WED: UNMH cuts more than 50 positions amid financial crunch, + More
By KUNM News
April 23, 2025 at 5:57 AM MDT
UNM Hospital cuts dozens of jobs in response to federal funding cuts, financial woes — Justin Garcia, Albuquerque Journal
The University of New Mexico Hospital has cut 53 positions as the state’s largest public health system faces deepening financial pressures and federal funding cuts.
A spokesperson for UNMH confirmed the numbers in a statement on Monday. The spokesperson said that some, but not all, of the positions were vacant and emphasized that the eliminated positions were executive positions, not roles like floor nurses and others who provide patient care.
“By taking these steps now, UNM Hospital is positioning itself to balance its current and future budgets. UNM Hospital remains committed to what is most important — providing health care for New Mexicans, in New Mexico,” Chris Ramirez, communication director for the hospital system, told the Journal.
The move comes amid a continued shortage of health care providers and workers in New Mexico, as well as a proposed reduction in federal funding for health care under the Trump administration.
“In order to be sure we are operating as efficiently as possible, and are as prepared as possible for federal funding changes which may lie ahead, we have implemented a number of financial improvement initiatives,” Ramirez said.
UNMH is also reviewing “contract expenses, including contract labor,” and “workflows to maximize efficiency and reduce operational expenses,” according to Ramirez.
Ramirez did not provide a breakdown of how many people were terminated and how many vacant positions were eliminated, but said the cuts were spread across the hospital system’s many units, including the hospital, Health Sciences Center and the Sandoval Regional Medical Center.
UNM folded in SRMC to its UNMH system in 2024. The move brought the Rio Rancho hospital into the system following approval from the UNM Board of Regents in 2023. At the time, UNMH officials said there would be no cuts to roles or salaries. But an internal email provided to the Journal showed that SRMC was hit particularly hard by the cuts.
The email shows that SMRC will lose its president, Jamie Silva-Steele, as well as its chief financial officer, chief human resources officer, executive director of support services, director of food and nutrition services and director of talent acquisition.
Those positions were under contract until June and will not be renewed.
The same email showed that four vacant director positions — including emergency services, case management, pharmacy, and quality — as well as the manager of surgical services were eliminated.
Yolanda Ulmer, the chief executive officer of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, confirmed to the Journal that no union employees were laid off. She also lauded UNMH for cutting management, not workers.
However, Ulmer said that bonuses for picking up extra shifts were paused to avoid cuts to the membership. She emphasized that the bonus suspension was temporary.
“We didn’t get rid of it. We put it on hold temporarily, but they’re still offering overtime work if needed to fill in the gaps,” Ulmer said.
Ulmer noted that contract negotiations are set for mid-May. The management contraction casts a cloud over the future.
“We all have to work collaboratively together and make sure that we organize around this situation that UNMH is facing,” Ulmer said. “We’ve got to make sure that our bargaining unit is well taken care of, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
In the statement, Ramirez stressed that UNMH, which also receives funding from state and local governments, has been burdened by the same financial troubles that all hospitals have faced following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A 2023 National Institutes of Health analysis found that hospitals nationwide lost $200 billion after a 45% decrease in revenue between March 1 and June 30, 2020. The analysis blamed the decline on the high cost of caring for COVID patients and a simultaneous explosion in labor costs.
According to testimony given to legislators by the New Mexico Hospital Association in 2024, two-thirds of New Mexico’s hospitals had higher expenses than revenue during that same year.
“We are grateful for the county, state and federal financial support we have received, and we are committed to being good stewards of those resources,” Ramirez said, adding, “Our mission of service to New Mexico means that we must deliver high-quality patient care in a financially sustainable model.”
With the governor in Asia, Lt. Gov. Howie Morales issues slew of executive orders - Dan Boyd, Albuquerque Journal
Howie Morales is not going rogue.
After issuing more than 30 executive orders since Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham left the state this month to lead a two-week trade mission to Asia, New Mexico’s lieutenant governor said Tuesday the orders stemmed from discussions with the Governor’s Office.
“I never sign an executive order without being in collaboration with the Governor’s Office and understanding what I’m signing,” Morales said in an interview.
A Lujan Grisham spokesman also said the governor is aware of the orders issued by Morales, who serves as acting governor while the governor is traveling outside the state, per the state Constitution.
The 32 orders issued by Morales since April 12 authorize a total of up to $24 million in state funding to be spent. All but two of those orders are targeted at ongoing recovery efforts connected to damages from flooding and wildfires that occurred last year in the Ruidoso and Roswell areas.
Lujan Grisham spokesman Michael Coleman described the orders as necessary to “provide additional and ongoing funding to meet disaster recovery needs.”
For his part, Morales said the state stands to be reimbursed for its expenses by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
But the reimbursement process can take time, and he said the additional funding infusion is necessary now because the state has the authority to remove debris from private property, unlike local governments.
The other two orders issued by the lieutenant governor include a Monday order that frees up funding for Valencia County in response to a fire in Bosque Farms and an April 17 order focused on a New Mexico National Guard deployment to help the Albuquerque Police Department with certain duties.
The executive authority to issue orders authorizing appropriations of up to $750,000 per order comes from a state law that has been largely untouched over the last 60-plus years.
That funding limit has led to large amounts of such orders being issued in recent years, like the 139 orders Lujan Grisham issued for wildfire response efforts during the 2022 budget year.
Meanwhile, the recent slew of executive orders are not the first such orders issued by Morales while Lujan Grisham is traveling out of state. The former state senator, a Democrat, also issued similar orders in past years.
