Dr. Monica Snowden

By Carol A. Clark

Rheumatologist Monica Snowden officially opens her practice at 8 a.m. Monday at Los Alamos Medical Center.

Snowden specializes in a branch of internal medicine that focuses on joint, muscle and bone disorders.

“I went into rheumatology because it’s a field where you can foster great relationships with your patients on many levels,” Snowden said. “Thirty years ago there weren’t treatments but now the treatments are extraordinary and you can have these wonderful relationships with your patients for 30 and 40 years.”

Some of the most common conditions treated by rheumatologists include rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, lupus and back pain.

Diagnostic procedures can include physical examinations, X-rays and blood tests. In addition to evaluating and treating these ailments, many rheumatologists engage in research.

“I love what I do,” Snowden said.

Snowden recently moved to Los Alamos from the mid-Atlantic area where she spent the last five years practicing rheumatology at Christiana Care Health Systems in Wilmington, Del.

“My husband Bill and I decided to make a lifestyle change,” she said. “We wanted to slow down from the faster pace of the east coast, stop and smell the roses and spend more time with our little one,” Snowden said. “Once you have children it really does become ‘all about the children.’”

Rheumatology Specialists of New Mexico is the name of Snowden’s new practice.She is sharing space at 3917 West Road – Suite D, insideLAMC with Dr. Fredrica Smith, also a rheumatologist.

While the doctors maintain separate practices, they will cover each other’s patients when necessary, Snowden said.

Born in Massachusetts, Snowden moved with her family to southern New Jersey when she was about 12 years old.

Snowden graduated from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

She completed her Rheumatology Fellowship at Tufts-New England Medical Center in 2006.

It was during her residency that she met her husband. He just completed the New Mexico Bar Exam, she said.

The couple now resides in Los Alamos with their four-year-old daughter and three cats.

Snowden’s office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday however, Wednesdays are set aside for her administrative day. Her office telephone number is 662-8940.

New patients also may register through her patient portal at www.rsnmla.com. Her office will then contact new patients to schedule appointments.