By Mikaela Johnson for Silver City Daily Press
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has announced $50 million in rural health care support through the state’s Rural Health Care Delivery Fund, which now aims to assist the expansion of rural clinics and bolster primary care recruitment in underserved communities.
“This investment strengthens the backbone of rural health care in New Mexico by helping providers keep their doors open and ensuring families have access to care close to home,” Gov. Lujan Grisham said in a press release.
The fund, established in 2023, originally focused on creating new health care clinics in rural areas around the state, but has since expanded to offering support for existing services.
A co-sponsor of the fund, District 49 Republican state Rep. Gail Armstrong of Catron, Socorro and Valencia counties, said the appropriation has developed through provider feedback since its establishment, noting that it was important for the fund to also assist existing practices, but expressed concerns regarding the broad accessibility of the money.
“I’m always worried about fairness, and I really don’t want to set entities up to fail,” Armstrong said. “I would rather cover less and give them more, than cover more and give them less.”
Providers seeking to utilize this funding must be registered as New Mexico Medicaid providers — and with around 25 percent of the state’s population residing in rural areas, the demand is large.
Silver City’s Cassie Health Center is one of many clinics throughout the state hoping to receive funding for service development amid the current physician shortage. Dr. Victor Nwachuku said clinic expansion and updated medical devices are critical for the continuation of quality care; as one of two OB-GYNs in town, he sees 30 to 50 patients a day.
“If we don’t have enough office space, we’re not going to be able to provide enough care,” Nwachuku said. “From my experience, it’s hard to recruit new doctors to small towns and to Grant County.”
Gila Regional board of trustees Chair Dr. Fred Fox noted that primary care support and recruitment is vital for small towns.
“In Silver City — in Grant County — we have some excellent physicians and advanced practitioners, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, midwives,” Fox said. “But we don’t have enough of them doing primary care, and so access is a real issue.”
Dr. Fox also expressed hopes that newly announced state funding and expansion for the UNM School of Medicine will aid in placing medical residents at Grant County’s Gila Regional Medical Center.
Funding amounts vary based on applicant needs. Applications for this round of funding closed April 19.