Though rare, there have been situations in other states of lieutenant governors issuing orders in defiance of a governor’s wishes. In 2011, Idaho’s former lieutenant governor attempted to deploy the National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border and ban schools from requiring COVID-19 testing or vaccines. Both those orders were subsequently rescinded by the state’s governor.
Lujan Grisham is scheduled to return to the United States on April 29, according to the Governor’s Office. She will take part in meetings in Los Angeles with the New Mexico Amigos, a group of civic leaders, before returning to New Mexico.
Baby's body found in dumpster in Northwest Albuquerque - Gregory R.C. Hasman, Albuquerque Journal
Police say a group of people living on the streets found a dead baby in a dumpster on Tuesday in Northwest Albuquerque.
Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque Police Department spokesman, said it is unclear who left the baby in the dumpster .
Gallegos did not say how the baby died. Based on the circumstances, he said, the baby’s mother may need medical attention.
At about 3:45 a.m., APD officers responded to a 911 call in the 900 block of Rio Grande NW, near Interstate 40.
When they arrived, a security guard told them unhoused people found the baby’s body in the dumpster partially wrapped in a blanket, Gallegos said. Detectives were searching the area and nearby businesses to see if any surveillance cameras captured the incident.
“At this point, we are putting out a call for help or for information,” he said. Anyone with information can call 242-COPS or contact Crime Stoppers at 505-843-STOP (7867) or p3tips.com/531.
If people do not want to keep their babies, Gallegos said, people can surrender them to hospitals, fire and police stations or Safe Haven Baby Boxes, within 90 days of birth, under the New Mexico Safe Haven for Infants Act. There are currently 10 baby boxes across the state, including in Hobbs, Carlsbad and Belen.
Albuquerque does not have a baby box, but Albuquerque Fire Rescue spokesperson Lt. Jason Fejer said it has participated in the Safe Haven program for over a decade, “meaning all 22 AFR fire stations are Safe Havens” where babies can be dropped off.
However, he said the city will have its first baby box installed by late 2025 at Fire Station 12, near Juan Tabo and Central, which will feature a secure, climate-controlled incubator designed for the anonymous surrender of newborns in crisis.
“Installing a Safe Haven Baby Box at our new Fire Station 12 ensures that no newborn is left in an unsafe situation, offering a safe, anonymous option for parents in crisis,” Fire Chief Emily Jaramillo said in a statement. “As a mother, I understand that using this box likely comes during an overwhelming and heartbreaking moment. This initiative also highlights the vital importance of supporting postpartum maternal mental health.”
Sen. David Gallegos, R-Eunice, co-sponsored a bill during this year’s legislative session that would have provided explicit protections for parents who choose to remain anonymous when relinquishing an infant. The bill stalled in committee.
In a statement about Tuesday’s incident, David Gallegos said, “Yet again, it is a sad day when someone in our state’s largest city did not feel safe enough to drop off their child at a hospital or fire station where the infant could have received life-affirming care.
“I wish this mother would have had the option to anonymously place her child in a Safe Haven Baby Box. Rather, our state is now forced to endure another heart-wrenching and unnecessary loss of human life. Safe Haven Baby Boxes work, which is why we must expand their accessibility throughout New Mexico and prevent additional tragedies such as this one in the future.”
New Mexico AG announces ‘wide-ranging’ investigation into child welfare agency - Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
New Mexico’s top state prosecutor says he will begin a formal investigation into what led up to the death of an Albuquerque teenager and the broader problems at the state’s beleaguered child welfare agency.
Searchlight New Mexico reports that earlier this month, 16-year-old Jaydun Garcia took his own life in a former Albuquerque halfway house built for girls transitioning out of juvenile detention.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez held a new conference on Tuesday morning announcing a formal investigation into Garcia’s death, but also other incidents of children who have been harmed while in Children, Youth and Families Department custody.
“The State of New Mexico failed to protect this child,” Torrez said. “The State of New Mexico has failed to honor its legal and moral obligations under a variety of legal agreements that they have entered into.”
Torrez said the public has very little information about what happened to Garcia, who was responsible for him in the days and weeks before his death and the decisions made and resources dedicated to preventing it.
“How can we expect to improve that system if we don’t know what happened, if we don’t have answers, if we don’t have transparency?” Torrez said. “I’m prepared to test the law in this space, and I’m prepared to advocate fundamentally for a change in the law, if that is what’s required.”
The investigation is not limited to Garcia’s death but will extend to state agencies charged with protecting children, Torrez said.
The Department of Justice will conduct “a comprehensive and wide-ranging investigation into various reports of children who have been referred to CYFD” as victims of abuse and neglect, placed in congregate care and other facilities, improperly housed at CYFD offices, sexually assaulted in those offices, or abused by armed guards in those offices, Torrez said.
“Enough is enough,” Torrez said. “I will not tolerate the excuses, the assurances, I think we have all grown tired of waking up and hearing about another child who’s been injured, another child who’s been hurt, another child in state custody who’s been killed, and for that reason, the New Mexico Department of Justice will initiate a formal investigation into the facts and circumstances that led up to the death Jaydun Garcia.”
New Mexico Child First Network Founder and Executive Director Maralyn Beck, a former foster parent, joined Torrez at the news conference, saying Garcia’s death was preventable.
“The signs were there, and we should not be housing our children in warehouses of neglect like congregate care,” Beck said. “One single call to Child Protective Services should have prevented this.”
She said what foster children need to heal from their trauma is homes, and excellent parenting through committed, developmentally informed relationships with adults.
“It is through transparency, it is through peeling back the layer of confidentiality to figure out what happened,” Beck said.
