Las Cruces hospitals layoff dozens of workers amid cancelling of non-essential medical services

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- Dozens of employees at the two major hospitals in Las Cruces have been furloughed following a state prohibition on elective surgeries and other non-essential medical procedures due to the coronavirus pandemic.

MountainView Regional Medical Center and MountainView Medical Group confirmed to ABC-7 on Monday evening that it was temporarily laying off 67 workers.

"The length of this furlough will be dictated by external forces such as the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting closure of non essential medical services, surgeries and procedures," said spokesman Benjamin Woods.

He would not disclose whether those furloughed employees were doctors, nurses or other staff. He also declined to discuss what medical specialties or departments of the hospital were impacted.

Meantime, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported that Memorial Medical Center was temporarily laying-off 125 employees for two months in a move that affected nearly all departments at that hospital.

"When there are fewer patients, less staff are needed," a spokesperson for MMC told the newspaper.