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Anchorum Health Foundation Strengthens Native Nation Building in New Mexico

Victoria Padilla
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The Anchorum Health Foundation (AHF), a Civic Hub grantee, focuses on improving the social factors that affect community health in northern New Mexico. In particular, the work of Anchorum Health Foundation supports Native Nation Building efforts. The foundation also works on Tribal land.

The health outcomes in northern New Mexico continue to decline, primarily due to systemic, social, economic, and environmental factors. This is despite the fact that there is one of the highest-rated hospitals (in the state) located in the northern New Mexico area. As a result, the foundation moved away from a hospital partnership. Instead, they shifted to a community partnership. By weaving in Native Nation Building principles, Anchorum’s mission evolves into a broader Anchorum Health Foundation Native Nation Building strategy. This strategy addresses deep‑rooted health issues.

The AHF partners with Native-led organizations to provide funding for housing construction where traditional banks do not provide financing. They also assist in navigating Tribal laws and customs. This ensures projects align with the local culture and values of Tribal citizens. In addition, Native Nation Building is strengthened because Anchorum Health Foundation helps build credibility, community trust, and leadership among Native citizens.

Providing resources to enhance self‑governance and self‑determination among tribal nations; preserving indigenous and institutional knowledge through the recurring loss of leadership; and developing partnerships that help create equitable housing, healthcare, and community well‑being. Thus, the foundation models an Anchorum Health Foundation Native Nation Building approach by centering Native priorities in all efforts.

In addition, the foundation’s efforts promote trust and healthy partnerships to create equity between Native nations and institutions. The headline above illustrates that Anchorum’s focus is more than just delivering healthcare. Instead, it is about improving the social conditions of Native nations. Investing in Native‑led initiatives provides for long‑term community health. This is guided by the needs and preferences of Native peoples. Furthermore, it demonstrates the impact of Anchorum Health Foundation’s Native Nation Building vision.

The Anchorum Health Foundation’s Civic Hub grant demonstrates the power of philanthropy to strengthen Native nation building through sovereign support. It also preserves culturally significant knowledge and helps dismantle systems that have created systemic barriers. Altogether, these efforts are a testament to the Anchorum Health Foundation Native Nation Building commitment to sustainable well-being for both Northern New Mexico and Native lands.

Health Officials Calm Fears After Cruise Ship Hantavirus Outbreak

Victoria Padilla
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After the hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship that affected at least eight people and killed three, public health officials of New Mexico pointed out that their state population is safe. Health officials reassured residents that the Sin Nombre strain of hantavirus does not spread from person to person, keeping New Mexico’s population safe.

Officials clarified that the Andes strain, the only type that spreads person‑to‑person, does not exist in New Mexico. In addition, it is worth noting that the state has recorded the most hantavirus infections in America since 1975. These total 142 infections and 55 deaths up until 2025.

Mostly, hantavirus infection occurs from disturbance of rodent waste indoors, such as sheds or cabins.

Officials clarified that the Andes strain, the only type that spreads person‑to‑person, does not exist in New Mexico.

They urged residents to wear masks and gloves when cleaning rodent areas and to disinfect droppings with bleach instead of sweeping or vacuuming.

The headline reflects how the state has communicated effectively: by explaining the distinction between the Andes strain abroad and the Sin Nombre strain locally, the authorities have prevented alarm and maintained awareness of prevention.

It is evident that New Mexico has demonstrated the need for accurate health information during global epidemics.

Officials confirmed that no New Mexicans were aboard the ship and only one local infection occurred in 2026.

They emphasized accurate communication and public reassurance, noting that New Mexico prevented alarm while maintaining awareness of prevention measures.

Attention Job Seekers: APS to Hold College & Career Fair on May 23

Gregg Morgan
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Attention Job Seekers: APS to Hold College & Career Fair on May 23

Looking for a job opportunity? Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) is connecting job seekers with employers as the school year wraps up and summer begins.

Everyone can join APS Education Appreciation Night 2026 with New Mexico United, the state’s professional soccer team,on May 23, and explore available positions. The College & Career Fair opens at 5:30 p.m., offering students and community members access to employment options. 

The first-ever job fair at a United game gives students a chance to discover available pathways and lets job seekers connect with Albuquerque’s largest employers. Through the initiative, applicants may find suitable employment matches. 

Over 20 educational and business representatives will be on hand at the event. These include University of New Mexico, Central New Mexico Community College, Sandia National Labs, APS Human Resources, Dion’s, and trade unions. 

The career fair highlights Goal 3. It focuses on ensuring students explore post-high school options and graduate ready for their chosen college or career path.

Additionally, APS students can win prizes by visiting the college, business, and union representatives present and collecting passport signatures.

Students and their families must buy tickets to the soccer match to participate in the career fair. From each ticket sold through this link, $4will go to the APS Education Foundation to support innovative student programs.

