Jail is hemorrhaging medical staff, doesn’t have a doctor, court documents show – Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
Attorneys representing inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Bernalillo County say even after the jail hired a new medical provider, the same old patterns of unconstitutionally bad health care continue.
Last fall, the Tennessee-based company Corizon Health promised more health care staff at MDC, and as county officials signed a $64.8 million contract with the company, they said they hoped it wouldease strain on guards.
But according to interviews with two former jail employees and court documents filed at the tail end of 2021, that’s not what’s been happening since Corizon took over in mid-October.
Instead, attorneys say there hasn’t been a medical director or an on-site physician, and more and more nurses are resigning, leaving a skeleton crew, especially at night.
A leaked email from a psychiatric nurse who resigned in early December warns that the medical and psychiatric staff shortage — compounded by a lack of correctional officers — is a “recipe for disaster.”
That situation is the subject of the Dec. 29 filing by lawyers representing inmates in McClendon v. Albuquerque, a decades-old class-action case about conditions at the largest jail in the state. They are asking the court to quickly hold a hearing about what they say is systemic inadequacy in medical care there.
The longtime staff shortage reached a crisis point that is putting inmates in danger, said Alexandra Freedman Smith, one of the lawyers representing the inmates.
Her clients are locked in their cells for days at a time with MDC staff only checking on them once per hour, she said, making it impossible for them to take showers, call their families, or even get to court proceedings.
In November, a man was beaten to death by a cellmate because there were not enough jail guards to supervise them, and there was no one to answer the calls for help from other inmates as he was killed, Freedman Smith said. Calls for help in medical emergencies, including seizures, have also gone unanswered, she added.
“There simply aren’t enough staff to adequately supervise the inmates at that jail,” she said.
The previous medical provider, Centurion Detention Health Services LLC, prematurely ended its contract with the county in June 2021. County Manager Julie Morgas Bacatold the Associated Press that the county government asked Centurion to address concerns about inmates dying on their watch, but the company just pulled out of the contract instead.
ONE NURSE FOR 1,200 PEOPLE
On a daily basis, MDC has about 1,200 incarcerated people inside, the attorneys wrote, with many suffering from mental or physical health issues, including life-threatening illnesses and conditions.
Incoming inmates aren’t screened correctly when they’re entering the jail, according to a former worker who spoke with Source New Mexico on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from Corizon. Along with some work shifts having a single nurse covering both detox and psychiatric care — or with no detox nurse at all — that means people suffering from substance use disorders do not get the right detox treatment, the worker said. That can be deadly.
“They’re saying, ‘You need to do detox and the psychiatric area.’ But then you’re not doing a good job in either one,” the ex-employee said.
A lack of medical staff also means inmates with other conditions — heart problems or diabetes, for instance — do not get their medications administered on time, according to the former staffer.
Inmates often have wounds that, if left untreated, could turn septic and fatal. But at one point over the holidays, the worker said, the jail didn’t do its daily wound clinic for a week because there was no wound care nurse to run it.
Source New Mexico also corroborated these allegations with another MDC staff member who left because of poor working conditions and who also requested anonymity because the staffer is not authorized to discuss company policies or practices.
Nurses have to cover multiple assignments at MDC due to a severe shortage, according to court documents and both former employees.
Often, one nurse is asked to take on the duties of several critical positions that must be staffed for the jail’s medical system to function, even during graveyard shifts, they said.
Attorneys learned that sometime in the last couple of weeks, there was only one nurse on staff to oversee the entire facility for her shift. A second nurse arrived later, they wrote.
“We only have one full-time nurse practitioner who’s been taking the brunt of all of this going on, especially with the COVID numbers rising and everything like that,” said the first former worker. “They’re taking the brunt of it.”
Sometimes, Corizon is putting nurses who are underqualified into critical positions and leadership roles, both former employees said, and that puts the inmates in danger but also threatens the nurses’ medical licenses.
HISTORY OF ABUSE AND NEGLECT
Hundreds of prisoners sued Corizon over its medical practices in New Mexico prisons. The company was eventuallyfired by the Department of Corrections.
