The Rio At Las Estancias

Although I hate being in anything like a hospital with every fiber of my being, I can appreciate the excellent staff here and the reasonable accommodations. The physical therapists are the best I've ever encountered, and the rest of the staff was compassionate and hard working. There were a few frustrations that could use work. Most of the food was awful and all of the portions were ridiculously small. The coffee was even worse, and no matter what they told me there was NO caffeine in it. They also made no effort to furnish something I needed in a size that fit, opting for something four sizes too big.My room in the short stay wing had a lovely view and I had opportunities to be accompanied outside, which made the experience more tolerable.

I've been a patient here for close to two weeks and I can see why the reviews around the Web are how they are for The Rio. I'm sure it falls on the fact that, like many nursing facilities, they are under-staffed. As a patient you can sense the amount of duties placed on the CNAs and nurses here. I spoke with one CNA who told me she was responsible for the entire hall of 20 patients. Now how can one person deliver proper care to that many people efficiently and to the best of their ability, even if it was an overnight shift?See, I am a slightly dissimilar case than most every other resident here as I am more independent so I am more mobile. Walking the halls, you can see some of the older folk who are spiraling. They probably won't leave. Some of the other reviews online state that the care is spotty and the staff does not keep up with patients as they should but in my experience my call light was answered promptly and most every request was fulfilled, no questions asked. The housekeeping cleaned every day keeping the rooms tidy. Hard wood floors are in the rooms which is nice for cleaning but I bet would not be very forgiving of a fall so keep that in mind if you are considering The Rio for a loved one if they are a fall risk. The bathrooms are tiled with a nice detachable shower head for ease of cleaning. DirecTV is provided with HBO, not a bad bonus. My goal, coming to The Rio, was to get my strength back after some lengthy hospital stays after transplant and I cannot commend the physical therapy and occupational therapy techs for their support. Everyday, Mon-Fri, you work with the techs on different exercises. They have a gym space with stationary bikes, weights, and different workouts to work your core, legs, arms, and overall stamina. The staff is very compassionate and knowledgeable and I feel I am leaving in much better shape than when I arrived.The one con I have with the facility is the food service. The operation itself is great, they fulfill most any request and are not against giving double portions or extra cereal for sustenance. My problem was that it is a set menu. They serve one main option then have an alternate option as well as PB&J or ham sandwich or salad. It is a small kitchen feeding over 100 mouths three times a day so in that light, they do pretty well. I just had trouble eating enough because I had some sores in my mouth related to chemo so I needed no spice, no texture, and plenty of numbing medication. Plus, this being the South Valley of Albuquerque, enchiladas and other spicy delicious foods I normally would devour no problem, were frequently on the menu,This was my first experience, and hopefully last, at a nursing facility and I will say the time was not as dreadful as some of the other reviews made it seem. Motivation and mobility are key. I think those that will suffer in these types of places are those who just lay in bed and don't keep their mind and body active. I would recommend The Rio to others as a mid-level treatment facility. You could spend a few more dollars and get a better all-around stay but this place was plenty good for me. They have a Starbucks in the lobby as well as a movie theater with about a dozen seats. Look forward to bingo and dancing every so often at The Rio where I give it a high 3 out of 5.

Our Mother was at the Rio for long term treatment and care. Upon entering the facility and since the facility was new, everything appeared nice and clean and the staff was friendly. Over a relatively short period of time, complaints by patients and visitors/guests that we heard from were particularly over the food and the menu. Our Mother was on a restricted diet and yet she was served food outside of her diet so many times and the daily food option was also not within her dietary restrictions. While there were 3 food service chef/manager changes over the almost 2 years she was there, the food complaints continued on a daily basis. While she did have one excellent nurse taking care of her during this nurse's working schedule, several were too preoccupied with having too many patients to attend to or just not as attentive. Our Mother fell in the shower on two occasions because no attendant was either available or inattentive and one fall near her bed. When she pressed her "call" button, much of the time it was ignored or the person responding, after some delay, had an attitude. A very disturbing continuing sequence of events was the theft of our Mother's personal property throughout her stay. Each time her property went missing, it was reported to appropriate management staff. On two occasions we were reimbursed for her stolen items but not on several other occasions. Her jewelry was taken, including an heirloom gold coin and chain, as well as several pairs of earrings and other jewelry. Her clothes were taken on a number of occasions, as well as personal items, including hygiene products. Each time we were told that their surveillance cameras were going to be checked yet without any results.Our Mother passed just short of 2 years at this facility and I would certainly not recommend sending another loved one, including myself, to this facility.

