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Description

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WMRMCs Mission
White Mountain Regional Medical Center
will provide high quality care
to as many people as possible
in the communities we serve

White Mountain Regional Medical Center will provide caring services and operate on a financially sound basis to ensure its continuing ability to meet the needs of patients and the communities it serves

The Board of Directors and leadership of White Mountain Regional Medical Center recognize the importance of healthcare as a service essential for the wellbeing of people in the region and as an important part of the communitys economy

As a community organization the facility plays a vital role in providing services essential to the quality of life for people in Apache County Arizona and Catron County New Mexico

The organization is also a significant employer providing approximately one hundred jobs which support directly and indirectly approximately four hundred people and has a value to the community of about three million dollars annually

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History

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The first hospital building was a onestory rock building located on land donated by the Town of Springerville It was a fifteenbed hospital facility Between 1959 and 1965 the citizens of southern Apache County together with those in Catron County New Mexico launched an effort to raise funds for the construction of a more modern facility This culminated in 1965 with the construction of the current hospital facility at a cost of 531000 Half of this amount was purely donation and was matched by Federal HillBurton funds At this time the White Mountain Communities Hospital bylaws were amended so that the corporation conducted business through a Board of Directors each member representing a community within the service area The Board entered a contractual relationship with Good Samaritan Hospital later known as Samaritan Health System in 1971 for management of the hospital facility In 1982 the Board completed a 15 million expansion of the hospital Samaritan opened a longterm care facility adjoining the hospital in 1987

In early 1995 Samaritan elected to end its relationship with the hospital facility citing operating losses as the reason This action created a crisis that seemed certain to lead to the closure of the hospital and the termination of many vital medical services The citizens within the service area responded by mounting as SOS Save Our Services campaign They held telethons raffles bake sales and other activities to provide funds just to keep the hospital open on a monthtomonth basis Apache County and the Townships contributed and local businesses collected donations in countertop glass jars At the same time a petition was circulated offering the creation of a special tax district to support medical services in the area Action from the Arizona State Legislature allowed the proposition to be placed on a ballot

In July 1995 voters within the proposed tax district boundaries voted overwhelmingly to create the White Mountain Communities Special Health Care District The District uses a small secondary property tax to help fund services for the Medical Center Emergency Medical Services and primary care services

In August of 1997 the Board of Directors voted to change the facilitys name to White Mountain Regional Medical Center In June 2000 the hospital filed for protection with the United States Bankruptcy Court Chapter 11 Reorganization In August 2000 the Care Center longterm care facility was closed because the center was operating in the red Legislative changes in the reimbursement system had made it difficult to financially operate the Care Center with a small profit or breakeven The hospital emerged from bankruptcy June 25 2004

As it currently operates White Mountain Regional Medical Center is a 20 bed general hospital In addition to inpatient services the facility offers

General Outpatient Surgical Services
General Outpatient Medical Services
Emergency Services
Medical Imaging Services which include Xray CT Scan Bone Densitometry Nuclear Medicine and Ultra Sound
Laboratory Services which include Blood Bank Chemistry and Hematology
Cardiopulmonary Services which include Respiratory Services Pulmonary Function Services EKG Services and Cardiac Stress testing
Inpatient Pharmacy Services
Rehabilitation Services which include inpatient and outpatient Physical Therapy Chiropractic and Massage services
Wellness Center
Telemedicine
Primary Care Services which are funded by the Arizona State General Fund administrated by Arizona Department of Health Services
Food Services which include a consulting Registered Dietitian

There are several physiciansproviders located in the area that routinely use our facility in some capacity In addition there are several physicians with subspecialties that visit the area providing obstetrics and gynecology ophthalmology orthopedic podiatry general surgery and telemedicine services close to home