The Santa Fe New Mexicanpublished a series in 2016 looking into whether state officials were ignoring warning signs or were doing an inadequate job overseeing Corizon. Prisoners were sexually abused by a doctor Corizon hired, according to inmates who filed lawsuits saying they experienced dangerous mistreatment and neglect while Corizon was in charge of health care inside N.M. prisons.
But that didn’t stop Bernalillo County from hiring Corizon to provide medical services in its jail.
County commissioners unanimously voted in September to award the company afour-year, $64.8 million contract.
Commissioner Adriann Barboatold the other commissioners at the meeting in September that at that point in the year, 10 people had died in the jail.
Before the vote, Barboa said she was thankful that the contract called for an increase in medical staff, a phlebotomist to ease stress on the nurses, an addiction treatment specialist, and seven full-time medical staff who could monitor patients.
Barboa also brought up the fact that local media outlets sued to obtain settlement agreements between Corizon and state prisoners related to medical malpractice by the company. Corizon fought to keep the records secret but ultimatelylost the case.
But none of the other abuses documented in lawsuits and media reports came up during the meeting before the vote on the contract.
County Manager Morgas Baca said a couple of days after the vote, “Bernalillo County always strives to provide quality medical care for the inmates and this agreement will set a new standard for healthcare at MDC.”
None of the commissioners had yet returned requests for comment about whether the company’s medical care complies with the contract or the law before press time.
New Mexico hospitals warn of wait times for the less sick - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
Officials with two of New Mexico's largest health care providers issued a warning Monday: People showing up at hospital emergency rooms with minor or mild complaints should be ready for long waits.
The officials with University of New Mexico Hospital and Presbyterian Healthcare Services told reporters that their emergency departments are overwhelmed and that the situation is expected to get worse.
They stressed that the sickest patients are being treated first and that emergency rooms are no place for people seeking COVID-19 test who do not have severe symptoms.
"If you are very sick, we are here for you and we want you to come in. If your illness is mild, we really encourage you to seek care through your primary care physician, a virtual visit or some other alternative and not come to the emergency department," said Dr. Steve McLaughlin, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of New Mexico.
At Presbyterian, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jason Mitchell said staff is trying to deal with overrun emergency rooms by treating patients with mild issues in hallways or in waiting rooms.
He also encouraged people to get COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations, saying help keep infections mild so hospital trips can be avoided.
The situation is no different in other states, where staffing shortages among health care workers has complicated issues. Even before the pandemic, New Mexico was dealing with a nursing shortage and had among one of the lowest patient-to-bed ratios among states.
Despite the increase of confirmed COVID-19 infections due to the omicron variant, most of the patients hospitalized in New Mexico now are being treated for illnesses other than COVID-19. However, the officials said that even a small number of COVID-19 patients adds to the crush for hospital staff.
"We really are in a public health crisis and we're asking for the public's help," Mitchell said.
The officials also warned that cloth masks aren't effective and that people "need to up the game" given the high rate of transmissibility of the omicron variant.
Infections are happening among vaccinated hospital staff as well, but the officials said symptoms mostly have been mild. Still, McLaughlin said it was a "huge challenge" to have workers out due to mandatory quarantines.
If conditions worsen, Mitchell said it's possible the quarantine time for health care workers with COVID-19 who are asymptomatic could be cut further to address staffing shortages. He said Presbyterian continues to follow federal guidelines.
Gallup Indian Medical Center adopts crisis standards – By Arlyssa Becenti, Source New Mexico
The Gallup Indian Medical Center implemented its Crisis Standards of Care in late December due to a spike in COVID-19 cases. That was two weeks before the first case of omicron had even surfaced on Navajo Nation.
Within the Gallup Service Unit health care facilities, the Tohatchi Health Center reported it is also receiving an influx of patients infected with coronavirus. Since there is a strain on resources, the Crisis Standards of Care are meant to prioritize patients in the most precarity.
“There’s certain guidelines and how to do it,” said Dr. Kevin Gaines, acting chief medical officer at GIMC. “It is individualized to the facility based on the facility’s resources and the abilities that they have to change operations to best meet the needs of the patients that they serve.”
