University of New Mexico Hospital is planning a $600 million hospital intended to reduce emergency room wait times.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that hospital officials on Tuesday told Bernalillo County commissioners that the 408-bed facility would require an 18-month planning phase and three years of buildout.
UNM Health Sciences Center Chancellor Dr. Paul Roth says project funding would come from Federal Housing Authority bonds and internal UNMH funding.
County taxpayers pay about $90 million a year in property taxes for UNMH operations.
Roth says the current hospital was able to accept almost 6,000 patients from other hospitals in 2105, but rejected about 800 because of a shortage of beds. Space limitations required emergency room patients to wait an average of 10 hours for an available bed last year.
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Information from: Albuquerque Journal.
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