Five for ’15: Public Health and You
It’s the end of the year again. A time where we, naturally, take a few moments to reflect on the year that’s passed.
For the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH), it has been – as it always is – a busy year. For those working to provide for a healthier New Mexico, there has been a lot of work done in 2015, much of which will continue into 2016 and beyond. Here’s just five big things that happened that impact public health in 2015.
5) Certification for Community Health Workers: NMDOH began certifying community health workers (CHW) in the state in 2015. The effort began thanks to Governor Susana Martinez’s Healthcare Workforce Initiative in 2014, which lead to legislation passed and signed creating the Community Health Workers Act. With certification underway, New Mexico residents in rural areas are guaranteed quality of health care like never before.
4) Ground Broken on New Alzheimer’s Facility: The new facility for state veterans in need of long‐term Alzheimer’s and skilled nursing care is currently being built at the New Mexico State Veterans’ Home in Truth or Consequences, NM. It couldn’t come at a more significant time as an estimated 34,000 New Mexicans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, which consistently ranks as one of the top 10 leading causes of death in the state.
3) Food Recalls and Outbreaks: NMDOH monitored two major food recalls in 2015 that didn’t just impact what we buy at the grocery store but the health of some New Mexico residents as well. Blue Bell ice cream was pulled out of grocers’ freezers early this year because of a multi‐state outbreak of Listeria. While there were no cases in our state, there were in our neighboring states of Arizona, Oklahoma and Texas – all resulting in hospitalizations.
New Mexico was also part of a multi‐state salmonella outbreak linked to eating garden variety cucumbers grown in Mexico. Thirty‐four people statewide were infected, including people living here in Doña Ana County. When it was over, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 838 cases total in 38 states, including four deaths nationwide.
2) Ranking tops in Multiple Health Categories: A health comparison completed by NMDOH in 2015 finds New Mexico among the top 15 states in key health‐related areas. Our state has the sixth lowest rate of cancer deaths and seventh lowest number of deaths by stroke in the country. The state does well in several other health issues such as adult seatbelt use (9th highest nationwide), heart disease deaths (10th lowest), adult binge drinking (13th lowest), adult obesity (15th lowest), youth alcohol use (15th lowest) and infant deaths (16th lowest).
1) NMDOH receives National Accreditation: Just last month the New Mexico Department of Health was awarded national accreditation by the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB), making it just one of 12 state health departments in the country to receive accreditation. With accreditation, New Mexico becomes more competitive for funding, and in the future, accredited health departments could be favorably looked at when federal funding decisions are made.
As we close the books on 2015, it’s been a pretty good year for public health in New Mexico and NMDOH looks forward to being on the journey with our state as so many of us work towards living a happy, healthier life.
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