Disability Rights New Mexico Chief Executive Officer Gary Housepian also appeared alongside Torrez and Beck during the news conference. In a news release afterwards, Housepian said in a statement that Garcia’s death is “a devastating reminder of what happens when vulnerable children — especially those with disabilities or behavioral health needs — fall through the cracks of a broken system.”
“We’ve been raising alarms for years about placements in congregate settings, and it’s long past time for a comprehensive, independent investigation. We stand ready to coordinate our investigation of this death, monitoring of facilities and to support the Attorney General in demanding the transparency and accountability these children and youth deserve,” Housepian said.
Probe will guide new oversight office
The broader investigation into other incidents will develop a detailed record of events leading up to the deaths or great bodily injury of children under CYFD’s supervision but also the policies, procedures and people involved, the Department of Justice said in the news release.
The investigation will take several months, Torrez said. Its ultimate objective, he said, is to prepare a comprehensive report for the incoming Office of the Child Advocate, which New Mexico’s lawmakers created in the most recent legislative session and is administratively attached to Torrez’s agency.
That report will be “a blueprint of the issues that have plagued this agency and this state for decades,” Torrez said.
The Department of Justice said in a news release that the new office was created “despite Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s attempt to veto its funding.” Even though Lujan Grisham signed the legislation to create the office, she vetoed $1.65 million that would have covered the start-up costs to create it, and she and the AG’s office traded barbs over the bill.
Michael Coleman, Lujan Grisham’s communications director, told Source NM on Tuesday that the new law grants the attorney general authority to investigate CYFD’s operations, and the governor authorized $650,000 to establish the office in its first year.
“However, as she stated in her March 21 executive message, the governor is concerned that this new office could be weaponized to intimidate CYFD and its staff rather than to prioritize the safety and well-being of children in the state’s care,” Coleman said in a statement. “She reiterates this concern following the AG’s unfounded, blanket criticisms of CYFD at a news conference today.
Torrez said he does not yet know if CYFD will resist the investigation, and he hopes the governor’s rhetoric around the legislation and the line-item veto are “not indicative of the administration’s position moving forward.”
“I won’t be deterred in any way by the resistance of other stakeholders in this situation,” he said. “My hope is that can be avoided.”
Spokespeople for CYFD and the governor’s office told Source NM on Tuesday afternoon that the agency will share the findings from its own investigation into Garcia’s death with DOJ.
CYFD Director of Communications Andrew Skobinsky said the agency is disappointed that Torrez “has decided not to collaborate with the Department on this important investigation.”
“The death of any child is tragic, and we mourn this terrible loss and send our condolences to the family and friends of the youth who died,” Skobinsky said in a statement. “As Secretary Casados has said on numerous occasions, she would much prefer to work with the attorney general in a solution-focused manner, rather than via a press conference, for systemic change to New Mexico’s child welfare system.”
Coleman said the attorney general has the authority to investigate CYFD or any other state agency, “and the governor’s administration always cooperates and shares any information requested.”
“All public officials with jurisdiction over CYFD should commit to ensuring that oversight is conducted with the utmost integrity, without prejudgment or political motivation,” he said. “The governor remains committed to meaningful reforms that address the systemic challenges facing our child welfare system.”
Torrez’s agency is also calling on current and former case workers, foster families, and youth impacted by the system to come forward with information by going to the “Get Help” page on its website or by calling (505) 490-4060. He also encouraged the public to sign up to become foster parents themselves.
He said he’s committed to getting the answers necessary “to move this state and this agency in a new direction.”
“It is my hope that by shining a light on the problems inside of the agency and on the problems that New Mexico has in protecting its most vulnerable children, that we will begin the necessary process of fulfilling not only our legal obligation to our most vulnerable citizens, but fulfilling our moral obligation to do right by these kids.”
This story has been updated since publication with comment from the offices of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and CYFD.
NM governor pocket vetoes Native cultural schools bill due to accountability concerns - Leah Romero, Source New Mexico
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pocket vetoed a bill introduced this session to establish Native cultural schools through a pilot program, the second time such a bill failed to make it through a recent session.
Sen. Benny Shendo Jr. (D-Jemez Pueblo) originally introduced the State-Tribal Education Compact Schools Act in 2023 to allow pueblos, tribes and nations to enter into compacts with the New Mexico Public Education Department and establish Native language and cultural schools. The 2023 bill died in committee, but this year, Senate Bill 13 found a lot of support.
SB13 was amended to limit the compacts to five schools under five-year pilot programs. It passed unanimously by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but Lujan Grisham failed to act on it by the April 11 deadline.
“The governor supports innovative approaches to Indigenous education; however, there were concerns about the bill exempting compact schools from accountability requirements without adequate implementation structure,” a spokesperson for the governor’s office told Source NM in an email. “The governor has directed PED to work closely with tribal governments, including Jemez Pueblo, to develop solutions that honor tribal sovereignty while ensuring quality education for all New Mexico students.”
The bill would have made state-tribal compact schools exempt from state statutes and rules pertaining to curriculum and school evaluation requirements and would instead have required the schools to rely on the terms of the compact as determined between the petitioning tribe, nation or pueblo and the PED.
Shendo told Source NM that he was disappointed with the outcome, but said he was notified the pocket veto might occur. He added that he thought the concern was over the compact schools receiving state funds based on the public school funding formula — the method of calculating how much money each public school district receives based on how many students they have, the needs of the students and other factors.
“Our schools are going to be very small because we only have so many tribes,” Shendo told Source.
He said he plans to work with the governor’s office and the PED during the interim to streamline the language in the bill and address concerns so it might be one of the governor’s priorities for the 2026 30-day legislative session.
