Love Letters to Taos #5: A Place to Heal

Holy Cross Hospital, Taos NM

With pristine air and crystal waters, a sky overflowing with stars, endless trails and adventure opportunities, and an openhearted arts scene ready to embrace your self-expression, one thing is clear: Taos is an excellent place to heal. 

Because of the rich spiritual and nature-oriented community here, it’s a region that draws gifted healthcare practitioners across modalities. While it’s true that you may need to travel to Los Alamos, Santa Fe, or Albuquerque for certain specialists, for a town as small and remote as Taos, we truly have an excellent palette of options right here. ln this love letter, we’ll lay out an overview (by no means exhaustive) of the healthcare offerings in Taos.

Hospital and Clinics

Holy Cross Hospital is the main hub for conventional western medicine in Taos County, offering specialists in fields such as internal medicine, wound care, dermatology, ob/gyn, physical therapy, and orthopedic surgery. Holy Cross also hosts a fully-staffed emergency room, as well as imaging and laboratory services. 

Taos Whole Health is an integrative health care clinic with a collaborative structure that allows for collaboration between eastern, western, and holistic healthcare practitioners to help find the thoughtful healthcare solutions and preventative care you need. 

El Centro Family Health is another great place to receive your primary care. With a deep history in northern New Mexico and many services and clinics located across our region, El Centro grew from local passion for caring for the wellbeing of our unique needs of our community. Finally, NextCare operates an urgent care off of Paseo del Pueblo Sur, offering appointments and walk-ins for your more immediate healthcare needs.

Home Health

When it comes to recovering from an injury or surgery,  or living with chronic disease or disability, home health is often the best option. Mountain Home Health Care offers excellent home healthcare and hospice services, allowing patients to receive care in the comfort of a familiar environment. AAA Home Care through the New Mexico Aging & Long-Term Services Department is another option,  providing support to the elders of Taos in the form of both home healthcare and professional life assistance services. Life assistance services such as hygiene, meal preparation, light housekeeping, and even companionship are often the difference-makers in quality of life that can allow real healing to take place.

Doula teaching infant massage

Doulas

On the other end of the process, we have excellent support for child birth in Taos. 

Taos Midwifery provides specialized maternity care in an out-of-hospital setting, emphasizing a wellness model of care, herbal remedies, and holistic approaches, while prioritizing individualized, culturally compassionate care and medical intervention only when necessary, offering home or birthing suite births, water births, VBAC, doula services, and well woman care, with affordability and accessibility through various payment options.The Groovy Doula invokes the importance of self care for individual and collective evolution, particularly in the context of women’s health, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum healing, drawing from various holistic practices and teachings. Meanwhile, Beaming Birth commitment to nurturing women through an empowered birth experience, offering birth packages, prenatal support, belly casting, postpartum services, and yoni steaming, all aimed at providing personalized and empowering care for birthing mothers and families at various stages of pregnancy and postpartum

Chiropractors and Physical therapy

Taos Physical Therapy specializes in Sports and Orthopedic Rehabilitation, offering evaluation and treatment for a range of orthopedic, joint, and spine conditions, including manual therapy, exercises, and comprehensive spinal examination.

Apex Network has a branch here too, providing physical and manual therapy, as well as rehabilitation services for work and sports injuries. 

Taos Chiropractic, LLC, is Taos’s largest chiropractic clinic. Practicing since 1976, their office offers chiropractic manipulations, physiotherapy, decompression therapy, acupuncture, and nutritional guidance to address underlying causes for longer-lasting health improvements.

Dr. Ron at Be Well Chiropractic, chiropractor Stanley Brown D.C. at Doc Brown Chiropractic and Wellness, and Dr. Gerald Smalling, D.C. C.C.S.T. at Smalling Chiropractic Clinic all run high quality and well reviewed private chiropractic practices to support your alignment and wellbeing.

Medicinal Herbs

Holistic Medicine

Taos’ offerings in holistic medicine span from eastern to western philosophies, with a rich diversity of healing services that could fill a whole blog post in its own right.

For example, Taos has a plethora of therapeutic massage practitioners to choose from. Taos Healing Arts’ offerings include various massage therapies catering to specific needs: Medical & Deep Tissue Massage for pain-related conditions, integrative Massage Therapy tailored to client needs, The Healer’s Palette combining multiple techniques for balance, Reflexology for relaxation, and more. Kyoko Hummel’s Essential Massage and Spa Therapies is home to six certified massage therapists who provide diverse treatments for comprehensive well-being. Tracy Miller is a beloved local myofascial release therapist who works magic with fascia, muscle, and bone systems to provide profound and lasting relief. 

Willow Clinic provides an alternative or additive to Western Medicine through acupuncture, herbal remedies, and personalized treatment plans that empower individuals in their own healing journey. Clara Wetmore practices classical Chinese medicine at Artemisia Clinic, with a special focus on women’s health and trauma. Community Acupuncture Taos is a more accessible location to receive acupuncture for as low as 20$ per session- a fantastic community-centric approach that supports the health of many. 

Finally, there are many wonderful businesses in Taos that cater to the needs of locals with herbal medicinal offerings.  Taos Herb is a mainstay founded by Anne and Dr. Robert Hawley, offering bulk herbs, herbal extracts, supplements, and ceremonial supplies. Cinnamon at Cinnamon’s Botanicals on Kit Carson Road runs a charming boutique with equally charming service, providing handcrafted tinctures, herbal blends, and salves to support a healthy lifestyle. For individuals interested in fostering a personal and practical understanding of the rich medicinal horticulture of the southern Rockies, Native Roots School offers online and in-person training courses for plant identification and medicine making.