By HFT Staff

Convent Health Hobbs Hospital in New Mexico is reducing services and conducting an internal review after rodent and water quality issues were detect at the facility, which opened Sept. 28.  

The hospital was built on land that had not been developed, displacing any animals from their natural habitats. The facilities team is searching for points of entry and working to identify and remove any signs of rodents from the premises.  

Meanwhile, low levels of chlorine were found in the water system during a routine inspection. In a statement, Convent Health Hobbs Hospital officials say that adequate levels of chlorine are necessary to ensure water is safe for consumption and use in a hospital setting because they can remove contaminants that can affect surfaces and equipment. The facility is working with a water management company to identify the cause and will develop a mitigation plan in line with regulatory standards. 

“We have made the decision to reduce services, beginning immediately until we can provide a healthy and safe environment for our patients, visitors and caregivers,” according to a statement. “We estimate this process will take several days. The emergency department will continue to receive patients. However, they will be evaluated and transferred to nearby hospital if additional care is needed.” 

Once Convent Health Hobbs learned of the issues, it created a mitigation plan with outside experts to assist with both situations.  

“Making the decision to reduce services at the hospital was not taken lightly and we take our responsibility to provide high-quality care to our patients and the Hobbs community seriously,” according to the statement.