https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gsy82WkSJVQ&feature=youtu.be
On the day KRWG visited the New Mexico Department of Health’s Southwest Office, the line for COVID-19 testing went out of the parking lot and down the street.
It’s a familiar scene due to the rising cases within Doña Ana County, but New Mexico Department of Health Communication Director Marisa Maez says the department has expanded testing to meet the need.
“In southern New Mexico, they have some of the counties with the highest rate of spread, and so the good news is that people are testing, and testing is filling up quickly,” Maez said. “That is why we're expanding the testing. We've expanded testing hours. We know that those lines can be long at times. We know that people are waiting for quite a while, and we are so grateful that they're sticking it out and doing the right thing, because it can be hundreds, up to thousands of tests, depending on where you are a day.”
Dawn Sanchez, the southwest regional public health director for the New Mexico Department of Health, says nurses serving in the Las Cruces office each average between 25-30 tests per hour. She estimates that the office averages a wait time between 45 minutes to an hour and a half.
“We typically have four or five nurses here in Cruces testing,” Sanchez said. “Sometimes we're lucky, we have some nursing...students come help, so that really helps move the line a lot quicker. So, a lot of it just depends on the staffing we have available. You know, the number of cars that show up that day. Mondays are always a busy day. It's interesting, Monday and Tuesday are the busy days of the week, to be honest with you, and then it kind of evens out over the week.”
Sanchez recommends registering online before coming to the testing site. Despite the increase, she says her team has been able to continually get the testing equipment they need.
“Originally, we were ordering I think about 2,000 test kits, we use those per week, that was early when this whole thing started. We're up to about 6,000 [a week] now,” Sanchez said. “So we're able to get our supplies up very quickly and keep the operation going.”
The rise in cases is not only impacting testing, but also hospitals with capacity concerns. One solution to rising COVID cases is sending patients to alternative care facilities, like Haciendas at Grace Village in Las Cruces, a nursing home that is providing space for senior COVID patients to recover. Marisa Maez says these facilities offer hope during a time when hospitalization rates are climbing.
“That is going to help take a burden off some of the hospitals because that is designed specifically for patients who need stepped down care,” Maez said. “So they're not ready to go home or they're not in a safe environment where they can…so they need a safe place to recover.”
Memorial Medical Center’s Chief Medical Officer Dolores Gomez recently spoke to KRWG about the merits of alternative care facilities and says her team will continue to work with the community to find solutions.
“If there are people that maybe aren't as sick and don't have to be in the hospital, how do we build locations outside of the hospital alternate care sites to continue to care for these patients, but maybe it's just done in a different facility with maybe not as severe as a sickness and in those patients as well,” Gomez said. “So, we're working with our community, working with our city and our county, to look at that, as well. So that way, we don't ever want to say we can't give you care.”
Gomez emphasized the importance of following public health safety measures—wearing masks, practicing social distancing and following all state public health orders.
“A lot of people talk about thanking the health care workers because we're the frontline. You know, honestly, we're not the frontline,” Gomez said. “We're actually the last line of defense, if you're reaching our doorstep. We're the last line of hopefully getting people through things. Really our community is the frontline right now. This is a public health issue. This is nothing more than that, and it's all about prevention. And how do we prevent others from getting ill? We do the things that you hear over and over and over again, and I don't think you can repeat it enough. We need to wear those masks.”
Southwest Regional Public Health Director Dawn Sanchez is also calling on the community to meet the moment. Sanchez recognizes the struggles many are facing but says people must take action to keep everyone in the community safe.
“This is a point in time in our lives. It's a challenge, you know, I'm hopeful this time will pass. But right now, it is time to do the right thing and follow those public health orders because it's only going to save you. It's going to save your loved one. It's going to save your community,” Sanchez said. “One of my staffers gave me a quote…he said breathing through your mask is uncomfortable for everyone, breathing through a ventilator will be unforgettable to your loved ones.”
