In New Mexico, all licensed health care facilities, including outpatient facilities, adult day care centers, and facilities for the mentally challenged, are required to immediately report any abuse, neglect or misappropriation of property to the state’s adult protective services division.1  The state provides each facility with pre-made incident report forms for providers or consumers to make it easier to notify the department.  Additionally, all licensed health care facilities must establish and maintain an incident management system that emphasizes abuse prevention and staff involvement, and must train employees on how to respond to and report abuse.

        Additionally, New Mexico has a Resident Abuse and Neglect Act to deter and provide remedies for the abuse, neglect or exploitation of care facility residents.2  Under the law, any person that provides care to a patient or resident, and who has reasonable cause to believe that the individual has been abused, neglected or exploited, has a duty to report such abuse to the Department of Health.

        Finally, under the Hospital Acquired Infection Act, hospitals are required to participate in hospital acquired infection surveillance to identify and report hospital acquired infections that may occur, as well as to train and educate hospital personnel on the prevention of such infections.