sozden@unm.edu
Students who purchase health insurance from UNM will pay 22 percent more next year. At a June 12 Board of Regents meeting, regents approved the increase in health insurance costs. Health insurance premiums at UNM will increase by about $300, to about $1,700 annually, the Albuquerque Journal reported. The Journal also reported that about 2,000 students are covered by UNM’s insurance program.
New adult-care hospital
The Board of Regents unanimously approved a $146 million adult-care hospital. In a presentation at the meeting, Chief Executive Officer of UNM Hospitals Steve McKernan said the six-story, 96-bed hospital will be 185,000 square feet and will be located on the west end of the Health Sciences Center. He said the hospital will open in July 2014 pending approval from the New Mexico Higher Education Department and the State Board of Finance.
McKernan said the additions are necessary because space limitations often cause the hospital to turn away patients, and the average emergency room wait time for an inpatient bed is 24 to 36 hours.
“Frequently, we have to kick emergency room patients off the bed,” he said. “We’re in a situation where we can’t see patients as the statewide agreements … so many patients receive their care out-of-state.”
In the presentation, McKernan said UNMH sees about 90,000 emergency patients a year and that the hospital runs at a 95 percent occupancy rate. He said the additional 96 beds will allow the hospital to use emergency hospital beds for emergency cases.
According to the presentation, the hospital will include six operating rooms, radiology services, laboratory services, an inpatient pharmacy and respiratory therapy and support services.
The project includes an additional 65,000 square foot building that will be built next door to the hospital to include an eye clinic and cardiovascular clinic.
According to the presentation, contract negotiations have begun with Bradbury Stamm, a general building contractor company, as the construction manager at risk. The company will advise the University throughout the construction process and will allow the project to stay on schedule by reducing conflicts during construction.
No change in policy
The regents unanimously rejected a change to section 7.9 in the regents’ policy, which mandates that property management transactions be approved by the regents. Had it passed, the policy change would have allowed UNM corporations to make real estate purchases without regent approval.
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Regent Gene Gallegos said the policy change could allow large purchases to happen without regent oversight and without informing the public.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, Health Sciences Center officials requested a change in the policy on behalf of the UNM Medical Group, a nonprofit corporation owned by the regents. The request was made to allow the group to purchase a $2.3 million building in Rio Rancho that the group would convert into a medical clinic.
Although regents rejected the policy change, they approved purchasing the building.
