By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
The doors to the new Rural Health Care Clinic open to the public Monday at 8:00 a.m. after a dedication ceremony that was held Saturday morning at MCMC Acute Care Hospital.
Shawn Lerch, CEO and Administrator, opened the dedication ceremony Saturday morning telling the public that the project came in under budget and two weeks early. Lerch credited the construction company for purchasing as much of the construction materials and concrete locally as the $3.2 Million project would allow.
There will be seven doctors in the new facility that will provide services in pediatric care, internal medicine, women’s health care and other specialty care as well as a nurse practitioner and physician’s assistant for primary care. Lerch is excited about having all this medical care under one roof noting that if a doctor wants a consult with a surgeon that could occur right there on the spot since everyone is under one roof.
Lerch noted that the final capitol funding was a bit of a problem as the state legislature failed to fund capitol projects in the January session but noted that State Representative Dennis Roch was a bulldog and made sure that funding was in place to complete the project when the legislature met in a short session later in the year. FNB New Mexico and Royal Quint was credited for working with the construction group to make sure money was available for construction materials purchase keeping the project on time.
Lerch also noted that this facility will allow MCMC to resume its Oncology practice which will start on August 12 with other advanced specialties that will include Cardiology, Urology, Dermatology and Orthopedics.
MCMC has also received a Trauma Four level rating, one of only four trauma units in the state. With that rating also comes a partnership with Care Flight which will station a helicopter in Raton for 24 hour seven day a week service. With over 180 flights to Raton last year Care Flight saw a need to place a bird in Raton which will also greatly shorten response times in the area for major trauma incidents and transfers for critical care patients.