Gallup leadership and staff got together to develop a plan around the standards and started using it Dec. 23, Gaines confirmed.
TRYING TO FIND BEDS FOR PATIENTS
This Crisis Standards of Care means medical staff prioritize the sickest patients first. This could cause non-emergency patient care to be delayed, and some appointments for routine health services may be canceled. Wait times for appointments might also grow longer.
GIMC has 99 beds, and six of those are ICU beds, according to its website. But Gaines said the staff is struggling to find available beds for patients in other hospitals.
“There are extended periods of time, sometimes a day or more, to find a bed for a patient that needs a bed that we can’t provide,” Gaines said. “And that’s part of the reason that Gallup declared Crisis Standards of Care.”
It could take as many as 40 to 50 calls to various hospitals to ask if there are any available beds, he said, and these hospitals could be in different parts of the country such as Kansas, Texas, California. This adds hardships for families and takes time away from providers as they search for a bed for their patients.
“We always try to find the closest bed possible but right now those beds are very, very limited,” said Gaines. “And so unfortunately, we’re having to send our patients at times farther away from home to get the care that they need.”
STAFFING SHORTAGES AND MORE PPE
GIMC has also been experiencing nurse shortages like the rest of the country. But Gaines said they have had a bit more success recently in acquiring additional nursing staff through contracting, as well as hiring some more permanent nurses.
As the more contagious omicron virus starts coming into the facility, GIMC has improved its PPE game, Gaines said.
“The big thing that we’ve been able to do so far is step up our level of PPE required due to the higher infectious nature of the omicron variant,” he said. “So our staff are now utilizing more N-95 respirators and face shields.”
GIMC continues to provide between 15 and 18 patients a day with antibody monoclonal treatments. But Gaines said some scheduled patients don’t always show up for this infusion, so they’re not actually infusing that many people most days.
THE ONSLAUGHT OF OMICRON
Omicron has quickly become the dominant variant in the county. Near the Navajo Nation, the first case in Utah was confirmed on Dec. 3, in Arizona on Dec. 8 and in New Mexico on Dec. 13.
Navajo Nation had been keeping vigilant and worked to prevent this virus from reaching Navajo for as long as possible. But, on Jan. 3, it was reported that the first case of omicron was found in the Utah Navajo Health Care Service Unit.
The Navajo Department of Health reported that as of Wednesday, Jan. 5, delta was still the dominant variant with 1,107 identified cases so far.
“We did our very best,” said Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez. “We did extremely well pushing this variant off the Navajo Nation. But it’s all around us. It’s everywhere. It’s contagious.”
The number of COVID-19 cases grew from double digits to triple in recent days. As of Sunday, Jan. 9, there were a reported 242 new COVID-19 cases for the Navajo Nation and no deaths.
The Navajo Nation continues its mask mandates, which have been in place since April 2020, and will continue to make vaccines and boosters available at Navajo health care systems.
“We encourage people to get tested,” Nez said. “If you’re sick, don’t go to work. If you’re sick, don’t go to school. Let’s protect our Navajo citizens.”
Navajo energy company’s CEO steps down -Arlyssa Becenti, Source NM
The CEO of the Navajo Transitional Energy Company will be resigning from his post on Jan. 31st.
Source New Mexico obtained CEO Clark Moseley’s Jan. 7 letter to Navajo President Jonathan Nez and Council Speaker Seth Damon referencing his resignation at the end of the month and listing accomplishments achieved by NTEC during Moseley’s time as the company’s leader.
“It has been an extraordinary journey,” Moseley wrote. “I am very proud of all that NTEC has achieved since it was created. NTEC is one of the most unique and successfully tribally owned entities in the United States.”
NTEC was established in 2013 by the Navajo Nation
government to “achieve greater sovereignty over its natural resources,” according to the company’s website, though it operates as an independent commercial entity.
“NTEC is one of the safest coal mining companies in the U.S.,” Moseley said.
Over the last year, the company was successful in managing costs and in being a reliable supplier of energy, he said.
In 2013, Navajo Nation Council voted to approve NTEC purchasing the Navajo Mine from the BHP Billiton New Mexico Coal Company. Moseley writes that within this time, NTEC made the mine profitable again and returned $320 million to the Nation.