“Us as Indian tribes, we’re not going anywhere. We can wait another year, we’ve been here a long time,” Shendo said. “We’re in it for the longhaul.”
Texas passes 600 cases of measles. Here's what to know about the US outbreaks - By Devi Shastri, AP Health Writer
Texas has more than 600 known cases of measles on Tuesday as the outbreak in the western part of the state approaches the three-month mark.
The U.S. was up to 800 cases of measles nationwide on Friday. Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children died from measles-related illnesses in the epicenter in West Texas, and an adult in New Mexico who was not vaccinated died of a measles-related illness.
Other states with active outbreaks — defined as three or more cases — include Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Mexico. The U.S. has more than double the number of measles cases it saw in all of 2024.
North America has two other outbreaks. One in Ontario, Canada, has sickened 925 from mid-October through April 16. And as of Tuesday, the Mexican state of Chihuahua state has 514 measles cases, according to data from the state health ministry. The World Health Organization has said cases in Mexico are linked to the Texas outbreak.
Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that's airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000.
As the virus takes hold in other U.S. communities with low vaccination rates, health experts fear the virus that the spread could stretch on for a year. Here's what else you need to know about measles in the U.S.
How many measles cases are there in Texas and New Mexico?
Texas state health officials said Tuesday there were 27 new cases of measles since Friday, bringing the total to 624 across 26 counties — most of them in West Texas. Two more Texans were hospitalized, for a total of 64 throughout the outbreak, and Bailey County logged its first two cases.
State health officials estimated about 2% of cases — fewer than 10 — are actively infectious.
Sixty-two percent of Texas' cases are in Gaines County, population 22,892, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 386 cases since late January — just over 1% of the county's residents.
The April 3 death in Texas was an 8-year-old child, according to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Health officials in Texas said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of "what the child's doctor described as measles pulmonary failure." An unvaccinated child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas in late February — Kennedy said age 6.
New Mexico announced two new cases Tuesday, bringing the state's total to 65. Six people have been hospitalized since the outbreak started. Most of the state's cases are in Lea County. Two are in Eddy County and Chaves and Doña Ana counties have one each.
State health officials say the cases are linked to Texas' outbreak based on genetic testing. New Mexico reported its first measles-related death in an adult on March 6.
How many cases are there in Kansas?
Kansas has 37 cases in eight counties in the southwest part of the state, health officials announced Wednesday.
Finney, Ford, Grant, Gray and Morton counties have fewer than five cases each. Haskell County has the most with eight cases, Stevens County has seven, Kiowa County has six.
The state's first reported case, identified in Stevens County on March 13, is linked to the Texas and New Mexico outbreaks based on genetic testing, a state health department spokesperson said. But health officials have not determined how the person was exposed.
How many cases are there in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma confirmed one more case Tuesday for a total cases of 13: 10 confirmed and three probable. The first two probable cases were "associated" with the West Texas and New Mexico outbreaks, the state health department said.
Custer, Oklahoma and Cleveland counties had public exposures in the past 42 days. The state health department is not releasing which counties have cases.
How many cases are there in Ohio?
The Ohio Department of Health confirmed 30 measles cases in the state Thursday. The state county includes only Ohio residents.
There are 14 cases in Ashtabula County near Cleveland, 14 in Knox County and one each in Allen and Holmes counties, the state said. The outbreak in Ashtabula County started with an unvaccinated adult who had interacted with someone who had traveled internationally.
Health officials in Knox County, in east-central Ohio, say there are a total of 20 people with measles, but seven of them do not live in Ohio. In 2022, a measles outbreak in central Ohio sickened 85.
How many cases are there in Indiana?
Indiana confirmed two more cases Monday in an outbreak that has sickened eight in Allen County in the northeast part of the state — five are unvaccinated minors and three are adults whose vaccination status is unknown. The cases have no known link to other outbreaks, the Allen County Department of Health said Monday.
How many cases are there in Pennsylvania?
In far northwest Pennsylvania, Erie County health officials declared a measles outbreak April 14 after finding two new cases linked to a measles case confirmed March 30.
The state has had nine cases overall this year, six of which are not linked to the outbreak, including international travel-related cases in Montgomery County and one in Philadelphia.
How many cases are there in Michigan?
Montcalm County, near Grand Rapids in western Michigan, has four linked measles cases. State health officials say the cases are tied to a large measles outbreak in Ontario, Canada.
The state has eight confirmed measles cases as of Monday, but the remaining four are not part of the Montcalm County outbreak. Michigan's last measles outbreak was in 2019.
How many cases are there in Montana?
Montana state health officials announced five cases Thursday in unvaccinated children and adults who had traveled out of state, and confirmed it was an outbreak on Monday. All five are isolating at home in Gallatin County in the southwest part of the state.
State health officials are working to trace exposures in Bozeman and Belgrade.
They are Montana's first measles cases in 35 years. Health officials didn't say whether the cases are linked to other outbreaks in North America.
Where else is measles showing up in the U.S.?
There have been 800 cases in 2025 as of Friday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 10 clusters — defined as three or more related cases.
Measles cases also have been reported in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington.
Cases and outbreaks in the U.S. are frequently traced to someone who caught the disease abroad. In 2019, the U.S. saw 1,274 cases and almost lost its status of having eliminated measles.
What do you need to know about the MMR vaccine?
The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.
Getting another MMR shot is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don't need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective measles vaccine made from "killed" virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said.
People who have documentation that they had measles are immune and those born before 1957 generally don't need the shots because most children back then had measles and now have "presumptive immunity."
In communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — diseases like measles have a harder time spreading through communities. This is called "herd immunity."
But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots. The U.S. saw a rise in measles cases in 2024, including an outbreak in Chicago that sickened more than 60.
