been injured due to systemic flaws and corporations choosing profits over people. We get results because we refuse to give up until we get justice for our clients.
If your loved one has been mistreated or neglected at Ladera Center, a nursing home abuse lawyer at Levin & Perconti can help. Contact us today for a free consultation.
Legally Reviewed by
Steven M. Levin
Contact Us
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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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