New Mexico’s former State Senator, John Arthur Smith, was honored at a March 7th, 2024 dedication ceremony at Sierra Vista Hospital in Sierra County, New Mexico. With deep gratitude for Senator Smith’s role in helping the hospital keep its doors open and eventually prosper over the past several years, Sierra Vista Hospital officially dedicated its rural health clinic, which opened in 2019, to the Senator, naming it the Senator John Arthur Smith Rural Health Clinic.

While Senator Smith’s efforts to save the hospital were all greatly valued, his role in securing funding for a new hospital wing was the most significant of all. He worked relentlessly to help secure the $30M needed for the new building from the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee (LFC,) and when the actual price far exceeded the quote, he worked with Quorum Health Resources to redesign the building to reduce the overall costs. When it was determined that $35M was the final project cost, Senator Smith went back to the LFC, convincing them to contribute the additional $5M.

If not for the Senator’s involvement, the hospital and a local nursing home would have closed. and the New Mexico State Veteran’s Home in Truth or Consequences would have found it necessary to relocate.

Thank you Senator John Arthur Smith!