What are the symptoms of measles?
Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash.
The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC.
Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.
How can you treat measles?
There's no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable.
The University of New Mexico Hospital has cut 53 positions as the state’s largest public health system faces deepening financial pressures and federal funding cuts.
A spokesperson for UNMH confirmed the numbers in a statement on Monday. The spokesperson said that some, but not all, of the positions were vacant and emphasized that the eliminated positions were executive positions, not roles like floor nurses and others who provide patient care.
“By taking these steps now, UNM Hospital is positioning itself to balance its current and future budgets. UNM Hospital remains committed to what is most important — providing health care for New Mexicans, in New Mexico,” Chris Ramirez, communication director for the hospital system, told the Journal.
The move comes amid a continued shortage of health care providers and workers in New Mexico, as well as a proposed reduction in federal funding for health care under the Trump administration.
“In order to be sure we are operating as efficiently as possible, and are as prepared as possible for federal funding changes which may lie ahead, we have implemented a number of financial improvement initiatives,” Ramirez said.
UNMH is also reviewing “contract expenses, including contract labor,” and “workflows to maximize efficiency and reduce operational expenses,” according to Ramirez.
Ramirez did not provide a breakdown of how many people were terminated and how many vacant positions were eliminated, but said the cuts were spread across the hospital system’s many units, including the hospital, Health Sciences Center and the Sandoval Regional Medical Center.
UNM folded in SRMC to its UNMH system in 2024. The move brought the Rio Rancho hospital into the system following approval from the UNM Board of Regents in 2023. At the time, UNMH officials said there would be no cuts to roles or salaries. But an internal email provided to the Journal showed that SRMC was hit particularly hard by the cuts.
The email shows that SMRC will lose its president, Jamie Silva-Steele, as well as its chief financial officer, chief human resources officer, executive director of support services, director of food and nutrition services and director of talent acquisition.
Those positions were under contract until June and will not be renewed.
The same email showed that four vacant director positions — including emergency services, case management, pharmacy, and quality — as well as the manager of surgical services were eliminated.
Yolanda Ulmer, the chief executive officer of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, confirmed to the Journal that no union employees were laid off. She also lauded UNMH for cutting management, not workers.
However, Ulmer said that bonuses for picking up extra shifts were paused to avoid cuts to the membership. She emphasized that the bonus suspension was temporary.
“We didn’t get rid of it. We put it on hold temporarily, but they’re still offering overtime work if needed to fill in the gaps,” Ulmer said.
Ulmer noted that contract negotiations are set for mid-May. The management contraction casts a cloud over the future.
“We all have to work collaboratively together and make sure that we organize around this situation that UNMH is facing,” Ulmer said. “We’ve got to make sure that our bargaining unit is well taken care of, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
In the statement, Ramirez stressed that UNMH, which also receives funding from state and local governments, has been burdened by the same financial troubles that all hospitals have faced following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A 2023 National Institutes of Health analysis found that hospitals nationwide lost $200 billion after a 45% decrease in revenue between March 1 and June 30, 2020. The analysis blamed the decline on the high cost of caring for COVID patients and a simultaneous explosion in labor costs.
According to testimony given to legislators by the New Mexico Hospital Association in 2024, two-thirds of New Mexico’s hospitals had higher expenses than revenue during that same year.
“We are grateful for the county, state and federal financial support we have received, and we are committed to being good stewards of those resources,” Ramirez said, adding, “Our mission of service to New Mexico means that we must deliver high-quality patient care in a financially sustainable model.”
With the governor in Asia, Lt. Gov. Howie Morales issues slew of executive orders - Dan Boyd, Albuquerque Journal
Howie Morales is not going rogue.
After issuing more than 30 executive orders since Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham left the state this month to lead a two-week trade mission to Asia, New Mexico’s lieutenant governor said Tuesday the orders stemmed from discussions with the Governor’s Office.
“I never sign an executive order without being in collaboration with the Governor’s Office and understanding what I’m signing,” Morales said in an interview.
A Lujan Grisham spokesman also said the governor is aware of the orders issued by Morales, who serves as acting governor while the governor is traveling outside the state, per the state Constitution.
The 32 orders issued by Morales since April 12 authorize a total of up to $24 million in state funding to be spent. All but two of those orders are targeted at ongoing recovery efforts connected to damages from flooding and wildfires that occurred last year in the Ruidoso and Roswell areas.
Lujan Grisham spokesman Michael Coleman described the orders as necessary to “provide additional and ongoing funding to meet disaster recovery needs.”
For his part, Morales said the state stands to be reimbursed for its expenses by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
But the reimbursement process can take time, and he said the additional funding infusion is necessary now because the state has the authority to remove debris from private property, unlike local governments.
The other two orders issued by the lieutenant governor include a Monday order that frees up funding for Valencia County in response to a fire in Bosque Farms and an April 17 order focused on a New Mexico National Guard deployment to help the Albuquerque Police Department with certain duties.
The executive authority to issue orders authorizing appropriations of up to $750,000 per order comes from a state law that has been largely untouched over the last 60-plus years.
That funding limit has led to large amounts of such orders being issued in recent years, like the 139 orders Lujan Grisham issued for wildfire response efforts during the 2022 budget year.
Meanwhile, the recent slew of executive orders are not the first such orders issued by Morales while Lujan Grisham is traveling out of state. The former state senator, a Democrat, also issued similar orders in past years.
Though rare, there have been situations in other states of lieutenant governors issuing orders in defiance of a governor’s wishes. In 2011, Idaho’s former lieutenant governor attempted to deploy the National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border and ban schools from requiring COVID-19 testing or vaccines. Both those orders were subsequently rescinded by the state’s governor.
