GRMC Expands Lordsburg Outreach Clinic With Orthopedics, Surgery, Urology and Podiatry

Gila Regional Medical Center announced plans to expand specialty services at its outreach clinic in Lordsburg, bringing orthopedics, general surgery consultation, urology and podiatry to the site that has hosted cardiology visits since 2023. The move aims to keep more specialty care closer to home for Hidalgo County patients who now face long drives to Silver City for appointments.

The clinic operates in space leased from Hidalgo Medical Services and is also identified as the HMS Lordsburg Main Clinic. GRMC’s cardiology team has been visiting the site two or three times a month since 2023, and hospital leaders said the cardiology work provided a foundation for adding more specialties. Hidalgo Medical Services already maintains an X-ray unit at the clinic and employs a technician on site, and GRMC plans to supplement local capacity by transporting additional diagnostic equipment as needed.

GRMC CEO Robert Whitaker told the hospital’s board of trustees that specialties will rotate on different days so space will not be a constraint. “The different specialties will be at the clinic on different days, so space won’t be an issue,” he said. Whitaker said the hospital plans to purchase a van and outfit it to move equipment to Lordsburg. “We’ll build it out so that it’ll be easy to transport things that we need to do,” he said.

Leaders stressed the expansion is meant to address real barriers to care in Hidalgo County. Whitaker noted that patients from Lordsburg have sometimes canceled appointments in Silver City because of transportation problems, and Trustees Secretary/Treasurer Patricia McIntire recalled that “when she was a nurse practitioner, patients would have to make the two-hour drive to Silver City from Rodeo for medical care.” “This is a great opportunity for us to help in our mission of reaching people that can’t necessarily always make it into Silver [City] that need care,” Whitaker added.

Hidalgo Medical Services’ leadership framed the plan as a regional partnership that began in 2023 when HMS invited GRMC to provide specialty services in Hidalgo County. HMS CEO Dan Otero said, “These expansions reflect a shared vision to bring high-quality specialty care closer to home for the residents of Hidalgo County. GRMC’s Cardiology services proved what is possible when two regional healthcare organizations work together—and we are excited to grow these offerings under the partnership between HMS and GRMC.”

No firm start date for the expanded specialties was given, but Whitaker said the hospital wants to begin soon and is prepared to adapt the plan as it unfolds. “We’re kind of running on the principle of don’t wait for the perfect plan to start, because you’ll never start. Let’s get going, and then we’ll course-correct and add to and improve along the way,” he said.

For Hidalgo County, the expansion could lower transportation burdens, shorten referral chains, and improve continuity of care for older adults, workers without reliable vehicles, and families lacking flexible time off. Statewide policy changes such as adoption of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact under Senate Bill 1 provide background on efforts to ease clinician deployment to rural areas, but local scheduling, clinician staffing and whether any procedures will be performed in Lordsburg remain to be finalized. Readers can expect GRMC and HMS to release clinic schedules, staffing details and appointment procedures as the rollout progresses.