BLOOMFIELD, NM - Federal health inspectors found that Bloomfield Nursing and Rehabilitation Center failed to properly conduct required mental health and intellectual disability screenings for residents, according to findings from a November 18, 2025 complaint investigation. The facility has not submitted a plan of correction for the deficiency.
Required Mental Health Screenings Not Conducted
The inspection revealed that Bloomfield Nursing and Rehabilitation Center was deficient under federal regulatory tag F0645, which governs Pre-Admission Screening and Resident Review, known as PASARR. The facility failed to ensure that proper PASARR screenings were completed for residents with mental disorders or intellectual disabilities.
PASARR is a federally mandated screening process that applies to every individual seeking admission to a Medicaid-certified nursing facility. The two-level screening system is designed to determine whether a nursing home is the appropriate placement for individuals who may have serious mental illness, intellectual disabilities, or related conditions — and whether those individuals require specialized services beyond what a standard nursing facility provides.
When a facility fails to conduct these screenings, residents may be placed in settings that cannot meet their specific behavioral health or cognitive needs. They may also miss out on specialized services — such as psychiatric treatment, behavioral support programs, or individualized therapy — that federal law requires them to receive.
Why PASARR Compliance Matters for Resident Safety
The PASARR process exists because individuals with mental health conditions or intellectual disabilities have historically faced inadequate care in institutional settings. Without proper screening, a resident with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or an intellectual disability could be admitted to a facility without staff being fully aware of their condition or the level of support they require.
This gap in assessment can lead to several concerning outcomes. Residents may not receive appropriate psychiatric medications or dosage adjustments. Behavioral episodes may be mismanaged or addressed with chemical restraints rather than therapeutic interventions. Staff may lack training or awareness needed to provide appropriate daily care.
Proper PASARR screening ensures that a resident's full clinical picture — including mental health diagnoses, cognitive functioning, and behavioral patterns — is documented and addressed in their individualized care plan. Federal regulations under 42 CFR 483.20 require this screening to occur prior to or at the time of admission, with periodic reassessments as conditions change.
No Correction Plan on File
Inspectors classified the deficiency at Scope/Severity Level D, indicating an isolated incident with no documented actual harm but with the potential for more than minimal harm to residents. While this represents the lower end of the federal severity scale, the finding is notable for one significant reason: the facility has not filed a plan of correction.
When a nursing home receives a deficiency citation, federal regulations require the facility to submit a written plan outlining specific steps it will take to correct the problem, prevent recurrence, and establish a timeline for compliance. The absence of a correction plan raises questions about the facility's commitment to addressing the screening gap.
Facilities that fail to submit or implement correction plans may face escalating enforcement actions from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), including civil monetary penalties, denial of payment for new admissions, or in severe cases, termination from the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Industry Standards for PASARR Compliance
Best practices in the nursing home industry call for a systematic PASARR tracking process. Facilities should maintain a screening log that flags every new admission and tracks whether Level I and Level II evaluations have been completed. Admissions coordinators should be trained to identify diagnoses that trigger PASARR requirements, and clinical leadership should audit compliance regularly.
The New Mexico Human Services Department, which administers the state's PASARR program, coordinates with the state's behavioral health authority to conduct Level II evaluations when indicated. Facilities are expected to cooperate fully with this process and to incorporate PASARR recommendations into each affected resident's care plan.
Bloomfield Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is a Medicaid-certified facility in San Juan County, New Mexico. Residents, families, and advocates can review the full inspection findings through the CMS Care Compare database or by contacting the New Mexico Department of Health's Health Facility Licensing Bureau.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Bloomfield Nursing and Rehabilitation Center from 2025-11-18 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
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