Compassionate facility w excellent staff!. The patients are treated w kindness. Clean facility. Kim Romero leads the Administration w excellence

Being hospitalized is traumatic. Finding out that you can't go directly home is not what you want to hear. I thought that in a few days, I would learn to hobble around on my broken foot, and be headed home. I have been an RN for 25 years and have bemoaned the transition from personal care to virtual care. Not so at the Rio. The CNAs are the best I have seen. They are skilled, friendly, and they care about you as well as caring for you. I will be non-weight bearing on my right foot for a few months. The Physical Therapists helped me regain my strength after a month in bed and he Speech Therapists gave me tools to regain my vocabulary and logical reasoning that had been scrambled by three weeks in a coma. Even the food was good. Usually the meals were restaurant quality. When it became clear to the Therapists that it was not possible for my home to be adapted to accomodate a wheelchair, they provided an alternative in the form of a hands-free crutch thatv straps on to your leg. This allowed me to climb stairs, bend over to pick up things and reach up into cabinets while standing on two legs. I am home a month sooner than I anticipated, thanks to the great care that I received at the Rio.

CAUTION! CAUTION! CAUTION!!!!!Beautiful new facility on a plot of land that sites in a nice area of Coors and Rio Bravo. New amenities surrounding. But that is it. The staff at this location are beyond uneducated and unwilling to help you or your loved one and the turn around with care givers and staff is huge. They put a bandage on every incident and make it sound like they have their stuff together. They are well versed. Had many many many many complaints from my family member about the staff, conditions and the food. Beds not being changed regularly, staff unwilling or unavailable to help when in need. When in need of diaper changes, they make them wait sometimes hours to be changed. And they ignore calls of help including call lights being pushed. My loved one said several times she had fallen and had to lay on the ground for an extended amount of time before anyone helped her. Meals not coming or being provided late and cold and taste horrible and theft of personal items and money being taken from drawers. Every time I would address the issues, the staff assured me they were doing their very best and always appeared friendly and kind making me think my loved one did nothing but complain or that my loved one was just not getting their way. One example, a month ago my loved one had an episode and fainted one night while we were visiting. We pushed the call light multiple times and no one came. I finally ran out to the nursing station where 2 girls were chatting away and I yelled that I needed their help. They took their time in getting up to assist. When I questioned the procedure of the light, they deliberately ignored me like I was not even speaking. It wasn't until I got angry and demanded an answer that the Med Tech even acknowledge my concern and quickly dismissed me claiming she was helping my loved one as she stood behind the LPN leaning over her just watching. She then ran off to get a soda and then never returned. I questioned the LPN where the lead nurse was and she stated she was the lead nurse. This woman was an LPN. I questioned why they did not have a specific medication for my loved one due to the known condition and the LPN stated "I am not familiar with your loved ones condition, I have never read their file." Yet she was acting lead nurse and the only one on this floor for the evening. This LPN had no idea who she was attempting to treat because she was not familiar with my loved one who has been in this facility for 5 years!! My loved one has complained many times of having this same issue claiming no help would come regularly. We witnessed it first hand. Last but certainly not all the staff never answers the phones. You can call and leave a msg and no one is going to call you back. They allowed several residence Medicaid to expire by not providing Presbyterian or BCBS with a facility/care update. Verified with two different care coordinators that there were several issues with them not being able to reaching anyone in that facility as well. Don't believe me, call Tanya in the business office. You will get her voicemail and she will never call you back. The Director Liz will call you back if you leave her a demanding voicemail but she will be extremely abrupt and will back Tanya up in any situation with any complaint. Appears they must be friends. All in all, don't put your family member in this facility. They really are not good for your loved one. They don't care and they don't do their job well. A one star is being nice.