Find Award-Winning Health Care in Roswell, NM
Residents won't have to go far from home to receive vital services and personalized care.
Hundreds of talented, dedicated health care professionals call Roswell, NM, home and provide top-notch medical care to the community from two local hospitals. Here’s a look at the top-notch health care in Roswell.
In This Article
Lovelace Regional Hospital
This Roswell hospital, part of the 100-year-old Lovelace Health System, is an important provider of health care in Roswell. Over the past year, the 27-bed Lovelace Regional Hospital provided 4,010 surgeries, had 14,015 emergency room visits, 633 births, 39,317 outpatient visits and 1,495 inpatient admissions.
Lovelace has earned five consecutive “A” safety grades – most recently in spring 2023 – in the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade report, a national distinction recognizing its achievements protecting patients from harm and error in the hospital.
“Lovelace Regional Hospital is committed to compassionate care in everything we do for our patients, from welcoming newborns into our community to providing advanced cardiac care and getting our patients back to health with physical therapy and our rehabilitation program,” says Christy Escandon, Lovelace Regional Hospital chief nursing officer.
Meet a Lovelace Doctor
Dr. Paul Torres moved to Roswell in early 2020 and practices at Lovelace Regional. A graduate of Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago, Torres is a general surgeon who was a solo practitioner in Kansas City, Missouri, for many years before arriving in New Mexico.
“I very much like working in this community,” Torres says. “This warm and dry climate has been the best weather of anywhere I’ve ever lived! I also take pride that everyone at Lovelace Regional Hospital is committed to a wealth of compassionate care for our patients; from delivering newborns, to advanced cardiac care, to physical therapy and rehabilitation programs. All of us work together for the good of the patient, and that’s why so many patients from all over southeastern New Mexico choose us.”
Torres says he loves spending time in the operating room, and says people might be surprised by the tremendous variety of things that general surgeons do.
“There are no average days in my job,” he says. “I vary between seeing patients in the clinic, performing general surgery, gastroenterology or endoscopic procedures, being on call for our emergency room, and more.
“I have the greatest pride when I do either surgery or endoscopy in a patient that results in complete resolution of their presenting problem,” Torres says, “and helps resolve that significant impact on their health. Nothing makes you feel better than removing a tumor to cure a patient’s cancer and being able to tell them this news.”
Eastern New Mexico Medical Center
Eastern New Mexico Medical Center has served the community of Roswell and Chaves County with roots dating back to 1906, providing a large range of inpatient and outpatient care. Additionally, the Roswell hospital is a regional referral center for multiple counties across the southeastern part of the state.
Last year, the 162-bed Eastern New Mexico Medical Center provided 5,500 surgeries, had 28,500 emergency room visits, 275 births, 139,000 outpatient visits and 5,000 inpatient admissions. Accredited by the Joint Commission, the hospital is also a certified Level III trauma center, an accredited chest pain center, a certified primary stroke center, and an accredited family-friendly place to work.
“Our community is truly fortunate to have a committed team of physicians, clinicians and caregivers here in southeastern New Mexico who make a difference for so many patients each day,” says Warren Yehl, CEO for Eastern New Mexico Medical Center. “We help people get well and live healthier and return home to their loved ones.”
Meet an ENMMC Doctor
Dr. Richard Pinon has been practicing at Eastern New Mexico Medical Center for 25 years. A family physician, he grew up in El Paso, Texas, and went to medical school in Albany, New York. After coming to Albuquerque to complete his residency, he and his wife chose to settle in Roswell to be closer to family in El Paso.
“I was young and adventurous,” Pinon says, “so moving to a smaller town, especially in family medicine, and being able to practice the way I wanted to and was trained to, attracted me to this community.”
Pinon’s days begin early and may include hospital rounds in the newborn nursery and other pediatric units. Once he gets to his clinic, he may see 30 to 40 patients a day.
“I do the full gamut of medical care,” he says, “ranging all the way from newborn to my oldest patient, who is 96. I do procedures, see sick people, healthy people, chronic illnesses, acute illnesses. Just anything and everything that comes through the door. There’s not a typical day, and I think that makes what I do so much more fun than doing the same thing over and over again. I’ve never had the same day twice.”
He says he’s chosen to stay all these years because “I just fell in love with the people here. The best part of working here is that I’m able to practice medicine the way I know how. I feel like I have a voice.
“I grew up in the Southwest,” Pinon says. “I love the desert. Those who don’t, tend to fall in love with it fairly quickly, if they give themselves a chance. We can travel anywhere we want to go, but it’s nice just to come home and be around people you feel comfortable with. And in a community like this, it’s easy to do.”
– Patsy B. Weiler contributed to this article.
Get to Know Roswell and Chaves County
Want to learn more about living and working in Roswell, NM? Check out the latest edition of Livability Roswell-Chaves County, New Mexico.
