Best hospitals in New Mexico

Today, we will be looking at the best hospitals in New Mexico. Also, it is essential to note that there are about 62 healthcare institutions in New Mexico which comprise 20 government hospitals, and 23 private hospitals among others. The total number of beds available in New Mexico is 5104.

The largest hospital in New Mexico by the number of beds in the University of New Mexico Hospital, which has 527 beds and is located in Albuquerque.

Furthermore, the smallest hospital in New Mexico by the number of beds is GUADALUPE COUNTY HOSPITAL, which has 10 beds and is located in SANTA ROSA. Helipad facilities are available at 40 hospitals in New Mexico.

Overview of the best hospitals in New Mexico

In New Mexico, there are 386,000 Medicare enrollees, and the enrollment to population ratio is 18.42 percent, compared to 17.08 percent in the United States.

The average payment per fee-for-service enrolled is $7813; in the United States, the average payment per fee-for-service enrolled is $9,857. The average length of stay in a hospital in New Mexico in 5 days, which is the same as the average length of stay in the United States.

New Mexico’s health status is changing as demographics shift and specific health issues gain or lose prominence. New Mexico’s health status remains quite complex for a state with a relatively small population.

This report intends to conduct a systematic review of New Mexico’s health status from various perspectives, allowing certain key findings to emerge. The comparison to the United States is an important vantage point.

Unfortunately, life expectancy in the United States has fallen in the last two years, owing primarily to drug overdoses, suicide, and Alzheimer’s disease. Life expectancy in New Mexico fell by 0.3 years in 2016 compared to the rest of the country, owing to drug overdoses, car accidents, heart disease, and infant mortality.

New Mexico has lower death rates than the rest of the country for heart disease and cancer, but much higher rates for unintentional injuries such as drug overdose, motor vehicle accidents, and older adult falls.

New Mexico also has significantly higher suicide and cirrhosis and chronic liver disease death rates than the rest of the country, owing primarily to alcohol use.

Disability-adjusted life years, or DALYs, provide a broader health status measure for New Mexico by including years lived with a disability.

Among the top ten causes of years of healthy life lost, three have significantly higher rates in New Mexico than in the rest of the country. These are drug use disorders, car accidents, and self-harm (suicide).

Poverty is relatively common in New Mexico, and those who live in poverty have poorer health. In New Mexico, American Indians and Alaska Natives have the highest overall death rates and the shortest life expectancy, both of which are caused by alcohol-related disease and injury.

Rural areas in New Mexico are on the receiving end of many health disparities, and people living there have a shorter life expectancy as a result of higher smoking rates and less access to care.

New Mexico, like the rest of the country, is experiencing a crisis in which life expectancy is declining due to substance abuse and injury. If these trends are to be reversed, public health and society as a whole must become far more effective in dealing with these issues.

Requirement for Community Benefit

As a condition of licensure, New Mexico requires nonprofit and for-profit hospitals to provide community benefits.

The New Mexico Department of Health grants licenses to acute-care, general-service, and limited-service hospitals that agree to participate in Medicaid, Medicare, and county indigent care programs, as well as serve nonpaying and low-income reimbursed patients. Nonprofit hospitals in New Mexico are not required to provide a certain level of community benefits.

Read Also: Best hospitals in Atlanta

Hospitals in New Mexico are required to report costs associated with charity care they provide. The New Mexico Department of Health requires all acute care hospitals, as well as all limited services hospitals licensed after January 1, 2003, to report the cost of care to nonpaying and low-income reimbursed patients on an annual basis.

All licensed non-federal hospitals must also submit annual data on charity care charges and bad debt to the New Mexico Health Policy Commission. Nonprofit hospitals in New Mexico are not required to conduct community health needs assessments.

Nonprofit hospitals in New Mexico are not required to develop community benefit plans or implementation strategies. Nonprofit hospitals in New Mexico are not required to adopt or implement financial assistance policies.

Although New Mexico does not require hospitals to adopt or implement financial assistance policies, Department of Health regulations states that every patient has the right to examine and receive an explanation of his or her hospital bill, as well as information about financial assistance available through the hospital, upon request.

Each licensed non-federal hospital is required to submit an annual report to the Health Policy Commission outlining its charity care policy, including the qualifying income levels.

New Mexico requires nonprofit and for-profit hospitals to provide patients with information about financial assistance available through the hospital upon request.

Other than recognizing that patients have the right to receive and examine an explanation of their bills, New Mexico law does not limit nonprofit hospital charges or billing and collection practices.

New Mexico Hospitals Awarded Top Honors in Hospital Quality

Three New Mexico hospitals received the Quest for Excellence Award, the New Mexico Hospital Association’s (NMHA) highest honor for outstanding efforts to advance quality and patient care for New Mexicans.

Presbyterian Rust Medical Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico was named the overall winner, while Presbyterian Lincoln County Medical Center in Ruidoso, New Mexico was named the critical access and rural hospital winner, and Advanced Care Hospital of Southern New Mexico in Las Cruces, New Mexico was named the specialty hospital winner.

To address challenges specific to their hospital, each of the honorees enlisted multiple clinical and administrative teams and approaches. These approaches went beyond “normal times” and were crucial during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Presbyterian Rust Medical Center was chosen by its peers and a panel of judges from other state hospital associations to receive the top award.

The awards were given out during the 75th NMHAll Together Annual Meeting of the NMHA, which was brought to healthcare stakeholders this year via a virtual event platform. Presbyterian Rust Medical Center discovered that many well-intended improvement projects did not last beyond the initial phase.

