Yvonne Gomez, HMS Outreach and Enrollment Specialist, at left, receives the prestigious 2018 New Mexico Primary Care Association (NMPCA) Excellence Award from NMPCA Chief Executive Officer, Eileen Goode, RN, BSN, at the annual recognition event in Albuquerque on September 13, 2018.

Silver City, NM (September 19, 2018) Hidalgo Medical Services (HMS) is very pleased to announce that Yvonne Gomez, HMS Outreach and Enrollment Specialist, was recently named as the prestigious 2018 New Mexico Primary Care Association (NMPCA) Excellence Award recipient.

Each year, the NMPCA recognizes outstationed eligibility workers (OEW) throughout the entire state of New Mexico that have done an exceptional job for their community and for the NMPCA. OEWs at community health centers may be responsible for certifying children and pregnant women for Medicaid benefits. According to the NMPCA, their member community health centers operate over 160 primary care, dental, school-based, and behavioral health clinics throughout New Mexico. As one of the NMPCA’s 19 statewide member organizations, HMS provides primary care, dental, mental health, family support, and school-based services at 14 clinical sites located throughout Hidalgo and Grant Counties.

“Yvonne has been processing Medicaid applications for the past 7 years. I nominated her for this award due to her extensive knowledge, approachability, and genuine care for the clients that we serve. Yvonne understands the importance of the support she provides to the members of our community, and how her work impacts their ability to access healthcare, which ultimately affects their health outcomes. I am honored to have Yvonne on our team,” stated Edith Lee, LMSW, HMS Chief Support Officer.

The 2018 NMPCA Excellence Award specifically recognized Gomez’s “hard work, commitment, dedication, and warm supportive manner in which she provides service to her consumers.” Dan Otero, HMS Chief Executive Officer, added, “Yvonne’s outstanding performance, related to the quantity of her work, is secondary to the high quality of work that she delivers to our community members every day. Yvonne is deserving of this award, and the opinion of the patients we serve is most compelling. Yvonne often receives positive comments from HMS patient satisfaction survey respondents, and she has received an overall satisfaction score of 97% for her service. On behalf of HMS, I want to personally say ‘thank you’ for everything that Yvonne does for those that HMS serves throughout southwestern New Mexico.”

Gomez, alongside other 2018 award recipients and honorees, personally received her award from the NMPCA’s Chief Executive Officer, Eileen Goode, RN, BSN, at the NMPCA Outstationed Eligibility Worker Conference. The event took place on September 13, 2018 in Albuquerque. To learn more about the NMPCA, please visit www.nmpca.org. To learn more about HMS services, providers, and locations, please visit www.hmsnm.org .