LOS LUNAS A new medical facility and a new approach to health care is coming to the village of Los Lunas early next year.

After recently being selected to insure village employees and their family members, Lovelace Health Plan announced its plan to open a primary care clinic in Los Lunas.

The clinic will be available for all of the nearly 500 village employees, their family members and anyone with Lovelace Health Plan insurance.

Coverage for village employees began July 1. The addition of the employees will mean Lovelaces health plan now covers more than 10,000 people in Valencia County, according to Doug Gullino, the vice president of commercial sales and service for Lovelace Health Plan.

Gullino said the clinic will introduce a health care approach residents of the county probably dont have available.

It really gives folks access to medical care in a way we should have always been doing, Gullino said. It gives better care, better access to the whole system, to all the different services and providers we offer.

Called a patient centered medical home model, Dr. John Cruickshank, chief medical officer at Lovelace Health Plan, said this is a change that is sweeping the country.

When he ran his private family practice for 18 years, Cruickshank said he would start his day double booked from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

If we got a call at 1 p.m., we either had to triple book or we couldnt see them, Cruickshank said. That model and experience in New Mexico caused trouble because of the access and availability of physicians. People were forced to go to the ER, which is a higher cost, and really just aggravating. And after treatment, the patients primary doctor might not be in the loop.

One big change this medical home model will bring, is the allocation of a certain percentage of appointments reserved for same day access at the new Lovelace clinic, Cruickshank said.

Original post:

Lovelace To Open Los Lunas Clinic