As a result, the hospital implemented systems that empower employees at all levels to sustain projects and promote continuous, rapid improvement that is integrated into daily staff activities. The hospital’s Tiered Huddle system, for example, accelerated response to Covid-19 issues such as tracking Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and ventilators and allocating scarce Covid-19 testing supplies to the most at-risk or symptomatic patients.

Lincoln County Regional Medical Center used nationally recognized patient quality data to significantly reduce the wait times from emergency departments to inpatient admission.

With the implementation of a warm handoff toolkit, the hospital admitted an average of 66 percent of patients within 30 minutes of bed assignment in 2020, up from around 37 percent in 2019. Patients’ length of stay was reduced from more than 3.5 days to three days as admission wait times were reduced.

Advanced Care Hospital of Southern New Mexico implemented strategies to reduce the need for respiratory failure patients to be transferred back to the acute care hospital whenever possible. Given the respiratory nature of Covid-19, these strategies included onboarding standardized patient processes for all employees, improving patient and family satisfaction with their hospital stay, and directly connecting patients and families to education, support groups, and other community resources.

Honorable mentions for the Quest for Excellence award included:

CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center (Santa Fe) – Antimicrobial stewardship in outpatients
Haven Behavioral Hospital of Albuquerque (Albuquerque) – Discharge planning • MountainView Regional Medical Center (Las Cruces) – Management of daily rounds
Breast cancer navigation program at Nor-Lea Hospital District (Lovington)
Roosevelt General Hospital (Portales) – Increased precautions for patients with suicidal ideation
Nursing workflow at San Juan Regional Medical Center (Farmington)

Best hospitals in New Mexico

Here are 10 of the best hospitals in New Mexico:

Las Cruces’ Mountain View Regional Medical Center

Address: 4311 E Lohman Ave Las Cruces, NM 88011

Phone: (575) 556-7600

Website: Click here

This 168-bed facility employs 625 medical professionals from 35 different specialties. The average wait time in the emergency room is 31 minutes.

Plains Regional Medical Center (PRMC)

Address: 2100 M.L.K. Jr Blvd, Clovis, NM 88101, United States

Phone: +1 575-769-2141

This Presbyterian facility is one of only 20 hospitals in the country to receive the Press Ganey Top Improver Award. It has 106 beds. It ranks second on our list.

Albuquerque’s Lovelace Women’s Hospital

Website: Click here

Address: 4701 Montgomery Blvd. NE (at Jefferson) Albuquerque, NM 87109

Phone: 505.727.7800

Lovelace Women’s Hospital has been honored with two Women’s Choice Awards, one for patient safety and the other for breast health.

Albuquerque Presbyterian Hospital

Address: 1100 Central Ave SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, United States

Phone: +1 505-841-1234

Website: Click here

It is well-known for its orthopedic surgery, joint replacement, and stroke care. Presbyterian is clearly a great hospital, regardless of which ranking system you use.

Carlsbad Medical Center

Address: 2430 W Pierce St, Carlsbad, NM 88220, United States

Phone: (575) 887-4100

There are 115 beds in this hospital. It is well-known for treating heart failure, pneumonia, and surgical care.

Medical Center of Eastern New Mexico

Address: Eastern New Mexico Medical Center 405 West Country Club Road Roswell, NM 88201

Phone: (575) 622-8170

This 162-bed hospital employs 150 medical personnel.

Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico

Address: 2450 S Telshor Blvd, Las Cruces, NM 88011, United States

Phone: +1 575-522-8641

Website: Click here

This hospital is well-known for its treatment of heart attacks, heart failure, and pneumonia.

Hobbs’ Lea Regional Medical Center

Address: PO Box 3000 Hobbs NM 88240

Phone: (575) 492-5000

Fax: (575) 392-2487

This 201-bed hospital is staffed by over 400 healthcare professionals. Lea Regional Medical has the state’s first accredited heart failure center. The hospital also houses one of New Mexico’s only six accredited chest pain centers.

Albuquerque’s UNM Hospitals

Address: 2211 Lomas Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, United States

Phone: +1 505-272-2111

This teaching hospital is home to New Mexico’s only Level 1 Trauma Center as well as the state’s only certified stroke center.

Albuquerque’s Lovelace Medical Center

Address: 601 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Ave NE, Albuquerque, NM 87102, United States

Phone: +1 505-727-8000

This facility has a good reputation for stroke treatment. It is known for its excellent neurosurgery and spine programs.

FAQs about the Best hospitals in New Mexico

Below, you will find the top answers you need to know about the best hospitals in New Mexico;

Is there a good hospital in New Mexico?

U.S. News evaluated 55 New Mexico hospitals. One is ranked in the state and meets high U.S. News standards.

Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque is New Mexico’s best hospital. U.S. News ranks hospitals in the Albuquerque metropolitan area as well.

How good is New Mexico’s healthcare?

According to a nonpartisan Commonwealth Fund study from 2014, New Mexico ranks last in the nation for healthcare affordability and access.

Employers and families are increasingly opting for high-deductible insurance plans, and New Mexicans are paying more and more for their health care out of pocket.

What is the name of New Mexico’s largest hospital?

The Largest Hospital in New Mexico is the University of New Mexico (UNM) Hospital with 628 beds followed by Presbyterian Hospital with 453 beds, and Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center with 298 beds.

Conclusion on the Best Hospitals in New Mexico

New Mexico blends old-world charm with modern conveniences. Drive through the city and you might think you’ve been transported back to the 1950s, but step inside one of New Mexico’s top hospitals and you might be surprised to see that cutting-edge technology has made its way here.

Of course, some hospitals are superior to others, and certain neighborhoods provide easier access to high-quality care. With that in mind, we’ve listed some of the best hospitals in New Mexico.