This weekend we “fall back” as daylight savings time ends. We’ll rely on this manipulation of time to address the season’s dying light. At the risk of creating a negative metaphor, I have to say that I am struck by how many people and institutions engaged in children’s health in our state are mired in fallback positions and having difficulty finding the light as we address grim statistics in children’s well-being. So, I am using this short note to challenge us all to embrace and build upon the strengths and achievements in our larger field. For example, during the 2019 legislative session, our state government increased its’ investment in SBHCs by more than a million dollars! Investments in education also led to a decrease in teacher vacancy rates in this school year. Even the seemingly intractable child poverty rate in New Mexico has improved slightly. More generally, the state of New Mexico is projected to have a 900 hundred million budget surplus for next year. It will take sustained investment to move the needle further on children’s health and educational outcomes. Since November is a month when many take time to be thankful, I hope we can all focus on what is possible. Please know that NMASBHC will be embracing an attitude of hope, gratitude and determination; anything less would be a disservice to our children. 

Wishing you all a month filled with light,

Nancy Rodriguez

[email protected]

Thank you to the San Felipe SBHC team for hosting us on October 29th at the Katishtya School Clinic. The San Felipe SBHC team is providing critical primary care, dental care, and behavioral health to the students at San Felipe Pueblo Elementary. They are one of four elementary SBHCs in New Mexico.

It is that time of year again! We are accepting school-based health center (SBHC) photos for our 2020 SBHC Calendar. Each year NMASBHC creates a statewide SBHC calendar. SBHCs across the state submit photos to be featured in this special calendar. The calendar is given to all state and federal legislators, every SBHC across New Mexico, partners, stakeholders, funders, and sponsors.  

A few contest rules:

Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions!

The School-Based Health Alliance (SBHA) National School-Based Health Care Convention is in Denver, CO, on June 23-25, 2020 at the Sheraton Denver Downtown.

SBHA is still accepting abstracts until November 4, 2019.

They are seeking subject matter expertise in the following categories:

For more information visit SBHA's Website.

This month NMASBHC will be sending out more than 500 thank you cards to SBHCs, their sponsoring organizations, our partners, principals and superintendents with SBHCs, and every state and federal legislator. We want everyone to know that school-based health is important and that every individual and organization that contributes to the movement is equally important. Additionally, we want to pass on a message of thankfulness to all of our partners for a wonderful year of collaboration. So, keep your eyes peeled for some positive mail in the post!

SBHA has released a new three-part webinar series covering contraceptive options and counseling for school-based health centers. The series will help you become better equipped for conversations with your patients as they seek options at referral sites.

Webinar 1: Review the latest science for offering contraceptive methods as part of your school-based sexual and reproductive health services.

Webinar 2: Explore principles of patient-centered counseling and discuss how to offer non-judgmental contraceptive counseling in challenging, real-world situations.

Webinar 3: Learn about ethical guidelines for providing contraceptive care and counseling and examine how unconscious bias can impact the way you talk with students about their options.

If you missed Webinar 1 & 2  they are archived and available here.

Webinar 3 will take place on November 06, 2019 at 1pm Eastern Time.

Kesselman-Jones and the Department of Health are seeking experts to present at the 24th annual Head to Toe Conference for professionals dedicated to student health and academic success.

If you have a deep-knowledge base in an area of interest to school health professionals, creative ideas to share, innovative activities to demonstrate, or cutting-edge best practices to advocate, now is the time to consider submitting a presentation to share your expertise with more than 500 school nurses, counselors and social workers who will attend the Head to Toe conference, April 14-16, 2020 at the Albuquerque Convention Center. The Call for Presentations is now open.

Click here for application guidelines, important deadline dates, and start developing your personalized profile. The Kesselman-Jones team is standing by if you need any help navigating the application or have questions about the conference or content. Questions? Call (505) 266-3451.

The LARC Mentoring Program is aimed at increasing access to long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC) for all women of reproductive age in New Mexico. This is accomplished by training primary care providers in LARC procedures and improving clinic flow, billing and coding for more efficient patient care. Sign up for LMP newsletter for up-to-date training opportunities!