The match against Charleston Battery begins at 7 p.m. at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park.  

During the education appreciation event, APS will also highlight students and staff. Students from East San Jose Elementary and Washington Middle School will receive recognition for earning bilingual seals. 

New Mexico’s Universal Childcare Program is Costing More Than Expected — and the Bills Are Already Piling Up

Juan Oliveros
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New Mexico’s Universal Childcare Program is Costing More Than Expected — and the Bills Are Already Piling Up

One of the most ambitious social programs, the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD) has promised: an expanded universal access to state-financed care for young children. Only weeks after the program launched, however, budget analysts say expenses already exceed projections.

Officials with the Legislative Finance Committee warned lawmakers last week that New Mexico’s universal childcare expansion — backed by a projected funding of nearly $1 billion over several years — may already be burdening the state’s financial assumptions. They raised questions about whether the landmark program can remain sustainable as enrollment spikes.

“The universal expansion went into place in November, and we started seeing the overspending in December,” said Helen Gaussoin, spokesperson for the Legislative Finance Committee.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced the expansion in September 2025. It took effect on November 1 and opened eligibility for free childcare assistance to families across a wider range of income groups. At the time, state officials said the program was financially secure through the fiscal year, while lawmakers will work on longer-term funding solutions.

That strategy culminated in Senate Bill 241, a piece of legislation authorizing the state to draw up to $700 million over five years from the Early Childhood Education and Care Fund to support the expansion. But according to Legislative Finance Committee Director Jon Courtney, enrollment has grown far beyond projections after the launching. The enrollment growth has created what analysts estimate to be as much as $50 million in unprojected costs.

Republican lawmakers who had warned about the costs of universal childcare said the new figures have validated their concerns. “I’m not shocked at all,” said Rep. Mark Duncan, a Republican from Kirtland. The lawmaker has repeatedly questioned the viability of the initiative. “We’re supposed to have a data-driven process, and yet we had no earthly idea what this was going to cost us.”

The early childhood department disputed the depiction that it had exceeded its budget. Officials argue that available revenues can still cover the expenditures.

Department spokesperson Julia Sclafani, in a statement, said enrollment “scaled faster than initially projected.” But she added that the agency remains in coordination with both the Department of Finance and Administration and legislative analysts to block a fiscal shortfall.

The demand, however, has been significant. From Nov. 1 through March 26, more than 6,000 families enrolled in the program, according to the department. These families previously did not qualify for childcare assistance. They represented 44 percent, or roughly 18,100 children, of all new enrollments since the expansion began.

Officials argue that the increase reflects both the scale of unmet need in New Mexico and the popularity of a policy. Still, analysts say the pace of growth could force difficult policy decisions over time.

Rep. Nathan Small, a Democrat from Las Cruces and chair of the Legislative Finance Committee, said they are already working with the agency to prevent “significant overspending” in the next fiscal year. He added they will work with ECECD to monitor the program implementation.

Among the options under discussion are reducing eligibility priorities toward low-income households and prioritizing subsidies on infant and toddler care. Another option is to slow down approval of new after-school programs.

Committee staff noted the agency also depends on $28.7 million in federal funding to help cushion the mounting costs this year. “The approach that we have planned now will have to be tweaked in some way,” Gaussoin said.

The debate has revealed political divisions over the future of one of New Mexico’s flagship anti-poverty programs. Sen. Steve Lanier, a Republican from Aztec, said the program’s current spending is “not sustainable.” Lanier joined gubernatorial candidate Duke Rodriguez in a court challenge to upend state rules governing the childcare program.

Lanier said lawmakers should have established stronger cost controls earlier. These cost controls, he argued, could include requiring higher-income families to contribute copayments from the outset. “It’s our job to be good stewards of money,” Lanier said.

In the meantime, New Mexico’s universal childcare remains backed with resources through the coming year. With enrollment continuing to rise, state officials acknowledge that the long-term funding challenge may soon require recalculation.

Santa Fe’s Planned Parenthood Reopens Monday After Being Closed Over a Year

Ruben Reyes
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Santa Fe’s Planned Parenthood Reopens Monday After Being Closed Over a Year

After closing for a year since December 2024, the Planned Parenthood in Santa Fe on St. Michaels Drive will open its doors once again on Monday, May 11.

Reproductive health is essential in every town, that is why during its closure, patients have had to seek women’s health care elsewhere in the state or via telehealth. This reopening will benefit the community.

Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains President and CEO Adrienne Mansanares couldn’t hide her joy over this momentous event.

“This is gonna be huge for the local Santa Fe community,” she said.

“In this moment, when we are seeing reproductive health care providers across the country forced to close their doors permanently because of federal attacks, there’s also a national provider shortage, and there’s rising costs associated with providing care,” she added.

