Are you ready? NMASBHC is excited to increase awareness of the important healthcare services being provided through the state's school-based health centers in the month of February. Our national partner, SBHA, has a number of tools you can access to build awareness this month, including social media graphics. They can be found at https://www.sbh4all.org/school-health-care/awareness-month/. We encourage every SBHC to think of ways to acknowledge this national campaign in your own schools and communities. If you need support to accomplish that (e.g. draft letters to the editor of your local paper), please reach out to NMASBHC staff.

To acknowledge the response of New Mexico's SBHCs to the pandemic and school closures, NMASBHC is pausing our 2021 Exemplary SBHC Awards.

Instead we are accepting nominations for the 2020 Vision Recognition to recognize the challenging but heroic pivot that the field has made.

Please visit our website to submit your nomination (due February 12th) for an individual, team or partner whose foresight both ensured health services for children and moved the field forward in 2020.

Are you interested in continuing to support School Based Health Centers in New Mexico? NMASBHC is seeking interested and committed individuals for open positions on our Board of Directors. We are accepting applications through March 1st, 2021. If you can't currently commit to joining the board, but still want to participate, you can also join a committee.

Go to the NMASBHC Website for the application and for more information.

We are working to respond to your needs. It was identified on the 2020 Annual Update and Surveys and again in the December Data calls with OSAH and Apex that there was a need for more support surrounding Marketing & Promotion and Telehealth. Many SBHCs are making great strides and coming up with creative answers to these challenging times.

We have compiled resources on the NMASBHC Website. We would love your feedback. Also, if you would like us to share your efforts with the field, we would love to include information about what has worked for you!

NMASBHC and SBHA are excited to announce that the the School-Based Health Centers Reauthorization Act of 2020 has been included in the language of the COVID relief bill that the Senate and House voted to approve. Additional details will follow about how the appropriation of $5,000,000 will be disseminated, though it will likely be through a HRSA competitive application process. This has been a long and hard fought battle that was championed by Congressmen Sarbanes and Upton and Senators Stabenow and Capito. Here in New Mexico, we are especially grateful to Congressman Ben Ray Lujan (now a Senator) and his staff for their support. Please stay tuned about what this may mean for New Mexico's SBHCs, but in the meantime, we can celebrate!

Have you ever phoned or emailed your state legislator to share what is valuable about school-based health centers? Whatever your answer, now is the time to put that on your calendar. Due to the pandemic, opportunities for in-person discussions with legislators are limited. That is why now, more than ever before, we need you to reach out to your elected officials and tell them to support protection of funding for school-based health centers.

The state's budget has taken a major hit in 2020, and legislators will be faced with difficult decisions when they convene in mid-January. Ensure we maintain the important healthcare infrastructure of SBHCs by reaching out to your legislators. To find contact information for your officials, visit https://www.nmlegis.gov/Members/Find_My_Legislator. If you need support, don't hesitate to reach out to NMASBHC.

With the Governor's announcement about allowing return to school on Feb 8th, OSAH is requesting that SBHCs please inform Kristin Oreskovich (Kristin.Oreskovich@state.nm.us) of your plans for provision of SBHC services. What changes will you make? When will you make those changes? Will you be offering COVID testing or assistance at the school? 

Resource Announcement: the DOH Public Health Division has offered COVID rapid antigen tests and Cue PCR-like tests and kits to SBHCs. When you respond to the request above, please also indicate if your SBHC would be interested in rapid antigen tests and Cue tests. 

The NMDOH-OSAH Annual Report for 2019-20 school year has been published and is now available at https://www.nmasbhc.org/tools-resources/sbhc-data/. This overview document shares data and overview information for state and community leaders about the critical services being provided at those NM SBHCs which receive funding from the state. Please be sure to read and share this important resource.

Please reach out to NMASBHC if you need assistance in navigating the new landscape, and visit the NM Medicaid portal for special and regularly updated policy direction related to the pandemic.

A NM Medicaid Presumptive Eligibility Determiner Trainings are scheduled for February 17, 2021 8:30am-4:30pm and February 18, 2021 8:30am-2:30pm, & March 17, 2021 8:30am-4:30pm and March 18, 2021 8:30am-2:30pm.

Please contact HSD at the email address below to get information about the trainings offered and to register for 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 e-mail HSD.PEDeterminers@state.nm.us or call 505-476-7151.

For the full press release, visit https://webnew.ped.state.nm.us/news-releases/. While every local school board must meet to make individual plans for re-opening, NMASBHC encourages every SBHC to reach out to school administrators to make a plan for supporting the next phase. More information is available at: https://webnew.ped.state.nm.us/reentry-district-and-school-guidance/.

Registration: This presentation is Public - Open Invitation to All. There is no fee to participate in this webinar. Continuing education credits from various disciplines will be provided for attending this webinar. Details on how to claim these credits will be provided during the presentation.

Registration is required. Please use this link to register to secure an opening:

Please contact Laura Rombach at lrombach@salud.unm.edu for additional registration and logistical details.

The Future of Telehealth in School-Based Health Centers: Lessons from COVID-19 was published on 01-29-2021 in the Journal of Pediatric Health Care. The article examines the stories shared during the Spring National School Based Health Alliance's Listening and Learning series to illustrate how SBHCs pivoted care throughout the early days of the pandemic.

The NM Department of Health is seeking trusted voices to promote vaccination for COVID-19. State staff is currently scheduling individuals to record a Trusted Voices PSA via a short Zoom session. They are searching for representation from rural and urban communities around the state. The nomination portal remains open through Step Up to the Mic. Individuals may schedule their session immediately by clicking on this link (https://momentumsantafe.as.me/TrustedVoices). For more information contact Audrey Herrera-Castillo, Momentum Santa Fe by phone at (505) 671-0115 or email at audrey@momentumsantafe.com.

How school looks in the second semester may change multiple times. As schools shift from virtual learning to hybrid models to full in-person education, they may seek guidance from SBHCs on policies and practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Whatever the situation, the newly revised CDC checklists for back-to-school planning are intended to help parents, guardians, and caregivers, prepare for the continuing school year. See the updated lists HERE.