Moseley also mentioned the controversial purchase of the Cloud Peak Energy company, including the three coal mines located in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana — the Antelope, Cordero Rojo and Spring Creek mines.
“There was considerable doubt expressed when we announced this acquisition,” Moseley said. “But the mines have performed exceptionally well, giving NTEC the resources to further expand and diversify its portfolio.”
Doubt is an understatement. After the purchase was announced, Council debated terminating agreements created when NTEC purchased the Navajo Mine. Ending those agreements would ensure the Nation would not be on the hook for lawsuits or cleanup costs associated with the new mines.
With the Council taking its time to decide, Nez took the initiative and terminated the agreements in late 2019.
Moseley, in his letter, goes on to mention the acquisition of NTEC’s Tacitus Helium and the creation of NTEC’s helium business on the Nation, which did not require funding from the tribal government.
“As I depart my work at NTEC, I am confident that we have positioned the company to protect and grow the Nation’s energy assets into the future,” wrote Moseley.
Vern Lund was voted by the NTEC board of directors to replace Moseley as CEO and management committee executive. According to Lund’s Linkedin, he came onboard with NTEC as its vice president of commercial operations only in February 2020.
Before that, he spent four years as vice president of engineering & business development at theNorth American Coal Corporation in Plano, Texas. For six years, he was the president of Liberty Fuels Company, part of the North American Coal Corporation, in Meridian, Mississippi.
“I have been able to work closely with (Lund) over the course of the past year,” wrote Moseley. “I know he will continue to be a real asset to the company. I wish him every success in his new role.”
This story was corrected to reflect that NTEC was established in 2013.
'Trespasser' hit by Rail Runner train in Albuquerque
Authorities are investigating after someone was hit by a New Mexico Rail Runner train in Albuquerque.
Rail Runner officials say "a trespasser" was struck early Monday by a train heading to Santa Fe.
The train was not carrying any passengers as it was supposed to start service in Santa Fe.
Rail Runner spokeswoman Augusta Meyers says train service has been suspended between the downtown Albuquerque and Los Ranchos train stations until the afternoon.
New Mexico State Police are overseeing the investigation.
Meyers did not give any details about the person hit including their status.
Proposed teacher raises would make New Mexico competitive - By Cedar Attanasio Associated Press / Report For America
New Mexico wants to attract more teachers as part of a government-wide spending spree fueled by taxes from surging oil and gas revenues.
"They're going to be the highest paid individuals in any state near us," Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico teachers in a call with educators on Friday.
Lujan Grisham is proposing increases in the minimum pay for teachers across three tiers of experience levels. Minimum salaries for entry-level teachers would increase from $41,000 to $50,000. That would make starting teachers the highest paid in the region unless other states raise wages before the fall.
In Texas, for example, starting salaries average around $44,500.
"Let's also remind ourselves that all of our surrounding state legislatures are raising salaries as well," New Mexico Public Education Secretary Kurt Steinhaus told a legislative committee Thursday, calling the salary competition between the states a "shell game."
School districts in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas set their pay scales in different ways, so they can be hard to compare.
In New Mexico, pay is tied closely to tiers based on completing professional development benchmarks. In Texas, years of experience are more important. In rural Colorado, teachers can make way less than their neighbors in rural New Mexico, because minimums are lower.
Lujan Grisham's budget tracks closely with the ones proposed by the education department and the Legislature's most important spending committee. They call for around $250-300 million in raises including a 7% minimum raise for all categories of school workers, from janitors to principals. That would offset nationwide inflation of around 6.8%.
New salary minimums could boost teacher salaries by as much as 20%, including $60,000 for mid level teachers and $70,000 for those with the highest level of professional development.
The governor also proposes extending minimum salary guarantees to Indigenous language and culture teachers, who often don't meet the educational requirements to be paid as full-fledged teachers, despite doing similar work.
If Lujan Grisham's budget is approved, it will likely mean New Mexico has competitive salaries for entry level teachers, and on average, with its biggest rival, Texas.