The lack of staff of the center was the main driver of forcing it to close down. Before the closing, 200,000 patients visited the clinic, with then percent of those came from out of the state.

It is truly a great loss for most of the patient who only relies to this kind of services.

The Lack of Healthcare Access

The current abortion care bans and confusion about what kind of health care patients can access on their own push other patients to travel from out of state, particularly in Texas.

Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022, Mansanares says an increase in patients has come to Santa Fe from Texas and other states where reproductive health care is illegal.

“We were able to see them in our Las Cruces health center, in Albuquerque, up north in Farmington,” she said.

“But having Santa Fe in particular as one of those health centers that provides a web of Planned Parenthood presence across the state of New Mexico does help us offset some of the increased traveling patients,” she added

What Took Them Long to Reopen

The clinic took long to reopen because of hiring and trainign a new nurse practitioner took over a year. The new team now will consist of a nurse practitioner, support staffs, and a health center manager.

They are still finalizing the hiring of last few admin positions at the Santa Fe location, but that they have necessary staff to reopen.

Planned Parenthood says they’re planning to open a second location in Albuquerque before the end of the year.

Healthcare is a right of every individual, it should be accessible not taken away from them.

Native Communities Eye Expanded Services Under Haaland’s Healthcare Proposal

Victoria Padilla
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The report highlights that Interior Secretary Deb Haaland proposed a public option healthcare plan to the New Mexico electorate. She explained how tribes can use it to deliver healthcare to their members.

This is important since Native American populations in New Mexico suffer from a higher prevalence of chronic diseases. They also face a lack of healthcare facilities, and poorly-funded health facilities. Moreover, the plan gives Native tribes the opportunity to exercise autonomy over healthcare service delivery and financing. Tribes would not have to rely solely on the government’s healthcare system.

Examples include tribes’ ability to contract directly with the state, open new clinics, and offer culturally acceptable health services. Specifically, these services include tribal health organizations that could provide comprehensive health services. In addition, they could offer preventive medicine, mental health services, and treatment for chronic diseases.

Expansion of access: Increased numbers of clinics and service providers within tribal nations, cultural appropriateness: Services customized to Native culture. Increased economic security: Additional sources of revenue for tribes via the public option. Improved health equity: Less disparity in health outcomes between Native and non-Native peoples.

The key point to highlight is that the headline shows Haaland’s proposal isn’t simply about establishing a public option in a particular state. Instead, she focuses on empowering Native communities.

Haaland’s proposal clearly shows the relationship between tribal sovereignty and health care reform. Moreover, such a plan, if adopted, could serve as a model for how public options across the country could empower Native communities. These communities could then manage their own health care systems.

Lobbyist’s Decades of Work Drive NM Healthcare Reform

Victoria Padilla
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The paper underscores the importance of an experienced lobbyist in advancing successful healthcare reforms in New Mexico, particularly in tort reform and healthcare recruitment. New Mexico Healthcare Reform Lobbying plays a vital role in shaping these initiatives and ensuring their effectiveness.

This is significant, given that the state has been facing physician shortages, rural-urban health inequities, and rising costs. Effective New Mexico Healthcare Reform Lobbying was essential to drive despite differences and conflicts.

In particular, the lobbyist lobbied legislators and relevant healthcare associations and bodies for reforms in liability, recruitment, and increased accessibility. These efforts in New Mexico Healthcare Reform Lobbying also addressed other issues.

Liability reform reduced the risks doctors faced. In the context of healthcare reforms, the New Mexico initiatives achieved positive outcomes. As a result, more doctors were willing to work in New Mexico. Additionally, recruitment efforts increased the supply of healthcare workers. This allowed patients to access healthcare services. The reform helped hospitals and clinics struggling with staffing issues. It also helped those facing financial challenges.

The title highlights that these reforms did not occur spontaneously; rather, they resulted from continuous lobbying. Thanks to the efforts of New Mexico Healthcare Reform Lobbying, became a political issue.

The conclusion demonstrates how effective advocacy improved healthcare in New Mexico. Notably, ongoing New Mexico Healthcare Reform Lobbying remains crucial given the state’s challenges.

Expanded Child Care is Progress. But New Mexico’s Families Still Face a 15,000-Seat Gap.

Juan Oliveros
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Expanded Child Care is Progress. But New Mexico’s Families Still Face a 15,000-Seat Gap.

Children at Turquoise Child Development Center spend their days reading with tutors, conducting hands-on science experiments, and honing literacy skills long before kindergarten. The center serves about 40 children from the Tucumcari area, providing child care that many parents say is transformative.

Spaces are limited, however. And the demand far exceeds capacity. In rural communities, the situation can be even worse.

The situation is particularly difficult for families searching for infant care because infant programs are among the least financially viable services in child care. Providers say caring for infants requires more personnel, tighter supervision, and higher operating costs.

