Spanish Peaks Veterans Community Living Center
23500 US Highway 160, Walsenburg, CO 81089 · 120 beds · Government - Hospital district
The records flag: Medicare's abuse flag is set; 1 citation where a resident was harmed.
These are drawn straight from Medicare's records. We report what the record says — we don't rate facilities or judge the care given in them.
Who's actually on the floor
Staffing is the thing most closely tied to day-to-day quality of care, and it's the number families most often never see. This is registered nurses only — a smaller figure than the all-staff total above, because it counts the most highly qualified staff on their own — per resident, per day, comparing an average weekday against an average weekend.
Registered nurses only — hours per resident per day. Longer is better.
Registered nurse coverage is about 27% lower at weekends.
Staff turnover: 44%
High turnover matters because continuity does — a nurse who knows your mother notices when something is different about her. Someone on their second shift doesn't have that baseline.
What inspectors found
State inspectors visit at least once a year and after complaints. Over the last three years this facility received 24 citations. Raw counts mislead, though — a paperwork slip and a resident being harmed both count as one. Here they are by how serious inspectors judged them.
| Severity | Citations |
|---|---|
| Actual harm | 1 |
| Potential for harm | 23 |
| No harm | 0 |
1 of these came from someone filing a complaint rather than a routine visit — worth weighing differently, because it means a person picked up the phone. All findings are recorded as corrected.
Disclosed affiliations
Medicare has not published ownership or affiliation information for this facility. That is a gap in the federal record, not a finding about the facility — the great majority of facilities do have entries, so it is a reasonable thing to ask about on a visit.
Other options nearby
Most families are choosing between whatever is close enough to visit often — and visiting often is itself one of the better protections a resident has. These are the closest 8 facilities.
| Facility | Miles | Rating | Nurse hrs | Weekend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trinidad Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center | 35.0 | 2 | 0.30 | −14% |
| Life Care Center of Pueblo | 44.1 | 4 | 1.08 | −27% |
| Lakeshore Post Acute and Rehabilitation Center | 44.3 | 4 | 0.73 | −33% |
| Atlas Post Acute | 45.1 | 3 | — | — |
| Rock Canyon Respiratory and Rehabilitation Center | 45.3 | 1 | 0.44 | −20% |
| High Plains Post Acute LLC | 47.3 | 2 | 0.92 | −11% |
| Vista Ridge Care and Rehabilitation | 49.1 | 3 | 0.93 | −7% |
| Pueblo Heights Nursing and Rehabilitation | 49.3 | 2 | 0.71 | −39% |
Worth asking on a visit
Records only tell you so much. These are the questions this facility's particular numbers suggest you ask — go on a weekend if you possibly can.
- Can I visit on a Sunday rather than a weekday? How many registered nurses are on duty then, and for how many residents?
- Who will actually be caring for my relative at 3am on a Saturday — an agency nurse or someone on staff?