UNM SRMC Marks 12 Years Serving Rio Rancho and Sandoval County

UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center marked a 12-year milestone this year with social posts and newsroom highlights celebrating care for Rio Rancho, Sandoval County and neighboring communities. The hospital’s official Instagram posted: “UNM SRMC celebrates 12 years of caring for New Mexicans! We've been honored to care for patients on some of their hardest days and celebrate with them,” and UNM Health communications amplified anniversary activities and outreach.

The center’s history is tied to a July 2012 ribbon-cutting that, HSCnews notes, required “the big white tent set up outside the front door of the University of New Mexico Sandoval Regional Medical Center (SRMC) for its July 2012 ribbon-cutting was needed to shield guests from the blazing sun.” Candra Phillips, SRMC’s administrator of Ambulatory and Ancillary Services and one of the first people hired to staff the hospital, recalled: “I do remember it was quite warm,” and added, “It was a lot of fun, and it’s still fun here, because we’re trailblazers.” Pam Demarest, RN, MSN, MBA, moved to SRMC in 2014 from UNM Hospital after recruitment by Jamie Silva-Steele.

UNM leadership materials describe SRMC as a community-based academic healthcare facility and list the center’s core services. A UNM president’s message notes that SRMC “houses an innovative Radiology & Women’s Imaging Department, an Emergency Department, six operating rooms, Physical and Occupational Therapy, Primary Care and Specialty Care Clinics, 60 inpatient beds, and an Intensive Care Unit.” That message also called SRMC “a wonderful platform for local learning about healthcare” and said the hospital “continues to customize its care to meet the needs of its surrounding communities.”

Leadership and physician staffing reflect the hybrid academic-community model. Jamie Silva-Steele is named as president and CEO of the Center and led tours of the facility, accompanied during one visit by HSC Chancellor Dr. Paul Roth. HSCnews reported that “although the majority of the physicians practicing at SRMC are members of the UNM School of Medicine faculty, a growing number are community physicians who are not affiliated with the university.” The center’s executive team includes Pam Demarest as SRMC’s chief operating officer and chief nursing officer, and early staff hiring included Candra Phillips.

SRMC’s service area anchors its community mission. HSCnews emphasizes the hospital’s location in southern Sandoval County “close to a number of pueblos” and states that “many of its patients are Native Americans.” The newsroom piece quotes the hospital’s founding aim: “The goal when this hospital opened was really to be a community partner and meet the needs of this rapidly growing area and meet the needs of all of Sandoval County, which is a large county that extends significantly north from here.”

SRMC has marked milestones and ceremonies across its first decade-plus. HSCnews referenced a 10th anniversary picnic-style celebration for staff, community members and UNM leadership attended by Jamie Silva-Steele, UNM president Garnett Stokes, Douglas Ziedonis, MD, MPH, Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull, Sandoval County Commissioner Michael Meek and Jerry Schalow of the Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce. News Unm also lists a related headline, “UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center Holds 'Topping' Ceremony.” Sources variously describe SRMC as “only six years old,” celebrating a 10th anniversary and marking 12 years; using the July 2012 ribbon-cutting as the fixed anchor reconciles those references across different publication dates.

As SRMC moves beyond its first decade, its stated focus remains on local partnerships, workforce development and tailoring care for the diverse communities around Rio Rancho and southern Sandoval County.