Adrian Hedden
El Rito Media

A new medical facility is coming to Eddy County as Artesia General Hospital announced plans to build a campus on the north end of town, replacing the hospital’s primary facility in the next five years.

The facility will serve all of Eddy County, including patients from Artesia and Carlsbad, along with smaller communities like Loving or Hope and bigger cities like Roswell to the north.

Project Manager Jeremy Kern said the project began with a “master plan” process developed three years ago by the Artesia Special Hospital District.

The land, about 250 acres near the corner of Mill Road and U.S. Highway 285 near Tractor Supply, was purchased by the district about two years ago, he said.

“We really wanted to evaluate our current building and the functionality of it,” Kern said. “That led us to the conclusion that a new structure would be more cost effective. In the last year, we’ve been really focused on developing this north campus.”

The 157,000 square-foot facility will only require about 65-acres, Kern said, meaning the rest of the property will likely be developed for housing, dining or retail businesses. He said developers are being sought to add to the location.

The property was designed to host 146 houses, likely valued at $300,000 or less, Kern said, along with 82 smaller townhomes in a walk-able area.

“The space itself is a healthcare village,” he said. “You want people to be able to walk and also the appeal of being near a gorgeous healthcare facility.”

But the old facility won’t be forgotten. Kern said Artesia General Hospital plans to continue using the current building on 13th Street for a purpose yet to be determined as the district engages with local stakeholders.

The hospital was first build in 1981 and expanded in 2006. Kern said the new facility will be able to better take advantage of technological advancements in several medical sectors.

The building will expand the operating room capabilities and its emergency room capacity, while growing beyond the currently available 25 internal beds at the facility. Overall, Kern said, the facility will provide a “more modern rural healthcare clinic.”

“Medicine has come a long way since both of those dates,” he said about the initial construction and expansion. “This build will be heavily used by those that use the facility.”

A more state-of-the-art facility, Kern said, will also bring in more well-trained specialists to work at Artesia General Hospital.

“That’s what will attract these people to the medical field to be involved in something on the cutting edge of technology and the healthcare industry,” Kern said.

He said the project is in the “programming phase” when the interior of the new facility is designed. This phase develops the kinds of services, technology and how the facility’s operations are organized. That was expected to last about two years, with construction planned for late 2027, Kern said.

“We’re going to get down to how many steps our nurses take in a day and how we can make that more efficient,” he said. “In the early concepts, you just put the shell on, then you dive into the interior.”

Artesia General Hospital Public Relations Director Khushroo Ghadiali said the new hospital is part of an agenda for the hospital system, which also includes offices in Carlsbad, to improve healthcare for the entire region.

The hospital recently added a cardiologist, urologist and nutritionist to improve its offerings to patients.

“We all know rural healthcare is a challenge,” Ghadiali said. “We’re not going to be able to do everything, but it’s one step at a time.”

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 734-972-6855, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.