The UNM Board of Regents on Monday approved a quick fix for staffing deficiencies within University Hospital's division of neurosurgery.
Updates on contracts with two physician-hiring companies will allow UNM to bring in a pair of full-time neurosurgeons until new faculty members are hired.
The division is expected to lose some faculty on Dec. 1, but it is unclear how many are leaving.
Regent Mel Eaves said the two new doctors would sign six-month contracts, which the University can cancel with 30 days' notice. The hires would cost between $650,000 and $800,000, and estimates show services the physicians provide will net UNM about $1.2 million per year to help offset expenses.
The two physician-hiring companies that will work with UNM are StaffCare and CompHealth.
Some faculty members considered resigning because Bruce Storrs was demoted from division chief in September. All six of the division's residents have left UNM in recent weeks.
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"I think the residents left because they thought the faculty were leaving, too," said Phillip Eaton, UNM vice president for Health Sciences. "I'm sorry for the residents because they missed out - they were misinformed."
Eaton said the medical center is interviewing eight potential residents, whose presence would keep the residency program intact.
The UNM Health Sciences Center has the only Level I trauma designation in the state, which reflects a facility's ability to quickly treat traumatic injuries.
Many within the division have expressed concerns that the recent exodus will jeopardize that designation.
The accrediting body for trauma centers evaluated UNM's medical center during the second week of October, but the report is not yet available.
"There shouldn't be any problem" retaining the designation, Eaton said. "We're just waiting for a written response."
