New hospital opens its doors in Las Cruces

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico - After several months of delays by the pandemic, the city of Las Cruces has welcomed the opening of a third hospital.

"We bring a little bit of hometown opportunity," said Cindy Slaydon, the hospital's administrator.

"We're trying to define healthcare for Las Cruces as healthcare for Las Cruces versus healthcare from Tennessee," she added, in what appeared to be a swipe at HCA Healthcare. The Tennessee-based corporation which operates over 180 hospitals in communities across the nation.

At 98,000 square feet in size, Three Crosses Regional Hospital is located at 2560 Samaritan Drive, off of North Main Street, in Las Cruces. It has 46 beds, 10 intensive care beds, 36 medical-surgical beds, and 10 emergency room beds.

"We don't have a corporation that drives decisions from other states," Slaydon explained. "All the decisions are going to be locally done by the physicians that are on staff here."

She told ABC-7 she expects to have 200 employees on staff by the end of the first quarter and $15 million in payroll by the end of the year.

The administrator said the hospital was originally going to open in June, then September, but logistics from the pandemic delayed the opening to October.

"(Suppliers) were trying to take care of the hospitals that are open, which was definitely the need, and then the newer ones kind of the back of the line to wait for things," Slaydon said. "Slowly but surely, it all started getting better."

After eight years of planning and three years of construction, she is inviting the public to visit.

"The hospital's beautiful," Slaydon said. "We can't wait to take care of you. We'd like for you to visit when you're not sick."