If your SBHC(s) have been offered a NMDOH contract following the RFP from this past spring, NMDOH Office of School and Adolescent Health (OSAH) will be setting up individual deliverable and data orientation meetings once contracts are finalized. These meetings will be set up by Kristin Oreskovich, [email protected] . If you have questions in this interim period while contracts are being executed, please reach out to Kristin.

The first MCO SBHC Advisory Committee meeting of 2020 will be on Wednesday, January 8, 2020 from 1:30pm–3:30pm. This meeting will be hosted by Western Sky Community Care at their headquarters in Albuquerque. SBHC or MCO partners wishing to attend should reach out to Nancy Rodriguez at NMASBHC at [email protected] for further details.

Please contact HSD at the email address below to get information about trainings offered and to request them if you need them. Seating is limited and space is available on a first come, first served basis. After successful registration, you will receive a confirmation e-mail that will include instructions on how to join the training on its scheduled date and time. If you have any questions regarding entities qualified to participate as PEDs, the PED certification process or for more information on training sessions being scheduled for future months, please contact Armando Muñoz at [email protected] or at (505) 476-6813.

If you have any questions regarding entities qualified to participate as PEDs, the PED certification process or would like more information on future training sessions, please e-mail: [email protected] or call 505-476-7151.

Human Services Department Cabinet Secretary David R. Scrase, M.D. announces the appointment of Neal A. Bowen, Ph.D. as the new director for the Behavioral Health Services Division (BHSD) beginning November 15, 2019. “Given the history of what’s happened in behavioral health in New Mexico over the past eight years, our first priority was to recruit a strong leader from the behavioral health provider community,” said David R. Scrase, M.D. cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Human Services Department. “We believe that having a leader that’s experienced as a provider will help BHSD more effectively connect with our behavioral health provider community and will substantially enhance our ability to bring up new providers into practice. BHSD’s first goal is to rebuild the behavioral health provider network in the state of New Mexico, and we believe that Dr. Bowen is exactly the right person for the job.” Neal A. Bowen, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist in New Mexico. He has served as the chief mental health officer for Hidalgo Medical Services for over 14-years.

Open enrollment is upon us. Share these events with the families you serve and have them visit bewellnm.org for free local help.

Check out all the free resources, graphics, education materials, videos, etc. to help prevent the Flu in your community this season!

Any questions please contact Dr. Maha Small, 505-897-7968 or Dr. Clayton Small, 505-321-2808.

Las Clinicas del Norte is looking for a Full Time NM Licensed NM Licensed Provider (CFNP, PA-C) to provide services at LCDN’s School Based Program in Pojoaque/Los Alamos areas.

Visit the LCDN Website for more details on how to apply.

The American Cancer Society is offering tailored technical assistance and support to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) to increase human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination rates through the HPV VACs (Vaccinate Adolescents against Cancers) quality improvement project. To support these efforts, a limited amount of funding is also available to FQHCs from the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) Comprehensive Cancer Program.   

Purpose: To increase HPV vaccination rates among children ages 11-13 

Focus population: Boys and girls ages 11-13

Project Design: Tailored technical assistance/support provided by the American Cancer Society 

Project Duration: Through June 30th, 2020. Depending on availability of funds, projects may be funded in subsequent years   

Funding Agency: New Mexico Department of Health Comprehensive Cancer Program 

Funding Amounts for FQHCs: Dependent upon project scope*

*Although funding is available to support these efforts, receiving NMDOH funding is not a requirement to work with the American Cancer Society on this quality improvement project. 

Interested? For more information contact: 

Christine Brown, Program Manager, Comprehensive Cancer Program via email: [email protected] or phone: (505) 222-8609

Cecily Blackwater, Health Systems Manager, Primary Care via email:  [email protected] or phone: (505) 262-6029

This activity is intended for Physicians, Physician Assistants, Pharmacists, Nurse Practitioners and Nurses engaged in care of adolescents and young adults needing immunizations. It is open for free CME credits until February 25, 2020.

We couldn't do it without you. Your generous gift helps us bring comprehensive health care to more kids and schools across New Mexico.

www.nmasbhc.org | (505) 404-8059 | [email protected]