The UNM Hospitals administration has selected a team that will determine the scope, space and staging requirements for an acute-care replacement hospital at UNM, according to a University release.
According to the release, the UNM Board of Regents approved the planning contract in February.
The planning team has been selected through a competitive process, and will submit its development plan within six months, according to the release.
“The medical and hospital staff are engaged in this planning phase with the goal of being able to provide improved access for our patients,” UNM Hospitals CEO Steve McKernan was quoted as saying in the release. “This process will enable us to plan on bringing the best practices of academic medical centers to New Mexico.”
The new facility will cater to the needs of a modern teaching hospital, UNM officials said. According to the release, UNM officials have earlier showed their reservations about the over crowdedness of the current facility.
“We are pleased to be taking this important step toward meeting our patients’ needs,” Paul Roth, UNM chancellor for health sciences, was quoted as saying. “We look forward to reviewing the team’s recommendations and moving ahead with this project.”