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The legal battle between Los Lunas and Belen has gone on for over 2 years, yet the proposal is still active. The city’s leadership and population are very much in favor of the new hospital.
Originally, Valencia County Comission made the decision to award $23 million in county-generated mill levy funds for the Belen hospital but then Los Lunas filed a lawsuit protesting the decision, as they also wanted to build a new hospital. The legal challenge was rejected two years ago, but just two weeks after Los Lunas filed an appeal.
The case is still pending in the Court of Appeals, with 3 judges appointed to consider the case, and all briefs submitted to the panel. There is no deadline for when that will occur.
For Belen residents the desire for a hospital is based on the fact that all they have currently is an urgent care clinic, so if there’s a major accident in the middle of the night, the ambulance has to make a 34-mile trip to Albuquerque, which can risk lives. Mayor Steven Tomita says its lack of a full-service hospital has led people with health problems to move, thus affecting their population.
The proposed hospital was supported by a 2011 Ameris Health Systems feasility study indicating Belen’s population would support a hospital. In 2013 Belen City Council awarded Ameris with a lease agreement of city-owned land across the street from the clinic.
For more information on the Belen Hospital Project and other construction jobs and projects across the southwest region including Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and the El Paso region check out www.constructionreporter.com
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Founded in 1949 to provide New Mexico contractors with local project information, Construction Reporter has grown steadily in size and coverage area, today serving the commercial construction industry throughout the Southwest. Our mission is to help our customers succeed by delivering reliable, comprehensive, up-to-the-minute information on projects in planning and out for bid in New Mexico and the surrounding states. We are passionate about helping our member companies grow by delivering the most bidding opportunities, the most efficient bidding tools, and the most industry exposure of any news service in the region.
