Valencia County Commissioners Tour Nearly Complete Los Lunas Hospital

Commissioners Morris Sparkman, Dante Berry and Troy Richardson got a close look at what Valencia County has been waiting years for: a hospital of its own. The three toured the under-construction facility at the northeast corner of Main Street and Sand Sage Road in Los Lunas on Friday, March 6, walking through a building that general contractor Bradbury Stamm has fully enclosed and is now finishing from the inside out.

Two days before the tour, Bradbury Stamm president Dennis Towne stood before the Valencia County Commission and delivered a progress report on the 40,000-square-foot, single-story structure. Interior finish work was underway, Towne said, and added that work is expected to be completed by August. The News-Bulletin characterized the broader project timeline as "on track for completion by the end of the year, if not sooner." A LinkedIn post from a participant in a separate tour of the same site described the hospital as opening in fall 2026.

The facility is taking shape quickly on the outside as well. A helipad is under construction on-site, and the Village of Los Lunas has nearly completed an extension of Palmilla Road along the east side of the property, improving access to what will be the county's first acute care hospital.

The commissioners' tour coincided with a high-profile visit by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who used the under-construction hospital as a backdrop on March 6 while signing a set of health care bills passed during the 2026 New Mexico legislative session. Standing in front of the building, she was joined by Valencia County Manager Jhonathan Aragon, Commissioner Dante Berry and Commission Chairman Gerard Saiz.

The hospital is a joint project of Community Hospital Corporation (CHC), Lovelace Health System and Valencia County. CHC and Lovelace announced the partnership in April 2024 after commissioners delegated site selection to the joint venture, which evaluated potential locations based on population growth trends, proximity to Interstate 25 and capacity for future expansion before settling on the Main Street and Sand Sage Road parcel.

"We recognize the significant need for healthcare services in Valencia County and look forward to working with the county and local providers to fill this gap," said Troy Greer, president and CEO of Lovelace Health System. "The construction of a new hospital will allow more citizens of Valencia County to receive care close to home while providing opportunities for more coordinated care for those who require a higher level of treatment."

Jim Kendrick, president and CEO of Community Hospital Corporation, credited both the state and local partners. "We are grateful for this invaluable partnership with Valencia County and Lovelace Health System to develop a new local hospital to benefit the community," Kendrick said. "We would like to thank the New Mexico legislature and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham who made this effort possible."

According to a tour summary posted on LinkedIn by Clifford Wilson, who walked the site alongside CHC representatives, the Valencia County Commission and Bradbury Stamm, the hospital will include two operating rooms, two endoscopy rooms, a 12-bed emergency department, laboratory, pharmacy, 11 inpatient beds and a full radiology suite with CT, MRI, fluoroscopy and X-ray. Wilson estimated the project would create around 100 new jobs for the community.

Planning for the emergency department is already in motion. An unidentified official quoted in the News-Bulletin said those managing the ER search are already setting expectations with prospective operators: "With the companies we are looking at for the ER, we are telling them it's going to be busy, to plan for flex coverage for busier times, probably between midnight and 2 a.m., for extra coverage."

Questions remain about the exact operational opening date, which entity will manage clinical services once the doors open, and when hiring will begin for the roughly 100 positions the project is expected to generate.