As New Mexico readies its medical front line for a potential surge of COVID-19 cases, hospitals, particularly in smaller communities, are enduring “painful” consequences of the governor’s ban on “nonessential” procedures: A sudden financial drain is straining operations and has led to some furloughs already, the Albuquerque Journal reported. “It’s painful — it is very, very painful,” said Tanya Carroccio, chief quality officer at Gila Regional Medical Center in Silver City. “The bread and butter for rural hospitals is to be able to count on their outpatient procedures and surgeries and certainly those elective ones. It hurts.” On Friday, one national chain with a southern New Mexico hospital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing COVID-19 uncertainties. The state Human Services Department also announced $35 million in immediate financial help for hospitals. Only weeks after the state Department of Health shut down all nonessential surgeries and outpatient procedures to ensure adequate hospital beds, supplies and equipment to treat coronavirus patients, some hospital administrators are reporting a revenue decline of 40 percent to 60 percent, said Jeff Dye, president of the New Mexico Hospital Association. Dye said his organization estimates the total loss to hospitals statewide could be up to $200 million per month — unless state or federal emergency funds can be tapped.
