Graduate Medical Education Expansion Review Board holds first meetings Sept. 5-6

Santa Fe, NM – The New Mexico Human Services Department (HSD) announces the establishment of the Graduate Medical Education (GME) Expansion Grant Program and the GME Expansion Review Board and Advisory Groupto oversee the program. The purpose is to establish grants to fund new GME programs and expand existing programs to increase the health care work force in New Mexico, particularly in the fields of primary care and psychiatry.

The GME Expansion Review Board will host its first two-day meeting at:

Human Services Department Field Office, 1711 Randolph Rd. SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106.Sept 5, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.Sept. 6, 9 a.m. – noon.

The GME Expansion Grant Program was established by House Bill 480 sponsored by Representatives Doreen Y. Gallegos and Nathan P. Small. The bill passed unanimously in both houses and was signed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham April 2, 2019.

"This is a great opportunity for more graduate physicians to further their education and it opens up the program in southern New Mexico," said Representative Doreen Y. Gallegos. "Even if they're not from New Mexico, it keeps medical providers in our communities – caring for patients. Hopefully they will love southern New Mexico and stay."

"I know how difficult it can be for people living in rural areas to access health care," said Representative Nathan P. Small. "These GME grant award recipients will do their residency training in rural communities – opening the door for them to make it their home, build a career and raise a family."

The GME Expansion Review Board and Advisory Group are responsible for developing a state strategic plan for expanding graduate medical education training programs, https://accisotret.com reviewing grant applications and the grants awarded pursuant to the GME Expansion Grant Program Act. A priority will be given to expanding programs and providers in rural and frontier communities, and to programs serving historically underserved communities, including Medicaid beneficiaries.

The members of the board and advisory group include representatives from:

Human Services DepartmentHigher Education DepartmentHospitals, primary care consortiums and medical organizationsOsteopathic and allopathic professional societies and associations.

"We believe the best long-term solution to New Mexico's physician shortage is to grow and build our own health care workforce," said David R. Scrase, M.D. Cabinet Secretary for the New Mexico Human Services Department. "Evidence shows that 60 to 70 percent of primary care physicians who do their residency training in a rural area will remain in practice. I am optimistic that the Graduate Medical Expansion Review Board and Advisory Group will set far-reaching goals to increase the number of primary care physicians and psychiatrists trained here in our state, resulting in better quality of care and access to behavioral health and primary care services for the people of New Mexico."