The Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Post file photo

By GABRIELLE PORTER
The Santa Fe New Mexican

An embryonic proposal to launch a new osteopathic medical school in Santa Fe hit a snag this week over a request for state support.

The idea to create New Mexico’s third school of medicine came from an organization called Access Health Initiative, led by the same people behind the Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine, and is “really at the inception,” partner Phil Zaveri said in an interview Friday.

A key part of that plan was a bill sponsored by Rep. Tara Lujan, D-Santa Fe, calling for $40 million from New Mexico’s Tobacco Settlement Permanent Fund to go into an escrow account to help the school with its accreditation process.

However, a Legislative Finance Committee analysis outlined a host of problems with Lujan’s House Bill 531, including concerns that giving state support to a private college would run afoul of New Mexico’s anti-donation clause.

Lujan said Friday she’s backing away from the proposal.

“I sponsored HB 531 because I think it’s important for New Mexico to consider all possible avenues to address our health care worker shortage and I believe this medical school could be great for Santa Fe and our state,” Lujan said in a statement. “However, due to legitimate concerns about the escrow funding mechanism raised in the legislative process, I will not pursue the bill further this session.”

The school has been floated as a potential part of a proposed development on Santa Fe’s south side that is making its way through the city’s land use approval process. The mixed-use residential and commercial project in Las Soleras would be adjacent to a Nexus Health facility at 4200 Beckner Road that opened last year.

The Santa Fe City Council approved several rezoning requests for the project at a special meeting in January, when the school was discussed, and the Planning Commission is expected to consider a final plat for the development later this month. The applicant for the zoning change was Beckner Road Partners, owned by Nexus BRPJV LLC, according to city documents.

Dr. Scott Herbert, president of Nexus Health, told The New Mexican on Friday Nexus BRPJV is owned by him and several other partners.

Herbert said his health care practice isn’t directly involved with Access Health Initiative, and he is involved only as a landowner. He said he was enthusiastic when he heard about the plan for the school.

“We’re just generally very supportive of the project,” Herbert said. “We think it would be great for New Mexico; we think it would be great for Santa Fe.”

But the future of the proposed school remains uncertain without the state funding Lujan’s bill would provide.

Legislative Finance Committee analysts said it doesn’t appear the bill as written would meet the requirements of the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation. The commission calls for schools to hold money in escrow in case they go belly-up and need funding to finish educating students already in the program.

“The fund transfer in HB531 does not appear to meet the accreditation criteria,” the analysis said. “… The Legislature would retain control of the fund and assets within.”

The analysis also said the escrow account wouldn’t be an appropriate use for money from the tobacco settlement fund and noted the fund’s oversight committee wasn’t consulted.

The bill was scheduled to be heard Friday morning in the House Health and Human Services Committee but was put on hold at Lujan’s request.

Lujan said she looks forward to more discussions and community input after the legislative session, which ends March 22.

Zaveri said he’s not sure what will come of plans for the school, especially considering “very strict timelines” in place from the accrediting organization. Funding for the project other than the escrow account is “all accounted for,” he said, but his organization was looking for a sign of support from New Mexico.

“Without this type of commitment from the state, it would be hard for us to take the next step, which is … hiring a dean in the market [and] putting together the application,” Zaveri said.

Access Health Initiative is already doing some business in the state.

David Lepre, a spokesperson for New Mexico Highlands University, confirmed Friday the school is currently in “very preliminary stages” of a partnership with the group to develop some new medical training programs.

A new medical school would be a significant development in New Mexico, which has long struggled to attract and retain medical professionals of every type and which has a rapidly aging physician population. The state currently has one traditional medical school, the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, and one osteopathic institute, the Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine in Las Cruces, which celebrated its first graduating class in 2020.

Doctors of osteopathic medicine embrace a “whole-person” approach and place a heavy emphasis on wellness and preventive health care. 

Editor’s note: Staff writer Carina Julig contributed to this report.