ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Hospital staffing has been a hot topic for a while, but it didn’t get much traction in this past legislative session. House Bill 138 would have established a staff to patient ratio but stalled in committee.

The New Mexico Patient Safety Act was one of several pieces of legislation that never made it past the finish line.

“The patients are the ones that are hurting, besides our nurses, because they don’t have enough nurses or any healthcare employees to run the facility,” said Yolanda Ulmer, the District 1199 New Mexico CEO.

The bill would limit the number of patients a nurse can care for on shift, forcing hospitals to create staffing limits. Local union leaders said the nursing shortage is causing burn out and this would help retention.

“You have patients waiting to get medicines, you have patients waiting to be discharged, you have patients waiting in the hall to be seen, you know nurses are spread so thin,” said Ulmer.

A spokesperson for UNM Health said they did not support HB 138 initially, and one “key initiative has been expanding the nurse residency program in response to the UNM College of Nursing increasing its class sizes.”

“Within two years, nurses are leaving the profession after getting their degree, and they are just not staying. Working conditions is the number one reason that they site,” said Adrienne Enghouse, RN who is also an organizer with United Health Professionals in New Mexico.

KOB 4 reached out to the New Mexico Hospital Association as well. Along with UNMH, they believe, “More efforts must be focused on training and recruiting additional healthcare workers to serve New Mexico.”

“The hospital association and the hospitals have brought forth solutions that have not sent us in the right direction. It is time for us to turn this ship around and head in the right direction. It is a multi-prong approach, absolutely, but they must start adding working conditions and how we perform our work as part of one of the things that needs fixed,” said Enghouse.

Full statement from UNM Health:

“As stated before, UNM Hospital does not support legislation mandating hospital staffing ratios, as such measures pose significant risks, including the potential closure of beds, reduced capacity to care for those in need, and limitations on accepting critical patients from across New Mexico. Staffing ratios fail to consider the varying levels of patient acuity—a critical factor in determining safe and appropriate care.  A “one size fits all” model of care undermines the flexibility hospitals need to address the unique and dynamic needs of their patients. Maintaining adaptability in staffing is essential to continuing our mission of delivering exceptional care to our community.

Mandated staffing ratios will not fix health worker shortages or make health care more safe in New Mexico.  For nearly five years, UNM Hospital has taken proactive steps to address higher patient volumes and work through the national health worker shortage.  One key initiative has been expanding the nurse residency program in response to the UNM College of Nursing increasing its class sizes. This approach creates a sustainable nursing labor pipeline that strengthens our staffing capabilities. Additionally, we are collaborating with community partners to increase the availability of post-acute care discharge beds, which enhances hospital throughput. By improving the efficiency of care delivery, we are also reducing the length of hospital stays, enabling us to care for more patients.”

Full statement from the New Mexico Hospital Association:

“New Mexico continues to face a severe healthcare workforce shortage that threatens access to care when and where people need it, including a need for nearly 7,000 nurses. Without more healthcare providers readily available, had HB138 passed, hospitals across our state would have been forced to close beds in order to meet the staffing ratios proposed by the bill sponsors, resulting in fewer patients seen and longer waits for care. Community hospitals and healthcare providers across our state recognize and value the doctors, nurses and all healthcare workers who deliver the expert care we need and agree with frontline providers that the number of patients and the severity of their conditions are higher than prior to the pandemic.  We do not believe that HB138 would have solved the problems it seeks to address. We need more nurses. We believe that more efforts must be focused on training and recruiting additional healthcare workers to serve New Mexico. HB138 would have caused more families to have to seek care outside of the state and far from their homes by reducing access to care within our state

U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján said the cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services are illegal and will get rid of critical programs to keep Americans safe.

“Amid a nationwide measles outbreak, with bird flu spreading worldwide, and as a significant number of Americans face a substance use or mental health conditions, now is not the time to fire our nation’s health workers, ravage our nation’s top health agency, and cut critical resources that support state health services,” Luján said.

The Democratic Senator issued the statement in response to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plan to fire thousands of employees including those tasked with addressing pandemics. Media reports say the plans to cut 10,000 employees doesn’t include the about 10,000 employees who voluntarily left in recent months.

Luján noted that in addition to the job cuts, HHS canceled billions in federal grants for state health services.

“As the New Mexico Department of Health combats a measles outbreak and fights the opioid crisis, these federal funds – which Congress approved – are meant to help them track infectious diseases, get New Mexicans the substance use support services they need, and boost our state’s public health,” he said.

As of Tuesday, there have been 43 confirmed cases of measles in New Mexico. Measles is a highly infectious disease that was eradicated in the United States due to high rates of vaccination. Recent outbreaks have grown largely among the unvaccinated population in Texas and southeastern New Mexico, with other reported cases in more than a dozen states, from Alaska to Florida.

One unvaccinated person in New Mexico died with measles earlier this year, the first measles death in New Mexico in more than 40 years. Another unvaccinated person, a school-aged child, died in Texas earlier this year.

Luján sits on the Senate Budget Committee.

“The Trump administration is blindly taking an axe to the agency responsible for our nation’s public health,” Luján said.

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