NM residents seek adequate brain injury rehab in El Paso

Updated: Thursday, March 27 2014, 09:04 PM MDT

By Crystal Price EL PASO, Texas -- A growing number of New Mexico families are traveling to rehab facilities in El Paso to adquateget adequate care for brain injuries.

Managers of Mentis Neuro Rehabilitation in El Paso said they've seen a substantial number of New Mexico patients in recent months, especially young adults.

The Brain Injury Alliance of New Mexico, said that's because there is no law that mandates coverage of post-acute rehabilitation services in New Mexico.

"This way, the insurance companies in New Mexico can almost purposely write out cognitive rehab or neuro rehab in a post-acute setting," said Nancy Peters, marketing director at Mentis and member of the Brain Injury Alliance of New Mexico.

Senate Bill 52, a bill that would have changed that, was endorsed this year. However, it did not pass the legislature.

"It's going to be on an ongoing battle," Peters said. "We are fighting for them, we are their voice. We're the voice of brain injury, and it needs to be heard loud and clear."

Nicole Lardner is a 21-year-old corrections officer from Albuquerque.

Lardner was seriously injured in a car accident in October. It put her in a coma for days and left her with a traumatic brain injury.

"The left side of her body actually has muscle spasticity so it's interfering with her attempts to talk," said Michelle Lardner, Nicole's sister.

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NM residents seek adequate brain injury rehab in El Paso