That state, which borders New Mexico to the East and South, has large school districts that compete for talent with medium-sized districts in New Mexico.
Its average starting salary is $44,582, according to NEA data, comparable to the proposed salary increase by Lujan Grisham.
There are no planned changes to the minimum salary, Texas Education Agency said in a statement Friday, and the Texas legislature isn't meeting next year.
States often pay teachers more to work more. In Texas, a COVID-mitigation program will ensure teachers can earn over $100,000 per year if they work in some of the hardest-hit districts and work longer hours.
In New Mexico, there are fewer performance incentives, but teachers can earn 10-25 days of extra pay at their salary level if their district adds extra time to the school year. Last year, many districts declined to participate in the program, citing teacher and parent burnout during the pandemic.
Damaged O'Keeffe painting on display again after restoration - Associated Press
A damaged Georgia O'Keeffe painting is back on display after conservators spent 1,250 hours and $145,000 restoring it.
Dale Kronkright, head of conservation at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, called the job the most massive restoration project he has ever worked on.
The results will be on display at the museum through Oct. 10. The painting will then travel to the San Diego Museum of Art in 2023.
The late American modernist artist painted the piece, titled "Spring," in 1948. It was last seen by the public in 2019, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
The painting combines such O'Keeffe trademarks as desert primroses, a large vertebra and the northern New Mexico mountain peak named Pedernal. Measuring about 4 by 7 feet it was the largest canvas the artist had painted up to that point.
The water damage likely was caused by a tarantula tunneling through the roof at the artist's 18th century adobe home in Abiquiú, in northern New Mexico.
Conservators had to repair not only the water damage but previous restoration work that had failed. The artwork also had been varnished, a process no longer used in conservation.
"The damage is consistent with it being stacked against another painting," Kronkright said. "It's clear at some point that it was sanded. It was almost as if the paint had been pulled off."
O'Keeffe Museum Curator Ariel Plotek said the work feels like a statement about a new chapter in the artist's life. The painting of "Spring" coincided with O'Keeffe's return from New York — where she spent three years settling the estate of her late husband, Alfred Stieglitz — and the remodeling of her New Mexico home.
"The primrose is associated with mourning; the bones are connected to death. It's interpreted as kind of a memorial to Alfred Stieglitz," Plotek said.
Plotek said the fact that O'Keeffe kept the painting for several decades shows it was important to her.
In letters to her New York gallerist, Edith Halpert, O'Keeffe wrote that she didn't know if anyone else would like it.
After the water damage, O'Keeffe sent "Spring" to her personal conservator in New York, calling it "unmanageable and hard to clean." It was restretched and cleaned. Ultraviolet light showed large sponge marks on the painting, likely attempts by the artist to clean it, Kronkright said.
The museum acquired the painting when it opened in 1997.
A $75,000 Bank of America grant funded part of the restoration work, while the museum's operating budget paid for the rest.
NMSU president steps down; chancellor to to be sole leader -Las Cruces Sun-News, Associated Press
New Mexico State University President John Floros is stepping down and Chancellor Dan Arvizu is becoming the leader of the university's main campus in Las Cruces and the NMSU system.
Floros and Arvizu said Friday in separate letters to the university community that Arvizu decided to reduce what has been their separate posts to one position, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.
"Now, it's time for our university to return to a more common leadership structure," Arvizu said.
Arvizu said the NMSU Board of Regents were "aware and support this move."
Floros said he would help with the transition and then take a yearlong sabbatical.
Arvizu and Floros were hired in 2018, starting with base salaries of $500,000 and $450,000, respectively, plus bonuses and other benefits.
No-confidence resolutions approved last fall by the faculty senate and the student government questioned the salaries of Floros and Arvizu and called for the removal of Floros and then-Provost Carol Parker due to leadership failures.
Parker was placed on paid leave last November.
University spokesman Justin Bannister said Floros' stepping down was unrelated to the resolutions.
Floros and Arvizu said their joint accomplishments included establishing strategic goals for NMSU, stabilizing enrollment numbers after years of drops and pushing through the pandemic.
