New Arrangement Gives Students Enhanced Access to Medical, Mental Health and Dental Care

Silver City, NM – Western New Mexico University and Hidalgo Medical Services are teaming up to offer expanded student health services starting Friday, February 15, 2019. WNMU was previously able to offer students some medical services and mental health counseling but no dental care. Under this new agreement, students will be able to access medical, mental health and dental care at HMS sites around the region.

“We felt we were limited in what we could provide our students, so we decided to partner with the people who can provide those services and more,” WNMU Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Isaac Brundage said.

As WNMU student fees cover health service expenses, registered students who pay tuition and fees are eligible to receive five medical visits, 15 mental health visits and one dental visit to HMS annually. Additional visits or outside referrals and services will be seamlessly provided and billed according to the students’ insurance or income levels, as the students will have become established patients of HMS upon their first visit.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with WNMU to provide comprehensive healthcare services to their students. We understand educational outcomes and the correlation to holistic and comprehensive health services as offered by HMS,” HMS CEO Dan Otero said.

In order to continue providing immediate mental health care to students, WNMU will maintain an on-campus mental health team with providers on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Those on that team will be able to make referrals to HMS mental health providers for sustained or more specialized care.

Students will be able to access care at any HMS site that provides needed services. HMS currently offers medical services at 10 locations throughout Grant and Hidalgo counties, mental health services are offered at nine locations and dental services at two; thus providing multiple choices for student access.

The HMS Main Clinic is just three blocks from campus, but WNMU students carrying Mustang IDs also get free rides on Corre-Caminos, which has routes stopping at HMS sites regularly.

Students with questions about the change in health services should contact the WNMU Division of Student Affairs at 575-538-6339.

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.