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Residents press county on Memorial Medical Center lease, indigent care and outside contractor language
Summary
Multiple public commenters asked Doña Ana County commissioners on Jan. 28 to press for a transparent, independent review of Memorial Medical Center’s compliance with its county lease and to remove contract language that could allow the hospital to shape compliance findings.
Several residents and outside commenters used the county’s public comment period on Jan. 28 to press for greater transparency and caution about the county’s dealings with Memorial Medical Center (MMC), the private operator of the local hospital.
Dr. Earl Nissen said he and a community volunteer had documented cases of patients being denied care, including a woman who, he said, was turned away for lacking insurance that could be obtained through a local agency. "The answer that Memorial gave was to turn them away, which was inhumane," Nissen said. He and other speakers asked whether the county would ensure indigent‑care protections were clearly defined in any lease revisions.
Yoli Diaz, an advocate who said she has repeatedly raised indigent‑care issues with the county, said the Department of Justice announced an investigation into the hospital on July 16, 2024, and the city of Las Cruces opened its own inquiry and hired outside counsel. Diaz told commissioners the county had approved hiring NewPoint Healthcare Advisors to evaluate lease compliance but, she said, the contract had not been executed and therefore county review had not begun. She asked who requested the review, whether the public could see proposed lease changes and whether indigent‑care provisions would be clarified.
An attorney who identified that she had practiced law in Nebraska urged the commission to remove certain language from the NewPoint engagement letter. The attorney cited a clause in the contract proposal that said NewPoint would "work with all parties to review their understanding of their obligations under the lease to achieve a common understanding of what the lease provides," and warned the language could allow MMC to shape its own compliance determination. She said the New Mexico attorney general’s forthcoming investigation would evaluate compliance against the plain language of the lease and the law, not a negotiated common understanding, and recommended striking the language.
Speakers noted the county was reported in national media coverage and that the state attorney general was investigating MMC; the city of Las Cruces had issued a notice of default on Aug. 30, 2024, and had hired counsel and a consultant. Several commenters asked the county for a more aggressive, transparent review of whether MMC had met lease obligations and whether county funding or lease‑amendment work should be paused until a complete independent review is finished.
County staff later told the commission in another agenda item that a contract with NewPoint had been approved in principle on Nov. 12, 2024, but, according to public comment, had not been executed at the time of the Jan. 28 meeting. No formal board action was taken at the Jan. 28 meeting in response to these public comments.
Ending: The commissioners did not vote on the lease or on whether to pause contractor work; public comment ended with residents urging clear standards for indigent care and for the county to prioritize completing an independent investigation and sharing findings with the public.