Computer chip maker to pay $32M for water pipeline - Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
Computer chip maker Intel plans to pay one of New Mexico's largest water utilities $32 million to build a pipeline to supply its factory with the much-needed resource.
Millions of gallons are needed at the plant in Rio Rancho each day to produce tiny semiconductors, and demands will likely increase as part of a $3.5 billion retrofit that will boost production capacity of Intel's chip-packaging technology, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
The 6-mile pipeline will connect two wells on the northwest edge of Albuquerque to the plant. The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority says construction is expected to begin in April.
Linda Qian, spokeswoman for Intel New Mexico, said the company plans to filter non-potable groundwater onsite into "ultrapure water."
"We use that ultrapure water to clean the surface of the silicon wafer," Qian said. "If you think of the chip process as building layers on top of a wafer, in between each of those layers, you rinse with ultrapure water."
When the 200-acre site opened, Qian said, manufacturing demanded about 2 gallons of fresh water to produce 1 gallon of ultrapure water. Now, the ratio is about 1 to 1.
Intel estimates demand at the expanded plant could be 1 million to 3 million gallons of water a day.
Intel also uses water for cooling towers, industrial equipment and landscaping.
Qian said most of the water is used, recycled, used again, treated and then discharged.
Company data show that Intel in 2020 pumped more than 756 million gallons of groundwater for its New Mexico plant. The company treated and discharged about 705 million gallons back into the municipal system.
Intel has a goal of restoring more water than it uses by 2030.
Hobbs woman accused of abandoning newborn in dumpster - Associated Press
An 18-year-old Hobbs woman is facing charges after police say she abandoned her newborn baby in a dumpster.
Hobbs Police spokesman Chad Wright says Alexis Avila is expected to be arraigned Monday in Lea County District Court.
Authorities say someone found the baby in a dumpster Friday and called police.
Officers administered aid before paramedics took the child to the hospital. The baby has since been transferred to a hospital in Lubbock, Texas, and is in stable condition.
Wright says investigators used surveillance video to identify a car suspected of being involved. That led them to Avila, who admitted to giving birth at another location and then leaving the baby in a dumpster.
She was booked on suspicion of attempt to commit murder and child abuse.
It was not immediately known if she had an attorney to speak on her behalf.
Man accused in New Mexico drive-by also facing murder charge -Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
Authorities say a man awaiting trial in a drive-by shooting that injured two people near Farmington last year also is facing charges in the fatal shooting of a woman days later northwest of Aztec.
Prosecutors said 21-year-old Jaden Ortega remains jailed in San Juan County on suspicion of an open count of murder in the July 30 death of 52-year-old Julie Harris and being a felon in possession of a firearm..
Detectives allegedly have matched the gun shell casings from the July 20 drive-by shooting to those found at the Harris crime scene, the Albuquerque Journal reported Sunday.
Police said there were several bullet holes in the front door at Harris' home and an equal number of 9 mm shell casings outside.
According to the Journal, the detective on the Harris murder case also was investigating the earlier drive-by shooting the allegedly involved Ortega.
The detective sent the casings recovered in both incidents to the crime lab for comparison and police said the results showed the casings came from the same gun, the Journal reported.
It was unclear Sunday if Ortega has a lawyer yet who can speak on his behalf.
Rehoboth athletic director donates marrow to man in Spain - By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola Gallup Independent
In the weeks leading up to the holidays, while many of us were focused on gift-giving plans and the new year, Adrian Pete was recovering from giving a life-saving medical donation to a stranger across the world.
Pete, the athletic director for Rehoboth Christian High School, donated his bone marrow through a surgical procedure in California in late October.
And because bone marrow donors and recipients are usually matched because they share a similar ethnic background, Pete, a member of the Navajo Nation, was surprised to learn the recipient of his bone marrow is a man in Spain.
Pete admitted he was "pretty surprised" to learn his bone marrow was a good match for the patient with aplastic anemia, a rare medical condition that occurs when the body stops producing enough new blood cells.
"Being Navajo, but also knowing that through my mom's side, there's a little Spanish blood through my mom's side," Pete speculated of the possible connection during an interview with the Gallup Independent at the Rehoboth Sports Center.
