The Nor-Lea Hospital District is temporarily closing the Lovington Wellness Center in order to repurpose the area for use in responding to the recent COVID-19 surge in the area. Health care systems in New Mexico and in Texas have been strained by the rapid increase of COVID-19 infections. The vast majority of those being hospitalized are unvaccinated, which has sparked nationwide debate about communities’ obligations toward people who refuse vaccination.

A press conference is expected today or tomorrow to address the surge of cases and Nor-Lea’s response. David Shaw, the Administrator of Nor-Lea, last spoke to the public during a press conference two weeks ago in which he expressed his concern for the increasing infection rate and the hospital’s move to “yellow status”.

Now, Nor-Lea is moving to “Code Black” according to a post on their Facebook page. With this move, the Lovington Wellness Center residing on the Nor-Lea campus will be closing to the public temporarily. No re-open date was provided and the closure is likely to remain for as long as the extra space is needed to dedicate to COVID-19 response.

At the press conference two weeks ago, it was mentioned one COVID patient had to be transferred to a facility in Colorado because all New Mexico and Texas hospitals were at capacity. Both states continue facing bed shortages and Texas requested mortuary trailers from FEMA in anticipation of increased deaths.

Nor-Lea had begun to create more capacity back when the cases began spiking and their COVID-19 beds filled. A spokesperson for Nor-Lea said on August 16 they had beds for up to 10 COVID patients with plans to increase that to 15 within the week. This would leave 6 beds available for non-COVID related issues.

With the temporary repurposing of the wellness center however, the capacity is expected to increase. However, representatives did not immediately respond to questions regarding current or expected capacity. More details will likely come in a public press conference soon.

As the COVID-19 resurgence puts added strain on hospital systems throughout the country, people are questioning whether willfully unvaccinated patients should receive priority care. The vast majority of hospitalizations from COVID-19 are occurring among the unvaccinated. Because the vaccines are readily available to most people over 12 free of charge, experts agree that getting vaccinated is the easiest action a person can take to prevent being hospitalized.

However, many people remain unvaccinated in the US, largely for political reasons. In Lea County, only 27.3% of people over the age of 12 are fully vaccinated. As hospitals fill and resources are stretched thin, should treatment for the unvaccinated be deprioritized? Some would say their decision not to get vaccinated directly resulted in their need for treatment and some degree of personal responsibility should be considered. George Takei of Star Trek fame said on Twitter, “The willfully unvaccinated who wind up in hospitals from Covid should not receive priority medical care over other very sick or injured people who are as much in urgent need of medical care.”

The willfully unvaccinated who wind up in hospitals from Covid should not receive priority medical care over other very sick or injured people who are as much in urgent need of medical care.

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) August 13, 2021

Medical professionals are also weighing in, seeing first-hand the effects unvaccinated populations are having on their day-to-day work and ability to treat patients. “We are exhausted,” Dr. Rupesh Dharia of Palm Beach Internal Medicine said in an article on the NY Daily News. “Our patience and resources are running low and we need your help.”

Dr. Dharia was one of 75 healthcare professionals in Florida who recently staged a symbolic “walk-out” to protest the priority treatment of unvaccinated patients.

Currently hospitals like Nor-Lea reserve some capacity for non-COVID patients. This could result in having to send more COVID patients out of state, regardless of vaccination status, as the COVID beds fill up. However, it does mean hospitals will be able to treat other emergencies that may arise, such as heart attacks and car accidents. Whether “Code Black” will change this policy for Nor-Lea is unclear, and if COVID hospitalizations continue to rise, resources may need to be taken from elsewhere to handle the increase.

In the meantime, local health experts are calling on people to get vaccinated. Being vaccinated significantly decreases risk of hospitalization or death should a “breakthrough infection” occur. Therefore, the more people who are vaccinated, the less strain there will be on our healthcare systems.

For now though hospitals will have to do what they can to account for the increasing demand for COVID care. In the case of Nor-Lea, that means shutting down its wellness center to provide space for treatment. The Lovington Wellness Center closure will begin on Wednesday, August 25 and members will not be charged for the duration. “We plead with our members to have patience with us as we are trying our best to combat this serious situation,” Nor-Lea said on Facebook.