I was recently reminded that the citizens of Rio Arriba county voted to build a nursing home in our community. Does that ring a bell?
A friend of mine in Española was telling me the story about her elderly mother who was devastated because her sister was moved to a nursing home. Making health and life decisions is never easy. But now one of her only remaining family members, her friend and confidant was gone.
The tragedy doesn’t so much lay in the fact that she needed specialized care in a senior facility — a reality that awaits many of us. The sad part was that she was moved all the way to Alamogordo. That’s a four-hour drive. Whether for lack of space, affordability or just a roll of the dice, my poor friend’s mother has to wait for the occasional trip to visit her sister. When you are tied to the people and place that you love, being forced to leave is tragic.
So whatever happened to that nursing facility? In 2018, Española’s nursing faculty closed almost in the hush of night. The management company gave residents little if any time to find alternative living arrangements. Patients were literally taken by ambulance to locations in Rio Rancho, Albuquerque, and Taos in the middle of the night.
Because of a mind-blowing non-compete clause, the building couldn’t be used as nursing facility ever again — it boggles the mind how that could have been negotiated, but here we are. That’s when the county jumped in and proposed to build a new facility.
It took a General Obligation (GO) bond to the voters in 2019 and the folks of Rio Arriba County voted to raise $12 million to build a new nursing home. In the bond, voters also agreed to raise $6 million for an athletic facility and an additional $12 million for road improvements. All this came at a great cost to tax payers with an increase in property taxes of 6-10%.
Between 2020 and 2022 there was some progress as land was purchased and additional funds were sourced to make this dream a reality. By some accounts the county was ready to break ground in the spring of 2023. Pero nada. Nothin.’ Since then, it’s been crickets. For five years, changes in leadership, commissioners and managers have lead to seemingly nothing. And whatever happened to the athletic facility?
Why can’t we ever move ahead? Why can’t we just get one thing done? The City of Española canceled a ribbon cutting for its proposed park by the La Joya Fire Station a couple weeks ago, allegedly because the hand-chosen developer wasn’t vetted and the city failed to follow the proper bidding process required by the state.
I have confidence it’ll eventually get done, but why all the subterfuge? Just go through the process and do it right. As for the nursing facility, I have less confidence. The capacity just isn’t there. The county failed to renew its contract with its financial advisor, making progress almost entirely unlikely. Bonds have very strict legal and financial parameters that must be met. Without the expertise to see this project through, there is little chance of it. I hope I’m proven wrong.
What do you think the answer is? Do we have the right people in office? Are the mandates too difficult? Are our expectations too high? Do our leaders do enough to maintain consistency and follow-through? Do we?
All we need is to ask my friend’s mother. What are you willing to do to see $30 million get spent appropriately in such a way that moves our community forward and so that you don’t have to drive four hours each way just to visit your sister? In a nursing home. In Alamogordo.
Javier Sanchez is a former mayor of Española.