Pete said his mother is part of the Hubbell-Goodluck family on the Navajo Nation, with his maternal grandfather being a Navajo descendant of the Hispanic trading family that established Hubbell Trading Post in Ganado, Arizona.
This connection to the patient in Spain only happened because Pete signed up with a bone marrow registry a few years ago as a way of offering support to a friend and former Gallup educator.
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Hollebeek's inspiration
According to Pete, area residents were encouraged to join the Be The Match Registry during Rehoboth Christian School's annual Color Run in the spring of 2018. The registry connects patients with donor matches around the world for life-saving bone marrow transplants.
In January 2018, Dirk Hollebeek, a former educator for both Rehoboth and the Gallup-McKinley County Schools, had been diagnosed with aggressive acute leukemia in Michigan. Hollebeek underwent a successful bone marrow transplant — after his donor match was located in Europe — so Rehoboth School officials hosted a registry drive in Hollebeek's honor to help other patients waiting to be matched.
Pete credited Hollebeek for inspiring the local registry event, and he credited Rehoboth teacher Chad Meekhof for stepping up to organize the event.
As a result, Pete said, he filled out a consent form, swabbed his cheek, and joined the registry.
More than three years later, in September, Pete was contacted by Be The Match and informed that he appeared to be a good match for patient needing a bone marrow transplant. For the next several weeks, Pete said he underwent medical interviews and tests, both locally and in San Diego.
In late October, Pete and his wife flew to California for the surgery. A father of four, Pete said his family was supportive of his decision.
"Their reaction was wow — surprise, excitement — but also, you know, a little fear," he said. "They didn't want anything to happen to me. There's always a risk when you're having surgery."
Pete said he knew the students, parents, and staff at Rehoboth were also praying for him.
The surgical procedure took about four to five hours, Pete said, with the doctors removing the liquid marrow with needles placed in his lower back.
"They were really happy with the amount I was able to give," Pete said, adding the surgery left him with some initial pain and soreness in his back and lingering fatigue. He noted that bone marrow replenishes itself after the surgery as one recovers.
"I would say I'm not 100% back yet," he added. "I'm about 80-90% where I was at before."
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Humbling experience
A highlight of Pete's experience came with a phone call from Hollebeek, whose recovery is ongoing in Michigan.
"Dirk called me the day after the surgery, and we really had an emotional call," Pete said.
According to Pete, Hollebeek told him, "You may not think this is a big thing, but it is… the impact you're making on someone's life is a blessing."
Pete said talking with Hollebeek made him realize the scientific and medical advances that make a bone marrow transplant possible also offered him the opportunity to give a life-saving gift to another person.
In a year, Pete said, officials from Be The Match will provide him with an update on the medical condition of the bone marrow recipient in Spain. Pete is hopeful the man will be experiencing a successful recovery. Pete said he would also welcome any possible future contact with the man.
"I think it's more the recipient's decision," Pete explained. "If that's a possibility — absolutely. It's always good to put a face and a name to the person that you're just trying to help."
Pete said he would encourage others to be willing to become a bone marrow donor and join the registry.
"It was a very humbling experience," Pete said. "And I'm thankful that God used me in that way to save a life."
According to the Be The Match website, donors between the ages of 18 and 35 provide the greatest chance for transplant success. The registry particularly needs more donors who are African American, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, Native Hawaiian or multiracial to increase the ethnic diversity of the registry and help more patients find the match they need.
Las Cruces man summits Mount Kilimanjaro on 2nd attempt - By Leah Romero Las Cruces Sun-News
On his first attempt to scale Africa's tallest mountain, Las Cruces businessman David Hill failed. His leg fractured about 4,000 feet from the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro and he had to be carried down the mountain.
Hill, now 62, is the owner of Ride On Sports, a sports accessory store for biking, hiking, backpacking and other activities. He was determined to head back to Africa and take a picture atop the tallest free-standing mountain in the world.
In December 2021, less than three years after suffering the debilitating injury, Hill successfully summited Mount Kilimanjaro, which stands 19,341 feet tall.
"So many people have said to me, 'you inspire me to do this and do that,'" Hill told the Las Cruces Sun-News. "That wasn't my purpose, but I'm certainly glad that people are inspired."