Lujan Grisham is scheduled to return to the United States on April 29, according to the Governor’s Office. She will take part in meetings in Los Angeles with the New Mexico Amigos, a group of civic leaders, before returning to New Mexico.
Baby's body found in dumpster in Northwest Albuquerque - Gregory R.C. Hasman, Albuquerque Journal
Police say a group of people living on the streets found a dead baby in a dumpster on Tuesday in Northwest Albuquerque.
Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque Police Department spokesman, said it is unclear who left the baby in the dumpster .
Gallegos did not say how the baby died. Based on the circumstances, he said, the baby’s mother may need medical attention.
At about 3:45 a.m., APD officers responded to a 911 call in the 900 block of Rio Grande NW, near Interstate 40.
When they arrived, a security guard told them unhoused people found the baby’s body in the dumpster partially wrapped in a blanket, Gallegos said. Detectives were searching the area and nearby businesses to see if any surveillance cameras captured the incident.
“At this point, we are putting out a call for help or for information,” he said. Anyone with information can call 242-COPS or contact Crime Stoppers at 505-843-STOP (7867) or p3tips.com/531.
If people do not want to keep their babies, Gallegos said, people can surrender them to hospitals, fire and police stations or Safe Haven Baby Boxes, within 90 days of birth, under the New Mexico Safe Haven for Infants Act. There are currently 10 baby boxes across the state, including in Hobbs, Carlsbad and Belen.
Albuquerque does not have a baby box, but Albuquerque Fire Rescue spokesperson Lt. Jason Fejer said it has participated in the Safe Haven program for over a decade, “meaning all 22 AFR fire stations are Safe Havens” where babies can be dropped off.
However, he said the city will have its first baby box installed by late 2025 at Fire Station 12, near Juan Tabo and Central, which will feature a secure, climate-controlled incubator designed for the anonymous surrender of newborns in crisis.
“Installing a Safe Haven Baby Box at our new Fire Station 12 ensures that no newborn is left in an unsafe situation, offering a safe, anonymous option for parents in crisis,” Fire Chief Emily Jaramillo said in a statement. “As a mother, I understand that using this box likely comes during an overwhelming and heartbreaking moment. This initiative also highlights the vital importance of supporting postpartum maternal mental health.”
Sen. David Gallegos, R-Eunice, co-sponsored a bill during this year’s legislative session that would have provided explicit protections for parents who choose to remain anonymous when relinquishing an infant. The bill stalled in committee.
In a statement about Tuesday’s incident, David Gallegos said, “Yet again, it is a sad day when someone in our state’s largest city did not feel safe enough to drop off their child at a hospital or fire station where the infant could have received life-affirming care.
“I wish this mother would have had the option to anonymously place her child in a Safe Haven Baby Box. Rather, our state is now forced to endure another heart-wrenching and unnecessary loss of human life. Safe Haven Baby Boxes work, which is why we must expand their accessibility throughout New Mexico and prevent additional tragedies such as this one in the future.”
New Mexico AG announces ‘wide-ranging’ investigation into child welfare agency - Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
New Mexico’s top state prosecutor says he will begin a formal investigation into what led up to the death of an Albuquerque teenager and the broader problems at the state’s beleaguered child welfare agency.
Searchlight New Mexico reports that earlier this month, 16-year-old Jaydun Garcia took his own life in a former Albuquerque halfway house built for girls transitioning out of juvenile detention.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez held a new conference on Tuesday morning announcing a formal investigation into Garcia’s death, but also other incidents of children who have been harmed while in Children, Youth and Families Department custody.
“The State of New Mexico failed to protect this child,” Torrez said. “The State of New Mexico has failed to honor its legal and moral obligations under a variety of legal agreements that they have entered into.”
Torrez said the public has very little information about what happened to Garcia, who was responsible for him in the days and weeks before his death and the decisions made and resources dedicated to preventing it.
“How can we expect to improve that system if we don’t know what happened, if we don’t have answers, if we don’t have transparency?” Torrez said. “I’m prepared to test the law in this space, and I’m prepared to advocate fundamentally for a change in the law, if that is what’s required.”
The investigation is not limited to Garcia’s death but will extend to state agencies charged with protecting children, Torrez said.
The Department of Justice will conduct “a comprehensive and wide-ranging investigation into various reports of children who have been referred to CYFD” as victims of abuse and neglect, placed in congregate care and other facilities, improperly housed at CYFD offices, sexually assaulted in those offices, or abused by armed guards in those offices, Torrez said.
“Enough is enough,” Torrez said. “I will not tolerate the excuses, the assurances, I think we have all grown tired of waking up and hearing about another child who’s been injured, another child who’s been hurt, another child in state custody who’s been killed, and for that reason, the New Mexico Department of Justice will initiate a formal investigation into the facts and circumstances that led up to the death Jaydun Garcia.”
New Mexico Child First Network Founder and Executive Director Maralyn Beck, a former foster parent, joined Torrez at the news conference, saying Garcia’s death was preventable.
“The signs were there, and we should not be housing our children in warehouses of neglect like congregate care,” Beck said. “One single call to Child Protective Services should have prevented this.”
She said what foster children need to heal from their trauma is homes, and excellent parenting through committed, developmentally informed relationships with adults.
“It is through transparency, it is through peeling back the layer of confidentiality to figure out what happened,” Beck said.
Disability Rights New Mexico Chief Executive Officer Gary Housepian also appeared alongside Torrez and Beck during the news conference. In a news release afterwards, Housepian said in a statement that Garcia’s death is “a devastating reminder of what happens when vulnerable children — especially those with disabilities or behavioral health needs — fall through the cracks of a broken system.”
