ANNUAL REPORT 2007 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO

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10 [making a difference] Healthy Communities
11 HEALTH SCIENCES HEROS Dr. Arthur Kaufman is a one-man ambulance driven to address health care needs across New Mexico. As UNM’s new vice president for community health, he sees his mission as an opportunity to be responsive to statewide health care requests. Recognizing that New Mexico State University already had a jump start at reaching across the state through county extension offices, Kaufman decided to partner with them to establish Health Extension Rural Offices. “The philosophy behind HEROS is for the [UNM] Health Sciences Center to have sustained roles in communities statewide so that people can access information they need from the HSC,” he says. Kauffman brought in a full-time recruiter at New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs to draw Lea County’s best and brightest to UNM. With an injection of funds from the Maddox Foundation, he sees Lea County eventually growing its own doctors, nurses and other health professionals. “New Mexico Junior College is building a new dorm next to the hospital there…. This would make the hospital a preferred site for the students. They will bond with the community and attract area students into the profession as well,” Kaufman projects. Among the many communities it serves, UNM Hospital receives patients from Crownpoint and other Navajo Reservation sites. “Patients often have multiple appointments. They might need to see a kidney specialist, a diabetes specialist and someone from social services. This requires three separate appointments. Working with a coordinator, all appointments can be scheduled the same day to minimize the time the patient spends coming back and forth to the hospital,” he says. Noting that information from UNM Hospital doesn’t always get back to the referring local doctor, Kauffman says, “We are looking to provide electronic access to medical records that is password protected. The primary care physician would then know all the post-operative care needs.” In the southwest corner of the state, diabetes, heart disease and teen pregnancy are top issues for which Hidalgo County residents seek help. To address these issues, the UNM Community Health Program has developed ethnically sensitive diets to control diabetes and heart disease and launched a program for youths who have experienced teen pregnancy. With support from a CDC grant, the youth program was able to sharply decrease the number of subsequent pregnancies. Kaufman also notes the connection between graduating from high school and health: “It’s enormous. High school graduates have lower rates of drug abuse, teen pregnancies and STDs, and their earning potential is greater.” He concluded by pointing out that having a good health care system in place in rural and small communities is imperative to developing and maintaining the health of those communities.
Page 1: THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO [makin
Page 4 and 5: 2 [THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE] THE P
Page 6 and 7: 4 [expecting the best ] STUDENT SUC
Page 8 and 9: 6 [charting new territory] Excellen
Page 10 and 11: 8 [building communities] ECONOMIC &
Page 14 and 15: [expanding 12 opportunities] AIMS @
Page 16 and 17: 14 [the year i STUDENT SUCCESS - Mi
Page 18 and 19: 16 [going beyond ] Science and Tech
Page 20 and 21: 18 [the changing landscape] OPENING
Page 22 and 23: 20 [exploring the possibilities] C
Page 24 and 25: 22 [we can] BASEBALL • Junior Jor
Page 26 and 27: 24 [finances] FUNDING NEW MEXICO’
Page 28 and 29: 26 [the road ahead]
Page 30 and 31: 28 LEADERSHIP David J. Schmidly, Pr
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ANNUAL REPORT 2007 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO

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