Residents prep to fight for the hospital

September 15, 2009

Residents from Rio Communities and other eastside areas of Valencia County began to prepare to fight what they see as another attempt by some commissioners to stop a hospital from being built in the county.

A lawsuit challenging the legality of the hospital contract between a local nonprofit and the county is pending before the New Mexico Court of Appeals. The county commission will tomorrow consider whether or not to accept a settlement offer from the plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit.

The offer, which is expected to ask for the Valencia Health Commons contract with the county to be terminated, will be presented to the commission in a closed executive session. Two weeks ago the commission rejected a motion to extend the life of the contract.

After the closed session, the commission will vote in public to accept or deny the offer. It remains unclear how much discussion will take place in front of the public because attorney-client privilege might be in effect.

“They are going to try to destroy the hospital tomorrow,” said Joseph Rizzo, a pro-hospital citizen who spoke at the Rio Communities Association meeting tonight. He added, “This isn’t an offer to settle. This is an offer to surrender.”

He said the commission is operating in a way that doesn’t allow the public to know what’s going on. He pointed out that the public received short notice that the hospital would be discussed at the meeting.

Emails about the meeting began to circulate late yesterday, just minutes before 5:00pm when the county manager’s office released an agenda showing the hospital would be discussed. The county previously released an agenda without the hospital issue included on it.

Ralph DeBaca, who is also a hospital supporter, said he and others are preparing picket signs and fliers.

“As long as we can continue to fight this thing together, we’ll win this thing. We’ll get a hospital built,” he told about 30 people present at the association’s meeting.

The residents are concentrating on Commissioner Georgia Otero-Kirkham, the swing vote on the hospital issue. They want to get across to her that a vote in favor of accepting the plaintiffs’ offer could mean Valencia County won’t get a hospital now or anytime in the near future.

“She’s complaining that people are vilifying her and she doesn’t understand that it’s because of her actions,” Rizzo said.

Otero-Kirkham has repeatedly stated that she supports a hospital.

Related documents:

(Valencia! redacted 10 signatures.)

Posted in: Hospital