BY LOS ALAMOS VISITING NURSES BOARD
Nancy Coombs, President
Linda Light, Vice President
Anita Barela, Secretary
Jose Arellano, Board Member

Ruben Vasquez, Executive Director
Susie Edwards, DNPc, RN, Clinical Manager

After 52 years of dedicated service to the communities of Los Alamos County and Rio Arriba County, Los Alamos Visiting Nurses will close its doors on February 20, 2026.

This decision was not made lightly. For more than five decades, our organization has had the profound honor of caring for patients and families during some of life’s most vulnerable and sacred moments—bringing skilled, compassionate home health and hospice care into living rooms, kitchens, and bedrooms across our region. It is a legacy built on trust, service, and deep community connection.

Unfortunately, mounting financial pressures have made it unsustainable for us to continue operating in our current form. Over the past 20 years, home health and hospice agencies nationwide have faced steadily declining reimbursement rates, even as the cost of delivering high-quality care has risen sharply. Staffing, medical supplies, insurance, technology, and regulatory requirements have all increased significantly, while reimbursement has not kept pace.

In New Mexico, these challenges are especially acute. Our state has the highest cost per home healthcare visit in the nation, driven by workforce shortages, long travel distances in rural areas, and higher operating costs. Yet reimbursement does not account for these realities, placing community-based providers at a severe disadvantage.

Current reimbursement structures also fail to adequately reflect the complexity of care provided. Under standardized or global payment models, agencies may receive the same reimbursement for both low-acuity and high-acuity patients. In a rural setting like ours—where patients often require more complex, resource-intensive care—this mismatch has led to ongoing and significant financial shortfalls.

These pressures have been further compounded by rising rents, increased administrative and compliance costs, and continued changes in federal and state healthcare policy that directly affect reimbursement levels. Taken together, these realities have created an environment in which continued operations are no longer financially viable, despite the strong community need for our services and the unwavering dedication of our staff.

While this chapter is coming to a close, our mission is not being abandoned. The Board of Directors is currently engaged in active discussions with nonprofit arms of New Mexico hospice agencies, exploring opportunities to preserve the legacy, values, and spirit of Los Alamos Visiting Nurses in some form. It is our hope that these efforts will allow our long-standing commitment to compassionate, community-based care to continue serving patients and families in the region.

We urge community members to share their voices and experiences by contacting their local and state representatives. Sustainable reimbursement and policy reform are essential to preserving access to home health and hospice care in rural New Mexico—now and for future generations.

We are deeply grateful to the patients, families, clinicians, volunteers, donors, and community partners who have walked alongside us over the past 52 years. It has been a privilege beyond words to serve this community, and we carry forward immense pride in the care that has been given and the lives that have been touched.

With gratitude and respect.