The University of New Mexico Hospital Dermatology Clinic has opened its expanded Mohs surgery and procedural suite, adding more than 1,400 square feet to the facility. The new space includes six procedure rooms, two phototherapy rooms, a nurses station, and an enlarged laboratory for immediate tissue processing.
Aimee Smidt, MD, FAAD, FAAP, chair of the Department of Dermatology at the UNM School of Medicine, said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, “This is a huge step forward for our program. It makes a huge difference in the way that we can deliver care.”
Mohs micrographic surgery is a specialized technique that removes skin cancer layer by layer while preserving healthy tissue. The clinic now has greater capacity to perform these surgeries due to increased patient demand.
Kate Becker, JD, MPH, CEO of UNM Hospital stated: “This new suite is a very important piece of our growth journey. It supports our efforts to provide the best care in New Mexico for skin cancers.”
According to Erin Dibble MBA, BSN, unit director of the Dermatology Clinic: “We’re seeing increasing numbers of patients every year who need Mohs surgery. Having a dedicated area allows us to provide this very time- and space-intensive surgery in a way that is better for the patients and the providers.”
The expansion was also designed with education in mind. Medical students and residents from dermatology as well as other specialties will have more opportunities for hands-on learning and collaboration. Smidt noted: “This space is a really clear example of our commitment to expanding and improving educational opportunities. We have a lot of learners here, not just residents and medical students, but also from other surgical services. Having a dedicated surgical space gives all of them more chances to see and do procedures, and it also helps our residents become more competitive if they want to go on to apply for a specialized Mohs fellowship.”
Mike Richards, MD, MPA, executive vice president of UNM Health Sciences & CEO of UNM Health said: “To be a competitive health employer, we need have the competitive equipment and modern environment that this expansion provides. This capital project is one of many across the UNM Health Sciences Center aimed at increasing our clinical delivery space and opening up new educational opportunities.”
Before this expansion general dermatology and Mohs surgery shared facilities at the clinic which created scheduling challenges. Dibble explained: “This has been a need for a long time. We were sharing our general dermatology space with our Mohs surgery space and trying to do two things at once in a place that wasn’t really set up for it.” The separation improves efficiency for both functions.
Smidt described how Mohs surgery often requires patients to spend several hours at the clinic: “Mohs surgery is often an all-day commitment,” she said. “Patients are arriving, getting evaluated, having their specific surgery done, being notified of the pathology results, and then most often having additional tissue removal until their cancer is cleared for repair. The new facility space allows us to get them through that day in a much smoother and more supportive way.”
The clinic remains one of few in New Mexico offering phototherapy treatments for psoriasis as well as cutaneous T-cell lymphoma; with added rooms they can now double their phototherapy capacity.
Dibble added: “Our team works very closely with oncology, plastic surgery, infectious disease and others. The whole goal is to make sure the patient gets the best safest outcome and this new space really supports that.”
UNM leadership credited cooperation among university entities and state legislators with making this project possible.
Becker reiterated: “This new suite is a very important piece of our growth journey,” she said. “It supports our efforts to provide the best care in New Mexico for skin cancers.”
Smidt concluded: “This is a high-quality interdisciplinary environment,” she said. “And it’s a direct investment in the health of our state.”