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First attempt and rehabilitation
Hill said when he started trail running — a combination of running and hiking — about five years ago, summitting Kilimanjaro soon became a goal of his. Hiking the numerous trails in the Mesilla Valley was his training.
In January 2019, he made his way to Tanzania for the first time with his brother-in-law, who is also a hiker. Hill explained that there are about eight trails up Kilimanjaro ranging from four to nine days. He and his brother-in-law partnered with the local guide group Zara Tours and ventured up on the seven-day path.
On the fifth day, Hill slipped and his left tibia snapped. Rain was pouring down and he said there was no way for an evacuation team to reach them. Hill said Salim, a trail guide, carried him on his back down to about 11,000 feet (3,353 meters) in elevation to meet the evacuation team.
"There I was laying instead of summitting," Hill remembers. He flew back home several days later in a full cast.
Back home, he started an Instagram account to document his recovery and time in physical therapy. After undergoing corrective surgery through Southwest Sport & Spine Center to address the trauma to his leg, he ended up with a six-inch metal plate and nine screws. Recovery along with PT at Fyzical Therapy & Balance Centers took nearly a year, but by the end of 2019 Hill said he wasn't making progress.
"They went and had an MRI on the knee and I had ruptured my ACL. So I don't have an ACL, I had torn my PCL and I tore my meniscus," Hill said.
Doctors agreed that operating would not fix the damage, so Hill had to "embrace" using a carbon fiber brace which now acts as the stabilizer for his knee.
About a year ago, Hill said he brought up attempting Kilimanjaro again with his family. The response was overwhelming support.
"I set up a training schedule for six months which included four three-mile runs a week, one six-mile run a week," Hill said.
He also joined a friend trail running the southwest peaks and hiked the Organ Needle every three weeks for vertical training. By mid November, he ventured up the Needle one more time and said he realized he was physically ready for Africa.
"I did the Needle hike all by myself and it was four hours and 15 minutes, which is up and down which is extremely fast. I realized going up that I was not fatigued at all. It was simply just doing it," he said.
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Second attempt and what's next
Hill started up Mount Kilimanjaro again Dec. 6, with nearly the same group of guides who took him on his original attempt. The group followed a four-day path this time. He said he reached the summit before sunrise on Dec. 9 and was the second person who reached the summit that day.
"It was just kind of one of those moments where I'd been working on it for so long. It had been such a focus and there was such a relief. I mean, I had such a great time and there was no physical issues," he said.
And now that he's accomplished his long-held goal, Hill said he doesn't feel the need to go back again. That chapter has ended and he's ready to take on his next challenges. He and a friend have plans to climb Mount Whitney in California in early spring 2022 and then travel 40 miles from rim to rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
He encouraged people to go out and explore what Las Cruces and the surrounding area has to offer in ways of hiking trails, physical activity and natural views.
"There's so many hikes around here that … people don't even know about," he said. "Literally if you wrapped around the valley all the way up to Hatch and back, there's probably 30 world-class hikes."
It may be tough at first, he said, reminiscing about his own start. But he now takes those challenges in stride.
Navajo Nation reports 220 new COVID-19 cases, but no deaths -Associated Press
The Navajo Nation has reported 220 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, but no additional deaths related to the virus.
Tribal officials said the number of confirmed cases on the vast reservation since the pandemic began now total 42,887 as of Saturday including 45 delayed reported cases.
The known death toll stands at 1,593.
Navajo Nation officials reported 270 cases and one death on Friday.
"Cases of the omicron variant are much higher in border towns and cities located off the Navajo Nation," tribal President Jonathan Nez said in a statement Saturday. "The omicron variant is much more contagious than the original strain of COVID-19 and the delta variant.
"The good news is that the COVID-19 vaccines are highly-effective in pushing back on the symptoms and reducing the chances of being hospitalized if you do get the virus," Nez added. "The data shows that the vaccines save lives. Please take precautions, wear two masks in public, and get vaccinated and a booster shot if you're eligible for one."
The reservation covers 27,000 square miles and extends into parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.