“We’ve been raising alarms for years about placements in congregate settings, and it’s long past time for a comprehensive, independent investigation. We stand ready to coordinate our investigation of this death, monitoring of facilities and to support the Attorney General in demanding the transparency and accountability these children and youth deserve,” Housepian said.
Probe will guide new oversight office
The broader investigation into other incidents will develop a detailed record of events leading up to the deaths or great bodily injury of children under CYFD’s supervision but also the policies, procedures and people involved, the Department of Justice said in the news release.
The investigation will take several months, Torrez said. Its ultimate objective, he said, is to prepare a comprehensive report for the incoming Office of the Child Advocate, which New Mexico’s lawmakers created in the most recent legislative session and is administratively attached to Torrez’s agency.
That report will be “a blueprint of the issues that have plagued this agency and this state for decades,” Torrez said.
The Department of Justice said in a news release that the new office was created “despite Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s attempt to veto its funding.” Even though Lujan Grisham signed the legislation to create the office, she vetoed $1.65 million that would have covered the start-up costs to create it, and she and the AG’s office traded barbs over the bill.
Michael Coleman, Lujan Grisham’s communications director, told Source NM on Tuesday that the new law grants the attorney general authority to investigate CYFD’s operations, and the governor authorized $650,000 to establish the office in its first year.
“However, as she stated in her March 21 executive message, the governor is concerned that this new office could be weaponized to intimidate CYFD and its staff rather than to prioritize the safety and well-being of children in the state’s care,” Coleman said in a statement. “She reiterates this concern following the AG’s unfounded, blanket criticisms of CYFD at a news conference today.
Torrez said he does not yet know if CYFD will resist the investigation, and he hopes the governor’s rhetoric around the legislation and the line-item veto are “not indicative of the administration’s position moving forward.”
“I won’t be deterred in any way by the resistance of other stakeholders in this situation,” he said. “My hope is that can be avoided.”
Spokespeople for CYFD and the governor’s office told Source NM on Tuesday afternoon that the agency will share the findings from its own investigation into Garcia’s death with DOJ.
CYFD Director of Communications Andrew Skobinsky said the agency is disappointed that Torrez “has decided not to collaborate with the Department on this important investigation.”
“The death of any child is tragic, and we mourn this terrible loss and send our condolences to the family and friends of the youth who died,” Skobinsky said in a statement. “As Secretary Casados has said on numerous occasions, she would much prefer to work with the attorney general in a solution-focused manner, rather than via a press conference, for systemic change to New Mexico’s child welfare system.”
Coleman said the attorney general has the authority to investigate CYFD or any other state agency, “and the governor’s administration always cooperates and shares any information requested.”
“All public officials with jurisdiction over CYFD should commit to ensuring that oversight is conducted with the utmost integrity, without prejudgment or political motivation,” he said. “The governor remains committed to meaningful reforms that address the systemic challenges facing our child welfare system.”
Torrez’s agency is also calling on current and former case workers, foster families, and youth impacted by the system to come forward with information by going to the “Get Help” page on its website or by calling (505) 490-4060. He also encouraged the public to sign up to become foster parents themselves.
He said he’s committed to getting the answers necessary “to move this state and this agency in a new direction.”
“It is my hope that by shining a light on the problems inside of the agency and on the problems that New Mexico has in protecting its most vulnerable children, that we will begin the necessary process of fulfilling not only our legal obligation to our most vulnerable citizens, but fulfilling our moral obligation to do right by these kids.”
This story has been updated since publication with comment from the offices of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and CYFD.
NM governor pocket vetoes Native cultural schools bill due to accountability concerns - Leah Romero, Source New Mexico
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pocket vetoed a bill introduced this session to establish Native cultural schools through a pilot program, the second time such a bill failed to make it through a recent session.
Sen. Benny Shendo Jr. (D-Jemez Pueblo) originally introduced the State-Tribal Education Compact Schools Act in 2023 to allow pueblos, tribes and nations to enter into compacts with the New Mexico Public Education Department and establish Native language and cultural schools. The 2023 bill died in committee, but this year, Senate Bill 13 found a lot of support.
SB13 was amended to limit the compacts to five schools under five-year pilot programs. It passed unanimously by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but Lujan Grisham failed to act on it by the April 11 deadline.
“The governor supports innovative approaches to Indigenous education; however, there were concerns about the bill exempting compact schools from accountability requirements without adequate implementation structure,” a spokesperson for the governor’s office told Source NM in an email. “The governor has directed PED to work closely with tribal governments, including Jemez Pueblo, to develop solutions that honor tribal sovereignty while ensuring quality education for all New Mexico students.”
The bill would have made state-tribal compact schools exempt from state statutes and rules pertaining to curriculum and school evaluation requirements and would instead have required the schools to rely on the terms of the compact as determined between the petitioning tribe, nation or pueblo and the PED.
Shendo told Source NM that he was disappointed with the outcome, but said he was notified the pocket veto might occur. He added that he thought the concern was over the compact schools receiving state funds based on the public school funding formula — the method of calculating how much money each public school district receives based on how many students they have, the needs of the students and other factors.
“Our schools are going to be very small because we only have so many tribes,” Shendo told Source.
He said he plans to work with the governor’s office and the PED during the interim to streamline the language in the bill and address concerns so it might be one of the governor’s priorities for the 2026 30-day legislative session.
“Us as Indian tribes, we’re not going anywhere. We can wait another year, we’ve been here a long time,” Shendo said. “We’re in it for the longhaul.”
