I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
A proposed state-of-the-art, 68-bed teaching hospital in Rio Rancho has gotten a vote-of-confidence from the federal government that helps pave the way for its eventual reality, members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation announced Thursday.
The Federal Housing Administration has promised to guarantee up to $143 million in costs to construct the proposed Sandoval Regional Medical Center, according to a news release issued Thursday afternoon.
That doesn’t mean the federal government is lending money for the project, but that it will assume any debt obligation if local funders default on loans taken out to build the 200,000-square-foot, 68-bed hospital and 40,000-square-foot connected medical office building on 18 acres of university-owned land.
“This new hospital will mean another quality choice for medical care for New Mexicans, thousands of new jobs for the area, and big boost for the local economy,” U.S. Sen. Tom Udall was quoted as saying in the news release.
The hospital ”will bring more quality health care to the region,” New Mexico’s senior U.S. Senator, Jeff Bingaman, added in the release.
U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján also celebrated the news.
“The new facility will not only provide health care to the rapidly growing city of Rio Rancho, but will also help address the shortage of health care professionals in neighboring underserved areas,” Luján was quoted as saying. ” Further, this project will provide hundreds of new high-paying jobs for New Mexicans during the construction phase and upon its completion.”
UNM will receive $143,425,000 loan guarantee through the FHA’s Department of Housing and Urban Development.
University of New Mexico regents have authorized an approximate $49 million contribution to the project.
The facility, which has been on the drawing board for some time, will have six operating rooms and a 13-bay, Level III/IV Emergency Department/trauma center, according to Thursday’s press release.
The center also will provide inpatient and outpatient services including cardiology, gastroenterology, general medicine, general surgery, orthopedics, oncology, pulmonary, and behavioral health. Space also will be provided for clinical teaching. The hospital’s footprint is designed to eventually accommodate a 300-bed facility.
