WalkaboutTed
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I saw that Bob Wells put out a video about the New Mexico State Park annual pass. It is a great deal and overall, as long as you are okay with some run down conditions in some parks (what do you want for so cheap?).
But, if you have complicated medical issues requiring multiple specialists, if you are here, be prepared for very long waits. I'm not sure about VA care, but if you are on private insurance or Medicaid, you may want to think twice about spending extended time here unless you are okay with driving hundreds of miles for specialist and/or complicated hospital care.
I'm an RN and I know how to work within ridiculous US medical system-generally. But New Mexico is a poor state and unless you are near Albuquerque or El Paso (250 miles round trip from Elephant Butte), you will need to go out of state for much more than primary care.
Without going into my medical problems, let me tell you about my experiences. I went up to ABQ (UNM Medical center) from Elephant Butte early March which is a 300 mile round trip. After ruling out an acute emergency, I was admitted for more of a workup. But, the wait for a bed was "a while", so per standard procedure in most hospitals, they held me in the ER. I was lucky and had a private room in the ER because I showed up at a quiet moment. After 24 hours in the ER, staff admitted that it might be "hours and hours longer" for a bed upstairs. At that point, they started calling the other hospitals in ABQ. All of them had similar waits, so the decision was to sit tight until a bed was available. After forty-three hours in the ER, the specialists came in and said that I would have to wait hours more because there were "about fifty patients admitted, waiting for a bed upstairs right now". As an RN and as a patient, I've been in many ERs both Stateside and overseas. The nurses' station was 10 feet from my room's door, and boy, did I get an earful! If patients weren't dying, they were left to their stretchers with only vital signs taken and absolute minimal supportive care given. I've not ever heard so much screaming in pain, not even when I worked in Labor & Delivery. The gunshot cases and codes and prisoners coming in accompanied with guards and muzzled police dogs were never ending.
At that point (after 43 hours), I checked out AMA (Against Medical Advice). I called my old specialist in Phoenix and was able to get an appointment with him in less than 48 hours. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to wait that long, so Hubby brought me to one of the teaching hospitals in Phoenix. All the appropriate care was given expeditiously. I was able to get follow-up procedures on an outpatient basis 36 hours after discharge from the hospital.
So, I've gone from NM to Phoenix (840 miles round trip from Elephant Butte) three times in March and will be going back again in a couple of weeks for more treatment. At 15mpg. Luckily, we've been able to vandwell there until next month, where, because of the coming desert heat, we will probably have to get a hotel room.
I had plenty of time to talk to the docs and nurses at UNM. Apparently, that is how things go here as they are the only trauma center in all of New Mexico, NE AZ, Southern Colorado, NW OK and NW Texas. But all the hospitals are often jammed. Because of the ubiquitous poverty and large numbers of Medicaid patients (who more often wait until medical conditions are severe before attempting to access care-usually the ER), waits are horrible. If I had to see a specialist there, they told me the wait was between four to eight months. Hence, I'm going to continue care in Tucson and Phoenix.
As I said, I don't know about VA care. But, unless I'm suffering from a stroke or any other problem which needs care within an hour or so, Hubby will drive me to Tucson or Phoenix.
So, be aware that if you need specialized care in New Mexico, be prepared to wait and wait and wait. I intellectually knew that health care in NM wasn't optimal, but living it is an entirely different story.
Ted
But, if you have complicated medical issues requiring multiple specialists, if you are here, be prepared for very long waits. I'm not sure about VA care, but if you are on private insurance or Medicaid, you may want to think twice about spending extended time here unless you are okay with driving hundreds of miles for specialist and/or complicated hospital care.
I'm an RN and I know how to work within ridiculous US medical system-generally. But New Mexico is a poor state and unless you are near Albuquerque or El Paso (250 miles round trip from Elephant Butte), you will need to go out of state for much more than primary care.
Without going into my medical problems, let me tell you about my experiences. I went up to ABQ (UNM Medical center) from Elephant Butte early March which is a 300 mile round trip. After ruling out an acute emergency, I was admitted for more of a workup. But, the wait for a bed was "a while", so per standard procedure in most hospitals, they held me in the ER. I was lucky and had a private room in the ER because I showed up at a quiet moment. After 24 hours in the ER, staff admitted that it might be "hours and hours longer" for a bed upstairs. At that point, they started calling the other hospitals in ABQ. All of them had similar waits, so the decision was to sit tight until a bed was available. After forty-three hours in the ER, the specialists came in and said that I would have to wait hours more because there were "about fifty patients admitted, waiting for a bed upstairs right now". As an RN and as a patient, I've been in many ERs both Stateside and overseas. The nurses' station was 10 feet from my room's door, and boy, did I get an earful! If patients weren't dying, they were left to their stretchers with only vital signs taken and absolute minimal supportive care given. I've not ever heard so much screaming in pain, not even when I worked in Labor & Delivery. The gunshot cases and codes and prisoners coming in accompanied with guards and muzzled police dogs were never ending.
At that point (after 43 hours), I checked out AMA (Against Medical Advice). I called my old specialist in Phoenix and was able to get an appointment with him in less than 48 hours. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to wait that long, so Hubby brought me to one of the teaching hospitals in Phoenix. All the appropriate care was given expeditiously. I was able to get follow-up procedures on an outpatient basis 36 hours after discharge from the hospital.
So, I've gone from NM to Phoenix (840 miles round trip from Elephant Butte) three times in March and will be going back again in a couple of weeks for more treatment. At 15mpg. Luckily, we've been able to vandwell there until next month, where, because of the coming desert heat, we will probably have to get a hotel room.
I had plenty of time to talk to the docs and nurses at UNM. Apparently, that is how things go here as they are the only trauma center in all of New Mexico, NE AZ, Southern Colorado, NW OK and NW Texas. But all the hospitals are often jammed. Because of the ubiquitous poverty and large numbers of Medicaid patients (who more often wait until medical conditions are severe before attempting to access care-usually the ER), waits are horrible. If I had to see a specialist there, they told me the wait was between four to eight months. Hence, I'm going to continue care in Tucson and Phoenix.
As I said, I don't know about VA care. But, unless I'm suffering from a stroke or any other problem which needs care within an hour or so, Hubby will drive me to Tucson or Phoenix.
So, be aware that if you need specialized care in New Mexico, be prepared to wait and wait and wait. I intellectually knew that health care in NM wasn't optimal, but living it is an entirely different story.
Ted
