Like most nonprofits, the HCMC Board of Directors has a nominating committee. The nominating committee is made up of nine members. The committee includes five community members appointed (1 each) by the Taos County Board of Commissioners, The Questa Village Council, The Taos Ski Valley Village Council, The Red River Town Council, and The Town of Taos Town Council, as well as one physician representative and three HCMC Board members.
Nominations are solicited through the Taos News and online in February of each year, and we strongly encourage referrals from the community. The Committee interviews each candidate and makes a recommendation to the Board, who then make the final selections. This is standard procedure for many hospitals and non-profit boards. If someone wishes to be nominated, applications must be submitted to the Committee. Applications are publically available through the hospital or online during the nominating process.
Some have asked why the HCMC Board is not elected by the public. Taos Health Systems is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. It is not a public entity, and neither is the hospital, which is part of HCMC. While the community has a deep-vested interest in the well-being of the hospital, the hospital is not owned or operated by any public entity. When HCMC was created in the early ‘80s there were lengthy discussions about the hospital being a county-run agency. The County decided the liability was too high, and so HCMC became a private, not-for-profit hospital. When the current hospital building was built, again the County decided it was best to not have a County representative on the HCMC Board as to avoid any conflict of interest. The County remains the landlord of HCMC’s Holy Cross Hospital in the hospital building on Weimer Road.