Continuing the Dream - The Campaign to Complete the Campus Master Plan

What is La Posada?

In the beginning, Mesilla Valley Hospice served patients exclusively in their homes. In 1994, recognizing that patients without available caregivers were unable to access hospice care, Mesilla Valley Hospice launched its first capital campaign to renovate office space that had been donated by a group of local physicians and to build La Posada.

In 1998, Mesilla Valley Hospice opened La Posada, the only free-standing residential hospice care facility in the state of New Mexico. Our dream was to create a place where people who needed hospice care, but who could no longer be comfortably cared for in their homes, could end their days in a home-like setting.

• La Posada is available to patients of all ages and diagnoses in the Doña Ana County area. The most vulnerable of the terminally ill patients are often served here – frail elderly married couples or surviving spouses, patients with complicated medical challenges, and the indigent.
• We offer three levels of care in our “hospice house”: 1) Routine Home Care (the same level of care we provide to patients who choose to remain in their own homes); 2) General Inpatient Care (for short term crisis management); and 3) Respite Care (for families who need a short break to either address a family emergency or recuperate from the stress of care giving.)
• La Posada is designed and furnished for comfort. Each of our private suites includes cable television, a telephone, a private bath, and temporary sleeping arrangements for family members. Our patients are welcome to decorate their rooms and surround themselves with the comforts of home. Our staff members are available around the clock for assistance and lovingly prepare three home-cooked meals a day.
• In contrast to the typical hospital setting, there are no visiting hours or restrictions in La Posada. Family and friends, including pets and children, are encouraged to come and go as they please.
• Our cozy living rooms, peaceful gardens, and a family kitchen are open to all who visit. Musicians regularly serenade our patients and therapy pets make the rounds with their "warm fuzzies."

La Posada becomes the patient’s “home away from home” -- a place of comfort, a place of care, a place of compassion.

How will La Posada be expanded?

The past seven years have been a time of tremendous growth in demand for hospice services in Doña Ana County. Since La Posada was opened in 1998, the days of service provided in the facility has increased by 773%. Currently all of the beds in La Posada are full and we often have to place patients (who may have only days or weeks to live) on a waiting list.

• Two new wings have been designed to provide greater numbers of patients and family members a place of refuge and comfort during one of the most sacred times of life.
• The proposed 14,000-square-foot expansion of La Posada will include:
• Twelve additional patient rooms served by a central nursing station
• A non-denominational chapel
• An expanded commercial kitchen
• Additional gathering areas and sitting rooms for patients and their families with beautiful views of and easy access to our gardens (allowing family members to dine and spend more quality time together)
• Parking spaces and hook ups for recreational vehicles (allowing family members to stay closer to their dying loved ones.)
• Like the existing structure, the new wing of La Posada will incorporate warm Southwestern architecture, art, and interior decor to maintain the “family feel” of our hospice house. Large windows will help bring the healing comfort of nature into each and every room. Rooms will be private and large enough to accommodate family members who wish to stay with their loved ones.
• Through the construction of a chapel, an “interdenominational” but “holy” place, Mesilla Valley Hospice will also better meet the spiritual needs of our patients and their family members by providing a place where they can pray, meditate, or engage in quiet reflection.
• At capacity, the expanded La Posada will be able to serve an estimated 304 terminally ill patients and their family members annually. Mesilla Valley Hospice will be positioned to serve 67% more patients in our inpatient facility each year and avoid placing anyone on a waiting list.