New Mexico Elderly & Nursing Home Care Centers

The least-populated state in the Southwest has only about 70 nursing homes—the second fewest in the region (after Nevada). And only 11 percent of them have earned five stars from Medicare in the “overall” category, as of this writing. That’s below average for the region (13 percent) and well below average for the nation (18 percent). (Click here for tips on evaluating nursing homes.) The good news is that senior-care prices in New Mexico are generally at or below estimated average national rates.

 

Approximate number of facilities:

• Nursing homes: 71
• Assisted living residences: 284*

 

Types of care available:

• Adult day care
• Home care
• Home health-care
• Continuing-care retirement communities
• Assisted living facilities (including residential care homes)
• Nursing homes

 

Estimated average prices:**

• Adult day care: $78 per day
• Home care: $19 per hour
• Home health-care: $21 per hour
• Assisted living: $ 3,288 per month
• Nursing home, semi-private room: $186 per day
• Nursing home, private room: $206 per day

 

State websites for seniors:

• Santa Fe Division of Senior Services
• Health department regulations
• Health Facility Licensing & Certification Bureau

 

Where to report elder abuse:

• In domestic/community care: 1-800-797-3260
• In nursing homes: 1-800-797-3260

 

Financial assistance (partial list):

• Medical assistance programs (including Medicaid)

 

Top-10 largest cities:

•  Albuquerque
•  Las Cruces
•  Santa Fe
•  Rio Rancho
•  Roswell
•  Farmington
•  Alamogordo
•  Clovis
•  Hobbs
•  Carlsbad

 

Top nursing homes, based on Medicare ratings:***

 

Alamogordo
Good Samaritan Society Betty Dare

 

Albuquerque
La Vida Llena
Princeton Place

 

Carlsbad
Carlsbad Medical Center – Transitional Care Unit

 

Las Cruces
Casa Del Sol Care and Rehabilitation Center
Village at Northrise (The) Desert Willow I

 

Portales
Heartland Continuing Care Center

 

Raton
Miners’ Colfax Medical Center

 

*Assisted-living residence numbers are from the Department of Health and Human Services’ 2007 Residential Care and Assisted Living Compendium. According to the National Center for Assisted Living, this is the industry’s only resource for such data. Depending on the state, the number may or may not include small residential-care homes, such as adult foster care.

**Senior-care price estimates are based on the 2011 MetLife Market Survey of Long-Term Care Costs, which reports average rates,and the Genworth 2011 Cost of Care Survey, which reports median rates.

***Medicare rates nursing homes in four categories using a five-star system. These are the nursing homes with five stars in the “Overall” category. The ratings were accessed on Medicare’s Nursing Home Compare site in November or December 2011 and are subject to change. The Medicare ratings system isn’t perfect, so use additional criteria to evaluate nursing homes as well.