Living Well | Las Cruces Bulletin

The entrance to Meerscheidt Recreation Center in Las Cruces, where renovations have updated much of the building while additional improvements remain planned.

A place where generations of Las Cruces residents have played basketball, joined leagues and spent afternoons with friends looks considerably different these days. Meerscheidt Recreation Center has undergone a major renovation, transforming... more

Elijah Rey Reyes
Las Cruces Bulletin | 11/10/26

On the front lines of care

A few days ago, while attending a Basic Life Support CPR recertification course, the instructor checked my credentials and paused. “Why are you taking the BLS course? This is usually for medical professionals.” I smiled, because I am a medical... more

L. Montana Bencomo, ATC, Cert. MDT
Southwest Sport and Spine Center | 11/5/26

A Comfort Keepers caregiver talks with an older woman on a porch swing. Companionship is among the services in-home caregivers provide to help older adults remain in familiar surroundings.

The distance between care and home

Growing older doesn't always mean leaving home. But for seniors in rural southern New Mexico, getting the help they need to stay there can be difficult. Long distances, transportation costs and limited staffing can complicate in-home... more

Elijah Rey Reyes
Las Cruces Bulletin | 10/30/26

A painful path to a promising dental career

Tyler Parsons had no intention of becoming a dentist. In fact, after a couple of painful experiences with dentists while serving as a missionary in Peru, he wasn't particularly fond of the profession. He had always planned to become a physician.... more

Kurt Johnson
Las Cruces Bulletin | 10/22/26

Start the new year with peace of mind

As we enter the final months of the year, to-do lists usually fill up with holiday planning and activities. But I’d like to encourage you to add one more essential item to that list: your health. Many families don’t realize that by mid-year, they... more

Amanda Sollars, M.D.
MountainView Medical Group | 10/16/26

The life you slowly stop living

Nobody wakes up one morning and decides to give up their independence. It happens quietly. You stop taking the longer walk because your knee bothers you. You skip a trail because your balance feels uncertain. You let someone else carry the... more

L. Montana Bencomo, ATC, Cert. MDT
Southwest Sport and Spine Center | 10/16/26

St. Andrew’s Hospitality House provides free temporary lodging for patients and their families in Las Cruces.

A house that keeps filling

A fall brought a man to Las Cruces for medical care. What his wife expected to be treatment for an injury became something neither had anticipated. The man had been transferred after the hospital treating him could not perform the imaging... more

Elijah Rey Reyes
Las Cruces Bulletin | 10/15/26

From survival to growth with an unexpected leader

When Three Crosses Regional Hospital was being planned in Las Cruces, Denten Park wanted no part of it. More precisely, he didn’t want it built. Park was CEO of MountainView Regional Medical Center at the time, and he believed the city’s health... more

Kurt Johnson
Las Cruces Bulletin | 10/8/26

Prevention, symptoms and diagnosis

September marks Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and Memorial Medical Center is shining a light on the most common cancer diagnosed in men, after skin cancer. It is also the second-leading cause of cancer-related death, after lung cancer. The... more

With Jason Call, MD, Medical Director of Radiation Oncology
Memorial Medical Center | 10/3/26

The blessing of hospice transport

“We are the only hospice we know of who is able to arrange our own transportation,” Mesilla Valley Hospice Chief Operating Officer Mario Prieto said Sept. 24, after MVH’s first ever non-emergency transport vehicle received a blessing and became... more

Mike Cook
For the Las Cruces Bulletin | 10/3/26

Decoding your plan

If you have ever opened an Explanation of Benefits after a medical visit and felt like you were trying to read a foreign language, you are not alone. Between deductibles, copays, coinsurance, and network restrictions, navigating healthcare can... more

L. Montana Bencomo, ATC, Cert. MDT
Southwest Sport and Spine Center | 10/3/26

Influencer prescription: Why TikTok and AI can’t replace sports medicine expertise

If you spend any time scrolling through TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, you have probably seen them: confident creators demonstrating the “one exercise” that fixed their knee pain or eliminated their back pain. When you are frustrated by an... more

L. Montana Bencomo, ATC, Cert. MDT
Southwest Sport and Spine Center | 9/18/26

Navigating breast health

Many women wonder: When should I start breast cancer screening? Early detection is the single most effective tool for survival. However, the screening schedule isn't the same for everyone. Age, family history, and personal risk factors... more

Paula Delgado M.D.
MountainView Medical Group | 9/18/26

Understanding peptides: the science of cellular communication in modern health

If you have spent any time scrolling through fitness forums, wellness blogs, or medical news lately, you have likely encountered a word taking the health world by storm: peptides. From claims about accelerated injury recovery and anti-aging to... more

Montana Bencomo
ATC, Cert. MDT, Southwest Sport and Spine Center | 9/3/26

Gathering to explore wellness

The third annual “Wellness Expo: Reclaiming Our Wellness” will be held 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, at Alameda House, 526 S. Alameda Blvd. in Las Cruces. Tickets are $35, $45 and $75 a person. The expo will host more than 20 vendors and a... more

Mike Cook
For the Las Cruces Bulletin | 8/24/26

The new age of joint replacement

If 60 is the new 40, what’s the optimal age for joint replacement? With advances in minimally invasive techniques and faster recovery time, more and more younger people are undergoing hip and knee replacements. Once considered a last resort... more

Ugonna Ezeh, D.O., FAAOS
MountainView Medical Group | 8/24/26

Replacing a jersey with a new white coat

When Andreya Hesser walked onto the court at Centennial High School on July 15, it was familiar territory. She had been there plenty of times before, wearing a volleyball uniform as a Centennial student and playing on the same court where, years... more

Kurt Johnson
Las Cruces Bulletin | 8/13/26

Sleep apnea: What you need to know

Do you wake up feeling like you barely slept at all? Do you snore loudly or gasp for air in the middle of the night? You might have a common condition called sleep apnea. About one in three men and one in six women have this problem. The good... more

Joshua Levinger, MD
Otolaryngologist (ENT), Memorial Ear, Nose & Throat Institute | 8/6/26

Small steps and reasonable goals to good health

So, you would like to have a healthier lifestyle – exercise and eat better – but you’re already overwhelmed just thinking about the big changes you’ll have to make and the expenses you may incur. The truth is, starting with small steps and... more

Mike Cook
For the Las Cruces Bulletin | 8/6/26

Managing school anxiety

It is back to school time. While this can be exciting for many students and parents, this can cause anxiety for others. For some students just starting school, changing schools or transitions to the next level can cause anxiety. Just... more

Janette Castillo, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist | 7/16/26