LOS ALAMOS - Christus Health continues to expand its presence throughout New Mexico.

The Texas-based Catholic health organization, which has run Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe for nearly two decades and assumed full ownership in 2023, has started construction on a new hospital in Los Alamos.

The planned facility at 401 Trinity Drive will provide emergency, surgical, diagnostic and specialty services. It forms part of ongoing expansions in the state. Earlier this month the nonprofit opened a Multispecialty Care clinic in Albuquerque's Northeast Heights.

Christus has also managed Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center in Alamogordo for three years. That acute care site contains roughly 100 beds.

The goal remains bringing care closer to patients' homes, explained Lillian Montoya, president and CEO of Christus St. Vincent and senior vice president of Christus Health New Mexico.

Review of patient ZIP codes showed many traveled to Santa Fe from Albuquerque or Los Alamos, Montoya noted.

Christus has maintained a Los Alamos clinic for about ten years. We are growing that presence because residents have long traveled down the hill and prefer staying nearby, she said.

Montoya emphasized focusing on areas where patients need better access to services.

Expansion plans for Los Alamos began over a year ago when the organization bought vacant land on Trinity Drive, located between a Smith's grocery store and several apartment buildings, from the Knights of Columbus.

The Catholic group agreed to the sale due to a shared faith-based mission, Montoya stated. She described the transaction as a significant step given limited available land in the area.

Building is projected to last about 18 months. That window will allow time to hire providers and staff, according to Montoya.

The finished hospital will feature an emergency department with seven treatment rooms, a trauma room and two triage rooms.

Manny Pacheco, emergency medical services division chief for the Los Alamos Fire Department, said officials continue discussions about capacity. A second emergency room alongside the existing Los Alamos Medical Center would offer patients additional choices.

We are excited to have another option, Pacheco said.

The site will also include four inpatient beds, two operating rooms, an on-site lab and pharmacy, an endoscopy suite and imaging tools such as CT scans, MRIs, X-rays and ultrasounds.

A six-chair infusion center will support cancer patients.

Bringing these services together creates an integrated model centered on patients and community needs, said Christus St. Vincent Chief Operating Officer Hope Wade at the groundbreaking.

Labor and delivery services will not be offered at the new Los Alamos hospital.

Los Alamos Medical Center recently announced it would end its own labor and delivery program, directing patients to Presbyterian Espanola Hospital or Christus St. Vincent. The new facility is too small to include that service line, Montoya explained.

Dr. David Gonzales, chief medical officer for Christus St. Vincent, noted the hospital will expand options for local residents.

During emergencies or serious illness, distance and time matter, he said at the ceremony. Local access to reliable care can benefit patients and families.

The Albuquerque clinic aims for the same outcome without an emergency department.

Located at 7910 Wyoming Blvd. NE, Suite A, the clinic provides primary care plus rotating specialties including neurosurgery, surgical breast oncology, endocrinology and liver, pancreas and gallbladder surgery. Additional specialties will launch in the fall.

Montoya credited the strong patient volume at the Christus St. Vincent Regional Cancer Center, which opened in Santa Fe in July 2025, with building confidence to enter the Albuquerque market.

Officials will track the clinic's performance while exploring other underserved areas in southern New Mexico.

One step at a time: master it, do well, and move to the next opportunity, she said.