Texas passes 600 cases of measles. Here's what to know about the US outbreaks - By Devi Shastri, AP Health Writer
Texas has more than 600 known cases of measles on Tuesday as the outbreak in the western part of the state approaches the three-month mark.
The U.S. was up to 800 cases of measles nationwide on Friday. Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children died from measles-related illnesses in the epicenter in West Texas, and an adult in New Mexico who was not vaccinated died of a measles-related illness.
Other states with active outbreaks — defined as three or more cases — include Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Mexico. The U.S. has more than double the number of measles cases it saw in all of 2024.
North America has two other outbreaks. One in Ontario, Canada, has sickened 925 from mid-October through April 16. And as of Tuesday, the Mexican state of Chihuahua state has 514 measles cases, according to data from the state health ministry. The World Health Organization has said cases in Mexico are linked to the Texas outbreak.
Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that's airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000.
As the virus takes hold in other U.S. communities with low vaccination rates, health experts fear the virus that the spread could stretch on for a year. Here's what else you need to know about measles in the U.S.
How many measles cases are there in Texas and New Mexico?
Texas state health officials said Tuesday there were 27 new cases of measles since Friday, bringing the total to 624 across 26 counties — most of them in West Texas. Two more Texans were hospitalized, for a total of 64 throughout the outbreak, and Bailey County logged its first two cases.
State health officials estimated about 2% of cases — fewer than 10 — are actively infectious.
Sixty-two percent of Texas' cases are in Gaines County, population 22,892, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 386 cases since late January — just over 1% of the county's residents.
The April 3 death in Texas was an 8-year-old child, according to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Health officials in Texas said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of "what the child's doctor described as measles pulmonary failure." An unvaccinated child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas in late February — Kennedy said age 6.
New Mexico announced two new cases Tuesday, bringing the state's total to 65. Six people have been hospitalized since the outbreak started. Most of the state's cases are in Lea County. Two are in Eddy County and Chaves and Doña Ana counties have one each.
State health officials say the cases are linked to Texas' outbreak based on genetic testing. New Mexico reported its first measles-related death in an adult on March 6.
How many cases are there in Kansas?
Kansas has 37 cases in eight counties in the southwest part of the state, health officials announced Wednesday.
Finney, Ford, Grant, Gray and Morton counties have fewer than five cases each. Haskell County has the most with eight cases, Stevens County has seven, Kiowa County has six.
The state's first reported case, identified in Stevens County on March 13, is linked to the Texas and New Mexico outbreaks based on genetic testing, a state health department spokesperson said. But health officials have not determined how the person was exposed.
How many cases are there in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma confirmed one more case Tuesday for a total cases of 13: 10 confirmed and three probable. The first two probable cases were "associated" with the West Texas and New Mexico outbreaks, the state health department said.
Custer, Oklahoma and Cleveland counties had public exposures in the past 42 days. The state health department is not releasing which counties have cases.
How many cases are there in Ohio?
The Ohio Department of Health confirmed 30 measles cases in the state Thursday. The state county includes only Ohio residents.
There are 14 cases in Ashtabula County near Cleveland, 14 in Knox County and one each in Allen and Holmes counties, the state said. The outbreak in Ashtabula County started with an unvaccinated adult who had interacted with someone who had traveled internationally.
Health officials in Knox County, in east-central Ohio, say there are a total of 20 people with measles, but seven of them do not live in Ohio. In 2022, a measles outbreak in central Ohio sickened 85.
How many cases are there in Indiana?
Indiana confirmed two more cases Monday in an outbreak that has sickened eight in Allen County in the northeast part of the state — five are unvaccinated minors and three are adults whose vaccination status is unknown. The cases have no known link to other outbreaks, the Allen County Department of Health said Monday.
How many cases are there in Pennsylvania?
In far northwest Pennsylvania, Erie County health officials declared a measles outbreak April 14 after finding two new cases linked to a measles case confirmed March 30.
The state has had nine cases overall this year, six of which are not linked to the outbreak, including international travel-related cases in Montgomery County and one in Philadelphia.
How many cases are there in Michigan?
Montcalm County, near Grand Rapids in western Michigan, has four linked measles cases. State health officials say the cases are tied to a large measles outbreak in Ontario, Canada.
The state has eight confirmed measles cases as of Monday, but the remaining four are not part of the Montcalm County outbreak. Michigan's last measles outbreak was in 2019.
How many cases are there in Montana?
Montana state health officials announced five cases Thursday in unvaccinated children and adults who had traveled out of state, and confirmed it was an outbreak on Monday. All five are isolating at home in Gallatin County in the southwest part of the state.
State health officials are working to trace exposures in Bozeman and Belgrade.
They are Montana's first measles cases in 35 years. Health officials didn't say whether the cases are linked to other outbreaks in North America.
Where else is measles showing up in the U.S.?
There have been 800 cases in 2025 as of Friday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 10 clusters — defined as three or more related cases.
Measles cases also have been reported in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington.
Cases and outbreaks in the U.S. are frequently traced to someone who caught the disease abroad. In 2019, the U.S. saw 1,274 cases and almost lost its status of having eliminated measles.
What do you need to know about the MMR vaccine?
The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.
Getting another MMR shot is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don't need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective measles vaccine made from "killed" virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said.
People who have documentation that they had measles are immune and those born before 1957 generally don't need the shots because most children back then had measles and now have "presumptive immunity."
In communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — diseases like measles have a harder time spreading through communities. This is called "herd immunity."
But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots. The U.S. saw a rise in measles cases in 2024, including an outbreak in Chicago that sickened more than 60.
What are the symptoms of measles?
Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash.
The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC.
Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.
How can you treat measles?
There's no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable.