Ranching community: Hospital proximity could mean life or death
A local rancher relates his encounters with the Lincoln County Medical Center and how its proximity is essential to the ranching community
Ranching community: Hospital proximity could mean life or death A local rancher relates his encounters with the Lincoln County Medical Center and how its proximity is essential to the ranching community Check out this story on lcsun-news.com: https://www.ruidosonews.com/story/news/2019/11/14/ranching-community-hospital-proximity-could-mean-life-death/4192240002/
Dianne L. Stallings, Ruidoso News Published 2:57 p.m. MT Nov. 14, 2019
One family shares their experiences at the Lincoln County Medical Center
In 2005, Kendal Wilson, a sixth generation Lincoln County rancher, was bucked off a horse and then was kicked by the equine.
After the incident, he remembers "not feeling really great," he said during a recent interview. Because of Kendal's previous ranching experiences, Wilson's parents, Carol and former county commissioner Rex Wilson, were aware that their son possessed a high tolerance of pain. But they wanted to ensure there were no serious, unseen injuries, and headed to the hospital for an examination.
The Lincoln County Medical Center is about 90 minutes from the family ranch in Ancho, and as the Wilsons made their way to the hospital, Kendal's abdomen swelled. When they arrived at the hospital in Ruidoso, his abdomen was distended, they said. After several inconclusive tests, physicians decided that emergency exploratory surgery was necessary.
Kendal Wilson and family (Photo: Courtesy/LCMC)
They found that Kendal's spleen had been perforated when he was kicked by the horse and could not be salvaged, according to the family. His spleen was removed, with LCMC providing necessary care to ensure his recovery and recuperation.
The ordeal caused Wilson to lose about eight units of blood and he now sports a nearly 12-inch, healed incision scar on his upper abdomen to remind him of how the he received successful and timely emergency care at LCMC, he said.
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With the opening of the newly renovated and expanded LCMC planned for the spring of 2020, Kendal shared his story as an example of why the ranching community strongly supports the hospital in Ruidoso.
The Lincoln County Medical Center has served county residents and visitors since the 1950s. County ranching community members need a local medical center because ranching life presents unique medical challenges, Kendal said.
"It's safe to say that I might have died had we not been able to get to the hospital in time."
Kendal Wilson
"Farming (and) ranching…can be dangerous. According to the National Safety Council, agriculture and mining are the two most hazardous occupations in the country. In 2014, 24.9 accidental deaths occurred per 100,000 agricultural workers, compared with a national average of 3.3 deaths per 100,000 workers for all industries," information from the University of Kentucky's College of Agriculture Extension states.
"Research has found that each year one of every eight farm families experiences an accident requiring medical attention."
A report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which documented all the work-related deaths in 2011, found that farming/ranching came in at the number four spot.
"It's safe to say that I might have died had we not been able to get to the hospital in time," Kendal said.
He graduated from Carrizozo schools and went on to attend New Mexico State University, earning his bachelor's degree in agricultural business and master's in agriculture. Along with other family members, Kendal manages his family's ranch, Bar W, north of Carrizozo.
Ranching is statistically proven to be a hazardous occupation, he said. With a sizable portion of Lincoln County in the ranching industry, availability of nearby medical care is crucial.
Over the years, Kendal suffered dislocated shoulders, crushed vertebrae and a crushed foot in addition to other numerous ranching-related falls and accidents.
Kyanna Belle takes a ride with dad, Kendal Wilson. (Photo: Courtesy/LCMC)
The hospital is needed again
Kendal married Chelsea Hutchison Sept, 5, 2015. Chelsea earned her Physical Therapist Assistant's degree from Farmington's San Juan College and worked in Alamogordo prior to their marriage.
They share ranching life and its various responsibilities. Recently, they chose LCMC as they welcomed a new daughter.
Because of an expected breech presentation by the baby, a successful external cephalic version was performed at LCMC's clinic to change the baby's position. During labor, the baby's heart rate appeared distressed at times. Physicians determined that to ensure best outcomes for both mother and child, an emergency Cesarean Section was needed, the family said.
Kyanna Belle was safely born Dec. 20, 2018, with mother and child staying at LCMC the following two days, receiving attentive care from the attending physicians, Cheslea said.
The Wilsons continue to choose LCMC's medical services above other possible medical care, grateful for LCMC's presence in Lincoln County, the couple said.
Lincoln County Medical Center is scheduled to open spring 2020. After the current hospital structure is removed to make way for central parking, the medical campus will be complete, encompassing state-of-the-art care, according to information from LCMC officials.
More: Put your stamp on LCMC: Name a part of the new hospital
More: New hospital brings more options for cardiac care
Reporter Dianne Stallings can be contacted at dstallings@ruidosonews.com
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