UNM Hospital

I’m 68 and have lived in nine states and two countries, and I have never experienced such a broken patient access system as UNM Hospital. Their check-in process is painfully slow — I arrived 30 minutes early for my appointment and still waited nearly an hour before being seen, making me late through no fault of my own. UNM also has a policy requiring three urgent behavioral-health visits before a patient can even be considered for therapy with a psychologist. This puts administrative concerns above patient well-being and delays care for people who are already struggling. My experience with their behavioral-health system was far worse. I went to Behavioral Health Urgent Care several months ago while grieving the loss of my twin sister and dealing with PTSD symptoms. I also have Auditory Processing Disorder, which makes it challenging to process spoken questions when I’m under severe stress. I explained this to the intake nurse, Mary (silver hair), and repeatedly told her I was confused and having trouble understanding. Instead of showing patience or compassion, she berated me for not answering fast enough — saying: “I only have four minutes for you to answer these questions!” Afterward, I saw her joking with a coworker, so I seriously question that “time constraint.” Because of how Nurse Mary treated me, and because of the three-visit rule, I informed my primary care provider that I will seek behavioral-health services elsewhere — somewhere I am treated with dignity as a patient, not processed like a number. I filed complaints with the patient advocate regarding both the three-visit policy and the treatment I received from Nurse Mary. I never received a follow-up, which makes me feel that my concerns — and potentially my patient rights — were disregarded. New Mexico deserves better. Patients deserve timely care and compassion, not delays and intimidation when they’re at their most vulnerable.

Crypto Spook • December 4th, 2025

I had a family member stay at this hospital I made numerous complaints to the areas I went in this hospital needs major housekeeping in the patients rooms ,public restrooms and the lobby where we waited needed cleaning food under the tables tables were dirty and window seals have crumbs of food from others visitors very unsanitary. Peds area nurses had to be reminded several times for attention and the rooms were dirty and trash can is full of trash n wen u tell them they just say " well let housekeeping kno" the next day it's still the same in public restrooms and patients room.i kno nurses are busy doing their jobs but Ive seen numbers of nurses working I'm sure they have assigned patients they need to to put themselves in these patients shoes ...treat people the way u want to be treated...

marian shorty • January 10th, 2026

The CF team at UNM Hospitals is the only option for cystic fibrosis care in the state, meaning patients are not realistically able to seek care elsewhere—and the team is fully aware of this. With that exclusivity comes an even greater responsibility to provide attentive, respectful, and patient-centered care. Unfortunately, that responsibility is not being upheld. The experience has been marked by poor communication, dismissiveness, and a lack of proactive care for a loved one who depends on this team for specialized, life-sustaining treatment. Concerns are not addressed in a timely or meaningful way, leaving patients and families feeling unheard, unsupported, and unsafe. Most troubling is that I now have to convince my loved one to attend appointments at all. They are increasingly reluctant to go because of how they are treated and because they believe that when they express pain or worsening symptoms, it will not be taken seriously. We have also had appointments canceled without warning, further damaging trust and continuity of care. No patient should ever feel discouraged from seeking medical care out of fear of being dismissed or ignored. This is a lifelong disease that patients must live with every single day for the rest of their lives, and the lack of empathy and understanding for that reality is deeply concerning. CF care requires trust, consistency, and genuine advocacy. Patients should never feel that their well-being is secondary simply because they have no other options. The current approach falls well below the standard of care that patients deserve given the seriousness and complexity of this condition.

Torey Johnson • December 16th, 2025