In this month's newsletter we are pleased to announce the release of the New Mexico Indigenous Social Drivers of Health Yucca Framework created by the Tribal Health Systems Workgroup and Rooted in Resilience Learning Series participants! We also share Collaborative highlights and what to expect during the Collaborative Workgroup summer break.

The New Mexico Indigenous Social Drivers of Health Yucca Framework is now available.

This community-developed framework outlines the importance of Indigenous Social Drivers of Health (ISDOH) in New Mexico, highlights community-developed definitions of these social drivers, and advocates for a shift in public health systems. The yucca offers a visual of the social drivers of health and how they impact our health and well-being.  



Link to the report

The Yucca framework is a tool meant to be adapted for various audiences such as teachers, healthcare workers, Tribal Leaders, policymakers, community members, and others.  

Here are some ways the co-creators of this framework are planning to apply its teachings:

• Create an onboarding training for clinicians about the role of Indigenous Social Drivers of Health in patient care.  
• Share the framework with local health councils to use in advocacy work
• Provide this as a tool for community health workers to talk about how social drivers of health that contribute to health and well-being.
• Connect with the organizations listed in the community highlights each for social driver of health.  

We invite you to engage with the framework and apply what is offered in your own workplaces and community spaces. If you have any feedback, please submit it here. This document will continue to grow and highlight the incredible work of our Pueblos, Tribes and Nations in New Mexico.  

NMSDOH-C Workgroup Summer Break starts June 5th!

The NMSDOH-C workgroups will be on a short break for the summer. However, we would still like to offer two drop-in sessions to stay connected and share important member updates regarding social drivers of health and closed-loop referral systems in New Mexico. The dates for these sessions will be shared in the June newsletter.

During the break we will also be onboarding the NMSDOH-C Steering Committee for 2026-28 term and coordinating a voting member survey. The voting member survey will provide an opportunity for members to help guide the work of the Collaborative for the next two years.

We hope you will stay in touch, and we look forward to workgroup sessions starting back up in August!

Optional All-Member Session Today - May 28th 11 am MT

Agenda

10:00 Welcome & Collaborative Overview

10:05 Brief Presentation – Juniper LeCount – CAREHIV Research Project Presentation

10:25 Summary of Our Role in CLRS Discussion from April Meeting and Updates to Understanding the Closed-loop Referral System (CLRS) Landscape in New Mexico One-Pager

10:35 Introduce the Indigenous Social Drivers of Health Yucca

Framework

11:00 Member share outs: Share upcoming events, new resources, success stories in addressing social drivers of health

*Reminder* NMSDOH-C is now offering monthly drop-in hours

Drop-in hours provide an opportunity to connect outside of Collaborative workgroup sessions and all-member meetings. This is a time for sharing ideas, asking questions and building relationships. Drop in tomorrow, May 29th at 10 am MT!

Join the meeting - Teams

Meeting ID: 228 495 638 763 06

Passcode: en2PF9gs



HCA Announcement - Ordering, Referring, Prescribing and Attending Providers Must Enroll as Medicaid Providers

Beginning July 1, 2026, claims for services rendered, ordered, or prescribed by providers who are not enrolled with Medicaid will be denied and the rendering provider’s claim will not be paid.

This requirement includes pharmacists, attending physicians, those practicing within group practices, hospital systems, facilities, behavioral health agencies, Indian Health Services, and other organizational providers.

By ensuring providers who refer Medicaid members are enrolled, Medicaid is able to verify credentials, maintain up-to-date provider information, and ensure that payments are made only for services delivered by qualified, enrolled practitioners.

What Providers Need to Do:

• Enroll as a Medicaid provider,
• Review your roster of all clinicians rendering Medicaid services,
• Confirm that each rendering provider is individually enrolled in Medicaid,
• Submit a provider enrollment application at YesNM – New Mexico Benefits Portal as soon as possible for any rendering, ordering or prescribing (including pharmacists) provider not currently enrolled. To create a YESNM.gov account follow these instructions.

Now Accepting Requests for FREE Technical Assistance for 2026 

Seven Directions is offering free technical assistance in 2026 for Indigenous‑focused organizations working to strengthen Substance Use, Mental Health, and Indigenous Public Health Systems programming.  

Whether you’re seeking individualized coaching, a facilitated team conversation, a focused webinar, or virtual/in‑person workshops, we partner with you through a supportive and relational process grounded in Indigenous facilitation and Motivational Interviewing approaches. If your team could benefit from tailored support, resources, or a thought partner, we’d love to work with you.

We bring a flexible, decolonizing approach to our work and can support efforts such as:

• Creating culturally grounded evaluation plans and data collection tools, including surveys, interview guides, and reporting templates
• Integrating Indigenous Social Determinants of Health (ISDOH) into strategic plans, programs, and evaluation efforts
• Facilitating team visioning and planning conversations to strengthen prevention and public health programming. 



Our Indigenous‑led team connects your community with the expertise, tools, and creative support you need while centering Indigenous values, culturally safe dialogue, and your role as the expert in your own community. 

If you are interested in learning more or setting up an initial conversation to see if our offerings meet your needs, simply fill out our quick TA Request form or reach out directly to our team via Angie Gaffney: iamgaff@uw.edu. We look forward to hearing from you!