KGLP Podcasts

Audio of the March 18, 2022 Community Town Hall discussing concerns about the administration of the RMCH hospital in Gallup, NM.

The ZOOM recording will be available at www.rmchisourhospital.org.

Community Health Action Group (CHAG) statement:  Dr. Val Wangler, New Mexico Society of Hospital Medicine’s 2021 Physician of the Year, founder and director for RMCHCS’s Family Medicine Residency, and the hospital’s former Chief Medical Officer, was terminated without cause from Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital by the management team of Community Hospital Corporation.  This caps 1.5 years of management by the Community Health Corporation which has been notable for an estimated >25% staff turnover, including the departure of over 60% of nurses - several times the national average (CHAG estimates).  At the March 12th Town Hall, CHAG presented the results of an RMCH employee survey of current and former hospital employees that suggest a “toxic” work environment and “hostile” management is the root cause of this crisis of staffing.  The results directly counter statements made by CHC management, including claims that exit interviews are performed, that nurses reported leaving for higher pay, and that local expertise is not available for hire.

"We have a very narrow window to make changes to save the hospital, and bring dedicated staff back," said Dr. Connie Liu, a local physician and a survey administrator.  "We are calling on the RMCH Board of Trustees and our County Commissioners to act.  We believe our evidence compels action, including termination of the contract with CHC.”

The hospital is a major service point for patients who live in nearby Navajo Nation and Zuni Pueblo (70% of the patient population at RMCH is Native American), and it is the only hospital where IHS non-beneficiaries can seek care.  CHC management reported that RMCH experienced a 2021 cash loss of $9.4 million at the February Board Meeting.  In the past month, community members mobilized weekly patient and community protests related to inaccessible clinic phone lines and ongoing, unaddressed reports of patient safety issues.  This includes a dysfunctional call light system and inoperable code button system on the Med/Surg/Peds floor, both of which put patients unnecessarily at risk.

To view the CHAG White Paper: Employee Survey Results and Recommendations, please visit the CHAG webpage.
www.rmchisourhospital.org 

The New Mexico Department of Health provides a COVID-19 webinar update, and takes questions from the media. Recorded on March 2, 2022.

UNMG’s Black History Month Speaker, New Mexico’s District 28 Representative, Pamelya Herndon, who serves the constituents of Bernalillo County, discusses her career and journey, with personal thoughts on the importance of education.  This was a virtual presentation, recorded on February 23, 2022.

KGLP's Emma Farley sits down with Bob Rosebrough, author of A Place of Thin Veil: Life and Death in Gallup, NM.

Rosebrough describes Gallup, New Mexico as "a place like no other. It is disproportionally and simultaneously wonderful and terrible. It is a place of constant struggle, where the forces of good and evil collide. The former frontier mining town, bordering the Navajo Nation at the far western edge of New Mexico, is one of those few places on earth that have the power to change the course of our lives and transform us deeply."

https://www.amazon.com/Place-Thin-Veil-Gallup-Mexico/dp/1940322529/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1645203931&refinements=p_27%3ABob+Rosebrough&s=books&sr=1-1

KGLP's Station Manager, Rachel Kaub, speaks about changes in access to local vision care, with Gallup area optometrists, Dr. Matthew McGraw, and his wife and partner, Dr. Brandi McGraw, of Gallup Eye Group, plus Kathy Mezoff, retired Gallup pediatrician and wife of John Mezoff, the ophtamologist who founded the Gallup Eye Associates office, which is closing at the end of February, 2022.

The New Mexico Department of Health provides a COVID-19 webinar update, and takes questions from the media. Recorded on January 19, 2022.

Link to presentation with slides:

https://www.facebook.com/nmdoh/videos/covid-19-day-680-press-update-jan-19-2022/775401953626349

Bernie Dotson interviews Rex Lee Jim, former Vice President of the Navajo Nation, and Kevin Mitchell, Board Member for Gallup-McKinley County Schools, District 1. 

They discuss the current state of Navajo language education, as well as what the future might hold.  

The New Mexico Department of Health provides a COVID-19 webinar update, and takes questions from the media. Recorded on January 5, 2022.

Link to presentation with slides:

https://www.facebook.com/nmdoh/videos/416964136888184

Bernie Dotson interviews several individuals from Gallup's Big Brothers Big Sisters program. In this roundtable discussion, we hear from several big brothers and sisters, their "littles," and even the director of the program. They discuss how the program has impacted their lives.

In this roundtable discussion, Bernie Dotson interviews several individuals who are involved with Gallup's Hozho Center for Personal Enhancement. They discuss drug and alcohol addiction in Gallup, and what the road to recovery looks like.