University of New Mexico Health System diverts ambulances, closes clinics after cyber incident

The University of New Mexico Health System diverted ambulances and canceled appointments at more than 30 clinics on Monday, October 26, 2026, after a cybersecurity incident.

The ambulance diversion left New Mexico without an emergency department able to treat the most serious injuries. The health system runs several dozen clinics, mostly in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, with specialized facilities in Rio Rancho and Roswell. Most clinics are in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County.

Chris Ramirez, the UNM Health Sciences Center communications director, said in a Monday afternoon statement that patients should not come to any UNM Health facilities while officials were “actively working to resolve the issue.” The health system instructed people to avoid its main Albuquerque hospital and advised patients not to visit any UNM Health facilities. The directive came while officials worked to resolve the issue.

Staff in turquoise shirts blocked the waiting room at the main Albuquerque hospital entrance Monday afternoon with chairs and told patients appointments might be canceled. At a Rio Rancho medical center entrance, two security guards told arriving patients to reschedule.

An alert about a network security breach reached UNM Health Sciences Center users shortly after noon Monday, telling employees to turn off and unplug desktops and disconnect mobile devices from hospital Wi-Fi. Multiple employees said they heard messages on their computers late Monday morning asserting that data on students, employees and patients had been stolen. A health system spokesperson refused to comment, calling it an active law enforcement investigation. Security teams were working to identify the issue.

UNM Health officials said the nature and extent of the cybersecurity issue were not immediately clear on Monday. Chris Ramirez did not immediately respond to Source New Mexico’s e-mailed request for further comment on Monday. The Associated Press sought comment by e-mail and phone from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the Albuquerque Police Department on Monday. His statement provided no details on the issue’s nature and no estimate of when the hospital and clinics would reopen to patients.

FBI spokesperson Margot Cravens in Albuquerque said the agency was “assisting our partner” and declined further comment. Presbyterian Healthcare Services and Lovelace Health System said they were coordinating with the University of New Mexico Health System and would take additional patients. Officials urged patients with emergencies to call 911 for alternative care while the issue was resolved. Two other major New Mexico healthcare providers coordinated on patient transfers.

UNM’s Health Sciences Center canceled classes Monday. The Associated Press reported the cancellations ran through Tuesday, with staff expected back Tuesday, so sources differ on whether the closure extended beyond Monday. The network records about 900,000 outpatient visits and 100,000 emergency room visits yearly, according to its website. These annual volumes indicate the scale of patient activity affected.

The health system said its hospitals and clinics started returning to service in stages later in the day Monday. Operations resumed in phases after the disruption. Residents sought updates on when services and clinic operations might resume and were encouraged to monitor KOAT for updates on the timing of service and clinic restarts.

The disruption occurred amid increasing concern over the security of digital systems that support essential services such as banking and medical care, reflecting broader concern about essential-service digital security. Josephine Wolff, a Tufts University professor of cybersecurity policy, said hospital incidents including ransom demands have occurred for a decade, commenting on the broader pattern of hospital cyber incidents. She said breaching a system to display a message on computers is unusual, showing how much work remains to improve defenses. She said, “how much work we still have to do to get better at defending ourselves.”