Construction begins on Nexus Health facility in Santa Fe
Apr. 5—Nexus Health, a multi-specialty medical group, broke ground this week on its 95,000-square-foot, three-story facility in Santa Fe — a move its executives say will allow the medical group to become the premier outpatient facility in Northern New Mexico.
The medical group, founded in 2021, already operates on two fronts — oncology and orthopedics in separate medical facilities in Santa Fe. Once the medical group is in its new facility located near the Presbyterian Santa Fe Medical Center, it will add additional medical specialties, such as a lab, an imaging center, an infusion center and a linear accelerator — primarily used in radiation oncology treatment.
Dr. Scott Herbert, the president of Nexus Health and a medical oncologist, said the medical group has a focus on low-cost, outpatient treatment.
"(Health) care is just so fragmented these days, and it's so hard for patients to navigate this system," Herbert told the Journal. "The main complaint we hear is, 'I don't have access to care, and the doctors I do have don't communicate.'"
Nexus Health Executive Director Nicole McKinney said the medical group plans to have roughly 175 staff members working out of the new facility, which is expected to be completed by July 2024. As it stands, the medical group has 60 employees between its medical oncology and orthopedics divisions, and more than two dozen physicians.
"Anywhere from our front desk receptionist to nursing to IT to facilities — we will have a large number of employed staff over the multiple specialties within the divisions (we offer)," McKinney said.
The cost of the land, the construction and the equipment needed to furnish the facility will be more than $100 million, Herbert said. The developer of the project is Meridian, a full-service real estate owner, operator and developer based out of Walnut Creek, California. The Nexus Health facility is Meridian's first development in Santa Fe, one its CEO says is important for the area.
"Northern New Mexico is a growing demographic, and we identified a need for affordable, outpatient health care services in Santa Fe," Mike Conn, Meridian's CEO, said.
Executives at Nexus Health have big plans for the medical group going forward. Though it's too early to speak on additional developments, they said the goal with this new facility is for it to become the main outpatient clinic in the region.
Additionally, McKinney says building Nexus Health's "own culture" through mentorship of the younger generation is paramount to that vision.
"It really is the opportunity for us to kind of grow in any direction we truly want," McKinney said. "This being a provider-owned and provider-run facility, we now have the autonomy to kind of mold with the community as it changes and really offer care that is suitable not only for the clinic and the provider but for the community itself."
