Lovelace Urgent Care Opens in Bernalillo, Expanding Local Healthcare Access

Bernalillo residents near NM 528 got their first neighborhood urgent and primary care clinic when Lovelace Medical Group cut the ribbon at 554 Venada Plaza Drive and began seeing patients in mid-March, capping nearly a year of planning and construction on a $5.3 million facility on the border of Rio Rancho.

Cliff Wilson, president and CEO of Lovelace Medical Group, marked the occasion March 19 by calling it the company's first groundbreaking and opening in Bernalillo. "We are very excited to serve our patients in this area. We continue to expand the footprint across the state to provide care where it is most needed. Residents of this neighborhood will now have access to urgent and primary care services that are all part of the Lovelace Health System network of providers, hospitals and clinics," Wilson said. He tied the clinic directly to broader county growth: "The growth of the medical group, the growth of this location in Bernalillo, Rio Rancho, Sandoval County, it's good for the patients who live and work here. It brings business, which means jobs and jobs mean more economic development."

The 8,128-square-foot building, developed by Oman-Gibson Associates and designed by Facet Architectural Design, houses an X-ray room, a lab draw station, space for IV fluid administration, and a waiting room. It is designed to accommodate three primary care providers, all of whom had been selected before opening. Lovelace Medical Group CEO Michael Kueker estimated 15 staffers and four providers total will run the facility, which the Sandoval Signpost reported is expected to create between 12 and 15 jobs in the community.

Kueker described the Bernalillo location as Lovelace's first "neighborhood model," a hybrid urgent and primary care clinic intentionally placed away from larger medical complexes. "We understand the limited access to primary care in New Mexico and are proud to open a location in Bernalillo to help alleviate this problem," he said. "We think of urgent care as an extension of primary care, so coupling them together seemed like a natural fit." He pointed to population growth as a driver: "We're looking at the footprint of where Lovelace has services, where rooftops are, where the growth of the greater Albuquerque area is — there's a high growth area there in Rio Rancho, Bernalillo."

Primary care appointments are available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Urgent care is open seven days a week by appointment or walk-in, with extended hours covered by a single provider.

Dr. Richard Roche, Lovelace's director of primary care and quality medicine and an internist and geriatrician who has practiced in the area since 1986, framed the clinic's location as the central point. "Having something at the hospital is great, but having something that's next door to you or in your neighborhood is much more accessible and easier to get into," Roche said. "Access is critically important in the state of New Mexico, and we are trying to make it a little easier to find a doctor and find a doctor who's in your neighborhood or marketplace."

The Bernalillo opening is part of a wider push by Lovelace. In December, its parent company Ardent Health acquired six NextCare Urgent Care clinics across New Mexico, including one in Rio Rancho, four in Albuquerque, and one in Taos. Spokesperson Whitney Alcantar said those locations will rebrand under the Lovelace name later this year. Lovelace currently operates five hospitals, 33 healthcare clinics, and seven outpatient therapy clinics, maintaining 619 inpatient beds and employing more than 3,500 people. Kueker said the organization has approximately 300 physicians and advanced practice practitioners and plans to grow that number, with additional sites, including another primary care location in Albuquerque and a future hybrid urgent care facility, already in planning.