Dire warnings

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Hospitals issue warnings; Seven ‘hub hospitals’

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CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. – The state is tracking data from each of its seven “hub hospitals” in response to the pandemic. Healthcare officials expressed concern about hospitals’ ability to respond to patients’ needs.

University of New Mexico Hospital, Lovelace and Presbyterian healthcare systems officials warned if the current trend of almost 900 daily COVID-19 cases continues, it could be catastrophic for healthcare facilities across New Mexico.

The seven facilities listed as “hubs” include Lovelace Medical Center, University of New Mexico Hospital, Presbyterian, CHRISTUS St. Vincent, San Juan Regional Medical Center, Memorial Medical Center and Mountain View Regional Medical Center along with the Eastern New Mexico Medical Center.

Doctors at three Albuquerque facilities are considering two options: decreasing elective surgeries and transferring more non-COVID patients to rural hospitals for recovery. They predicted that at the current statewide rate of infection there could be no available beds for victims of car wrecks or other non-COVID patients who require hospitalization. kqre.com, Oct. 26

The baseline total of ICU beds for the seven centers is 290 with contingency plans of an additional 439: total capacity in a crisis such as a pandemic is 623 beds.

San Juan Regional Medical Center, Farmington has the fewest number of ICU beds, 14, with a contingency plan to add nine. Some rural communities have fewer hospital beds, and this means that more patients could be moved to other facilities.

Albuquerque is the “main hub” and has the state’s only Level 1 trauma center.

University of New Mexico Hospital, Albuquerque, has a total of 527 beds. Guadalupe County Hospital, Santa Rosa, is the smallest with 10 general hospital beds.

Cibola General Hospital, Grants, is a 25-bed critical access facility, which was established in 1959. The facility provides on-site services in general surgery, 24-hour emergency care, intensive care nursing, internal medicine, obstetrics, pathology, pediatric dentistry, podiatry, primary care, and radiology, according to cibolahospital.com.

The hospital admitted its first COVID-19 patient in April. Eight people have been hospitalized to date. The list includes a male in April, three females and two males in May, and one female and one male in June. Two new patients diagnosed with COVID had been hospitalized as of July 13, according to Cynthia Tena, CGH marketing director. Two of those diagnosed with the disease have died; one death occurred in April and one in June; no deaths due to COVID were recorded for July or early August. (CGH officials did not respond to repeated requests for updated data prior to the Oct. 28 publishing deadline.)

The local hospital’s COVID-19 lncident Commanders, Co-Chief Nursing Officers Maria Atencio and Glenna Losito, have ensured patient care and services were not interrupted, monitored employees and medical staff safeguards, taken steps to guarantee that necessary equipment is available, and have worked with the various governmental agencies to report required data.

The hospital incident response team and staff are prepared to care for patients diagnosed with COVD-19, according to CGH officials.

“Typically, hospitals are about 60-65 percent full, although that varies throughout the state, and when you’re not in the middle of a pandemic,” commented Secretary for the Human Services Department Dr. David Scrase last week.

Approximately 81 percent of general hospital beds across the state were occupied along with 71 percent of ICU beds, according to Oct. 20 data.

The current surge in the number of hospitalized patients is related to people who have delayed regular medical care the since March, according to healthcare officials.

There are 62 hospitals in New Mexico; 20 are government hospitals and 23 are private facilities. The largest number is in Albuquerque. Tribal areas are serviced by hospitals run by the federal Indian Health Service. Forty hospitals are equipped with helipad facilities, according to officialusa.com

The Cibola County reported 22 deaths and 560 COVID cases, according to New Mexico Department of Health, Oct. 26. The 349 cases identified at the three area correctional facilities include facility personnel and prisoners, according to officials.

Visit cv.nmhealth.org/for more information.