By Mary Alice Murphy

According to Taffy Arias, Gila Regional Medical Center chief executive officer, "in an effort to ensure the financial stability for our organization, I have taken due diligence to evaluate positions at Gila Regional Medical Center."

"Today, Aug. 8, 2017, the following positions have been eliminated:
Assistant vice president of administration,
Director of Gila Reach,
Two practice directors, and
Web analyst and communications coordinator.

 "In addition, the Chief Clinical Officer has stepped down effective Aug. 7, 2017, in preparation for his January 2018 retirement," Arias continued. "He will remain as director of pharmacy."

Arias emphatically said: "No direct patient care was affected by this decision and we will continue our journey of assuring high-quality patient care."

In addition, she told the Beat that teams from the University of New Mexico, which is taking over the GRMC Cancer Center, visited last week and are in Silver City again this week. "We are interviewing for a nurse practitioner/physician's assistant," Arias said. "Equipment has been purchased and we're getting structure. The UNM team has been very involved."

To a question about patients at the Cancer Center, Arias said each is being treated on an individual basis, with GRMC taking care of appointments and needs. The interim director and the staff are responding to phone calls and requests.