No reprieve for New Mexico hospitals amid wave of patients

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Officials with two of New Mexico’s largest hospitals say they have yet to see a reprieve from the latest wave of patients needing care.

Officials with Presbyterian Healthcare Services and University of New Mexico Hospital said during a briefing Thursday that COVID-19 patients make up about one-fifth of hospitalizations while the majority of patients are in for other illnesses.

Despite the recent enactment of crisis standards of care, they said they haven’t denied or rationed care but are focusing on medically necessary procedures.

Hospital officials also acknowledged that health care staffing shortages were an issue in New Mexico long before the pandemic.