San Juan Regional Health

From left: SJRMC President/CEO Jason Rounds, Vice President of Patient Care Services Cindy Baez, Vascular Access Coordinator Maranda Marquez with NMHA President/CEO Troy Clark

We are proud to announce that San Juan Regional Medical Center is the 2025 New Mexico Hospital Association’s (NMHA) Quest for Excellence top overall hospital winner, as well as the award recipient in the General Acute Care category. Our team received recognition at the Quality Awards Luncheon in Albuquerque for our Ditch the Stitches: Smarter Securement for Central Venous Access Devices initiative.

The Quest for Excellence Awards represent the highest level of professional acknowledgement from the NMHA’s Quality Committee. The award honors hospitals for their exceptional efforts to improve clinical quality and patient care for the people of New Mexico. This is the second year in a row San Juan Regional Medical Center has been named Top Overall Hospital by the NMHA.

As the only hospital in the region equipped to care for high-acuity patients, we are dedicated to delivering the safest, highest-quality care possible. Our process improvement initiative aims to reduce dressing disruptions by 50 percent and lower central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) rates through the organization-wide adoption of suture-less adhesive securement devices, replacing traditional suture-based methods.

“Reducing CLABSIs and improving central line practices isn’t just a metric—it’s a mission-critical priority to protect vulnerable patients,” said Maranda Marquez, Vascular Access Coordinator. “Securing lines the right way the first time means lives saved, trust earned, and excellence upheld for our community.”

Since implementing these initiatives, we’ve achieved measurable reductions in dressing disruptions and catheter‑related infections, while also enhancing workflow efficiency and staff satisfaction. Most importantly, they improve the safety, comfort, and overall experience of every patient in our care.

"Quality is at the heart of everything we do. We are deeply grateful to Quality New Mexico for recognizing the exceptional work of our Vascular Access Team and our ongoing commitment to safe, high-quality, compassionate care. Through collaboration and innovation, we continue to improve outcomes and strengthen the trust our community places in us,” said Jason Rounds, SJRMC President and CEO.

We celebrate the achievements of our team along every touchpoint of our network of comprehensive care. We are honored to be named as a statewide leader in Quality and Patient Safety and look forward to continuing to make our processes better for our patients and our community.