450 hospital beds unused due to nurse shortage, according to NMHA
Doctors say New Mexico hospitals are at a breaking point. Seven are operating under crisis standards of care.
It's the story of the pandemic. Hospitals are at capacity being filled with COVID-19 patients, but the New Mexico Hospital Association says the medical staffing shortage is even more worrisome.
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"Our hospitals are simply overrun serving the patients who need care," says Tim Johnsen from Presbyterian Healthcare. "Our nurses are a very precious resource, and they are in the most fragile state I've ever seen them in my career."
Johnsen says the nursing shortage is a big reason the state is running out of hospital beds fast. "Twenty-one percent of nurses say they plan to leave the job within the next six months. Half of those said it was because work was negatively affecting their health and wellbeing."