The University of New Mexico Health System canceled all appointments and diverted ambulance traffic Monday following a “cybersecurity event,” university officials announced Monday night in a statement.
An alert on the health system’s website instructed patients not to show up to UNM Health facilities Monday, urging them to call 911 for emergencies and to delay nonemergent care.
Though the extent of the issue wasn’t immediately clear Monday, hospital officials said in the statement it affected the entirety of UNM Health Sciences Center, the umbrella organization that includes the university’s hospital, School of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, College of Nursing and College of Population Health.
UNM Hospital operates over 600 inpatient beds at its main facility in Albuquerque, according to data from the American Hospital Directory. It is New Mexico’s only Level I Trauma Center and a central hub for specialty care in the state.
The cybersecurity issue began around noon Monday. Information technology staff at the Health Sciences Center “immediately took steps to contain the event and protect the network,” in addition to notifying state and federal law enforcement, spokesperson Chris Ramirez wrote in a news release.
Between 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., UNM Health temporarily diverted patients to other healthcare facilities. The health system also halted outpatient surgeries and appointments for the rest of the day.
During that time, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich wrote in a social media post he was “closely monitoring” the cybersecurity incident.
“[I] am doing everything I can to ensure all available federal resources are being deployed,” he wrote on X. “I’m grateful to the healthcare providers, administrators, and staff working hard to respond to this incident and minimize disruptions for New Mexicans.”
The institution resumed operations in phases starting around 2:30 p.m.
All health sciences students and non-essential personnel were told to leave campus Monday afternoon. Their classes and research units will remain closed Tuesday.
However, UNM Hospital employees are expected to return to work tomorrow, as are students in clinicals.
Ramirez said the Health Sciences Center will issue an update on outpatient surgeries and appointments scheduled for Tuesday on Monday night or early Tuesday morning.
The incident at UNM comes as more and more New Mexico institutions — ranging from other healthcare providers to local universities — suffer from cyberattacks and network disturbances.
“We are grateful to the health systems in Albuquerque and Santa Fe that worked with us to ensure patients had a safe place to receive care. … We will work with patients to reschedule missed appointments and procedures,” Ramirez wrote.
Margaret O’Hara reports on issues affecting healthy communities in New Mexico. Her work is funded by a grant from Anchorum Health Foundation. Anchorum will not have any role in editorial decisions. The New Mexican and its Public Service Journalism Fund retain full editorial control. Philanthropically funded stories by The New Mexican are made available to all readers without a paywall.
