Doña Ana County and the City of Las Cruces filed a joint lawsuit against Memorial Medical Center for breach of contract Monday morning.
An investigation of Memorial Medical Center (MMC) started 18 months ago after the city received complaints from residents saying that the hospital was denying care and not meeting lease requirements.
According to City Manager Ikani Taumaoepeau, the city continues to receive complaints. In August 2024, the city and county served MMC with a demand letter highlighting 7 areas that were out of compliance.
“There has been some progress, but of the seven we have been unsatisfied with five of the seven requests for action. The documentation provided by MMC has not met our expectations. We are specifically concerned about the lack of indigent care and the shortfall on capital improvements,” Taumaoepeau said.
Doña Ana County Commissioner Manuel Sanchez said that they have been working with MMC to address these issues, but not enough progress has been made. He says they’ve provided both MMC and Lifepoint Health, its operator, with enough opportunity to address their concerns.
“We take seriously the trust placed in us to ensure that the agreements like this are honored in a way that benefits our entire community,” Sanchez said.
Despite the action being taken by the city and county against the hospital, Mayor Eric Enriquez acknowledged healthcare workers.
“We know that there are many dedicated professionals working at Memorial Medical who are doing their best day in and day out for patient care and better health in our community,” Enriquez said.
Statement provided by Memorial Medical Center :
"Memorial Medical Center has been working in good faith to address the questions and concerns of the City of Las Cruces and Doña Ana County for many months, and we were surprised and disappointed by today’s press conference and lawsuit.
We strongly believe that we are not in breach of our agreements, and we have been committed to forging a collaborative path aimed at the common goal of ensuring our community has access to the care they need. We have attempted to discuss the City and County’s latest requests for weeks – even as recently as last week – and continue to be rebuffed.
We are proud of our team and the work we are doing to build healthcare services in this region, grow and foster our healthcare workforce, and strengthen our community. We remain dedicated to finding a positive way forward as quickly as possible. We hope City and County officials share this commitment."
