LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Pleased with care at SRMC

In regards to the editorial reprinted from the Albuquerque Journal about the emergency room at Sandoval County Regional Medical Center, I just wanted to state that my husband and I, (and a close friend), have all been seen at the center multiple times over the past several years. In all cases, the medical care was top-notch, thorough and relatively quick. Only once did any of us have to wait more than one hour to be seen. I have no doubt that wait times can be long at certain times. I also understand that there is an understaffing issue, but that's the case in health care in general after the COVID pandemic.

For reference, when I took my son to Presbyterian's emergency department, we were there 12 hours, and that was without any testing completed. Personally, I'd like to see what hospitals in New Mexico have an average three-hour visit time. They're certainly not in highly populated areas. The fact is that an increase in the population puts a burden on existing services. If SRMC was constructed to serve northern Rio Rancho population years ago, it's fairly obvious why they would be strugglng to serve the northern half's surging population now. With the city of Rio rancho's penchant for building homes without adding infrastructure, I don't see any of that changing, whether employees unionize or not.

Mary Girsch-Bock

Rio Rancho