City: Santa Fe, NM

Category: Health Care

Telephone: (505) 983-3361

Description: Christus St. Vincent is the regional medical center for northern New Mexico and the largest medical facility between Albuquerque and Pueblo, Colorado. It’s a nonprofit, nonsectarian hospital with 268 beds, around 300 staff physicians representing 22 medical specialties, and a nursing staff of more than 400. With close to 1,300 employees, the hospital is also Santa Fe’s largest private employer.Established in 1865 by Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, Ohio, St. Vincent was New Mexico’s first hospital. It began its days in an old adobe building next to St. Francis Cathedral in downtown Santa Fe. The Sisters ran the hospital for more than a century, moving it three times before turning it over to a community-based board of trustees in 1973. In 1977 it moved to its current location on St. Michael’s Drive. Today, aside from the Indian Health Hospital, St. Vincent remains the only hospital in Santa Fe, and while four smaller local hospitals also serve this region, many residents and physicians from those areas come to St. Vincent for more specialized care. In addition to the usual departments, St. Vincent has a pain clinic, a sleep disorders clinic, comprehensive cancer services, and the second-busiest Level III trauma center in the state.The emergency room and adjacent FirstCARE unit treat more than 52,000 patients annually, making it the second-busiest acute-care facility in New Mexico after University Hospital in Albuquerque. FirstCARE is open for walk-ins from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The emergency room is open twenty-four hours. In addition, more than 5,500 scheduled outpatient surgeries are performed annually. St. Vincent offers a number of support groups. It is particularly well known for its cancer care. Classes, such as yoga, meditation and contemplative care, and breast cancer support for cancer patients and caregiver support for careers, are held in the Cancer Support Center.