Apparently it is not medically necessary by UNM Hospital standards to push someone's guts back into their body cavity and sew up the hole that burst open when the injury first occurred.

UNM Hospital has tried, in vain, to rationalize its inhumane 50% Upfront for the Poor Policy by saying that only "elective" surgeries require 50% upfront.  They classify hysterectomies as "elective," as though women elect to have their uteruses removed for cosmetic purposes.  This is one woman's story.

This is the story of a grandmother in her 60s who comes to Centro Savila for food assistance. She has been a resident of Albuquerque for 18 years. She is the mother of 3 adult children and worked as a house cleaner until her knee pain became unbearable.  She has been waiting for knee surgery for more than a year.

After waiting nearly a year, Sam (not his real name) finally got the knee surgery his doctors at UNM Hospital had told him he needed if he wanted to walk again. His ordeal began in 2015 when he first sought relief from debilitating knee pain at UNM Hospital.  An MRI showed a torn ACL and torn MCL that could only be repaired with surgery. The price tag: $62,404. This man supports his family of five on his annual income of $30,000. He has no benefits and does not qualify for Medicaid or UNM Care.

We share stories of patients who have come to EleValle organizations seeking help. We retell these stories with their permission to shine a light on the policies and systems that create barriers to health equity.