I’ve been practicing orthopedics in the Santa Fe area for more than 15 years, and many of you know me and have been under my care.

I have a new development that I must call to your attention.  I’ve lost my privileges at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center because I chose not to work as one of its employees. And I’m not the only one; there are four other doctors in good standing who have been barred, and Christus has indicated it wants to throw all doctors off the medical staff who won’t become one of its employees.

A few weeks ago, we five doctors received a letter from Lillian Montoya, the CEO of Christus, revoking our privileges at the hospital. What that means is that while I can treat my patients at my office and operate elsewhere, if any of my patients need to be hospitalized at Christus, I am no longer allowed to enter the facility to see and care for my patients.

This is an extremely dangerous precedent. Christus officials seem hell-bent on kicking every doctor out of the hospital who doesn’t work for them. It is a worrying development, as our hospital, our community hospital, is the only place for certain types of services. While I will continue to perform surgery at Presbyterian Santa Fe Medical Center, and eventually our outpatient surgery center, it makes no sense for me not to be able to see my patients if they go to Christus St. Vincent. Further, patients who would like me to be their physician are forced to have their operation at a different facility.

St. Vincent hospital, as we know, used to be locally owned. Then the Christus corporation purchased half the hospital and half was still owned locally. We applaud the improvements and changes that were initially made in the hospital. Last year, Christus Health bought out the locally owned portion.

Now the local hospital is completely owned by a Texas corporation. The medical community hoped this out-of-state corporation would keep our community in mind. Unfortunately, it looks as though it is putting profits ahead of our people.

This may be a boardroom business decision, to put profits above community care, but revoking privileges of doctors in good standing for additional business is not the best way to care for the Northern New Mexico community. It can’t just be about making money. Cutting patients off from their doctors when they need them most, and limiting patient choice and access is just plain wrong.

This decision, if it stands, will not only hurt your choice of doctor, it will also drive doctors away from Santa Fe. If they think their privileges can be revoked at any time, no reasonable doctor will practice here. Less choice, fewer physicians and specialties, and longer wait times are the inevitable consequences.

I am not just writing for myself or for the four other doctors who had their privileges revoked at the hospital. I’m writing for the countless independent doctors in Santa Fe who might be next. Clearly, Christus is coming for all of us.

This does not bode well for our community. I’m calling on the hospital board to put our patients first, think of our community over profits, and stop this process of arbitrarily removing hospital privileges from doctors in good standing.

We will also be turning to our legislators and asking that in the next session they pass a law requiring open staffing at community hospitals. It is time we stand up to the Purple Monster, as it’s called, and fight back against corporate health care.