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Waiting months for health care appointments is a common experience for New Mexicans, in part because of a lacking health care workforce. On this week鈥檚 Let鈥檚 Talk New Mexico, we鈥檒l discuss plans to recruit and retain workers to boost access to quality healthcare.

New Mexico鈥檚 health care staffing shortage continues to worsen, with a recent report noting nearly all counties say this is their top occupational need. During a recent hearing of the Legislative Health and Humans Services Committee, an official with Presbyterian Medical Services spoke about the impacts of these shortages and offered recommendations to lawmakers to recruit and retain more workers.

The United States has the highest rate of maternal mortality among wealthy nations. And New Mexico has nearly double the national rate of pregnancy-related mortality. Experts told lawmakers this week that this is an urgent issue.

New Mexico is experiencing a statewide doctor shortage, losing about 30% of our primary care physicians in the last four years. Resident physicians at the University of New Mexico represented by the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIRSEIU) are seeing the impact and will be holding a 鈥渦nity break鈥� event Wednesday to demand better pay and benefits after five months of negotiations that have gone nowhere.

While the national nursing shortage may be easing, vacancies still haven鈥檛 returned to pre-pandemic numbers, according to a study from Nursing Solutions Inc. In New Mexico, the most recent data showed 9,000 RN job postings in the state as of last summer. The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center has announced it鈥檚 set to receive millions in federal funds to address the gap, particularly in rural areas.

New Mexico has a long history of health disparities, particularly in rural areas and among communities of color. Doulas have helped fill those gaps by providing physical and emotional support during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. But with New Mexico hospitals declaring crisis standards of care due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases, giving birth has gotten more complicated. That鈥檚 according to Melissa Lopez, executive director of the Doula Association of Las Cruces.

In many parts of the world, including rural New Mexico, it's difficult for patients to access specialists in health care. But instead of moving more鈥