The result is a system where parents often spend months on waiting lists or drive long distances to find available child care.

New Mexico has spent many years becoming a national model for early childhood education. The state poured billions of dollars into free preschool programs, child care subsidies, and support to educators.

The state’s effort has expanded access for many working families. New child care centers have been established with new providers joining the system. Thousands of children who lacked early education prior are now enrolled in the programs.

But even as the state celebrates progress, one reality remains: New Mexico is still lacking more than 15,000 child care seats for children under age 6. The shortage, according to the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department, highlights the growing gap between ambitious public policy and the practical challenges of building a child care infrastructure in the state.

Between December and April, the state has added more than 1,300 child care slots, including about 200 for infants and toddlers. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said child care was “the backbone of creating a system of support for families that allows them to work, to go to college, to do all the things they need to do to continue to lift New Mexico out of poverty.”

Officials said the growth is evidence that recent investments are beginning to change the system. But the progress is not enough to meet the demand. The gap continues despite New Mexico’s aggressive policy initiatives.

Voters approved in 2022 a constitutional amendment authorizing the state to draw an additional 1.25 percent, equivalent to $150 million annually, from the Land Grant Permanent Fund to support early childhood education programs. Since then, lawmakers have expanded access to free preschool and increased financial assistance for families who seek child care.

Advocates describe the investments as historic. But they warned that money alone cannot solve structural problems that have built up over the years.

Child care providers across the state continue to struggle with low staffing levels, escalating operational expenses, and the difficulty of meeting licensing requirements while keeping child care services affordable for working families.

New Mexico’s child care system also remains deeply fragmented. Licensed child care centers usually operate classroom-style in commercial facilities grouped by age. Licensed home-based providers, on their part, may care for small groups of children after they pass zoning, fire safety, and environmental standards.

There are fewer regulations for registered home providers. And they can care for up to four children who do not live in the home. Under limited conditions, state law also allows some caregivers to operate unregistered or without a license.

Supporters of stricter oversight said the uneven structure has created disparities in quality and safety. Others say small home-based providers are the only realistic option in rural areas where larger centers are financially unviable. For parents seeking care, however, the distinctions matter less than availability.

Across the state, the lack of dependable child care has increasingly become not only an economic issue. It has also become an educational one. Parents who have not secured care frequently reduce work hours, decline employment opportunities, or leave the workforce.

Efforts to expand the child care program will continue, state officials said. But for many families still searching for open slots, the promise of universal child care remains unfulfilled — advancing the goal steadily, though still far from complete.

AI-Powered Cars Made by Students During 10-Week Academic Challenge

Ruben Reyes
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AI-Powered Cars Made by Students During 10-Week Academic Challenge

Technology and kids just get along well. Like a person you met once and you know you will click. This is what happened to 10 student0run teams who spent weeks learning AI-powered cars on an AI-learning program.

10 student-run teams from 10 different schools have joined forces with New Mexico Artificial Intelligence Academy. Over 10 weeks, students learned how to program and operate a small car run by artificial intelligence.

The program helps the student to maximize the usage of AI and use it as a helpful tool and not as replacement for their own thinking.

“Lots of people believe and understand there is value for AI but wrapping your head around it and make it something that is empowering for you that’s a little bit harder to do,” said George Gorospe, co-founder of the New Mexico Artificial Intelligence Academy.

“If we can enable or empower our students to use AI to solve problems by collecting data and training the network and deploying that network, they get a feel for the whole process,” he added.

The academy said its mission is to teach students how to solve New Mexico’s problems with AI.

During the program, students received weekly lectures on robotics, mechatronics, software development, and machine learning.

The program concluded with teams creating a track for a self-driving car. This program will help future New Mexicans become innovators who will help the state prosper and flourish.

How a Garden Cultivates Learning Through Hands-On Activities

Gregg Morgan
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How a Garden Cultivates Learning Through Hands-On Activities

Gaining knowledge through gardening? John Adams Middle School proves education can grow in many ways.  

The school’s garden continues to flourish as an outdoor classroom for students. This student-led program, supervised by MESA instructor Dennis Linton and Dr. James Platt, has transformed the garden into a hands-on learning space. The garden now features fruit trees, vegetables, and flowers. 

Entering its second successful year, the program continues to expand. Students actively care for and develop the learning garden. 

Community support helps drive the garden’s success. Thanks to a shade structure donated by Lowe’s Home Improvement, students now have a more comfortable area to work and learn.

Walmart contributed seed packets. The Home Depot provided plants and garden tools and Baca’s Trees donated wood chips used for weed control and defining garden paths.

Walmart contributed seed packets, while The Home Depot provided plants and garden tools. Baca’s Trees donated wood chips for weed control and garden path development.

The garden supports classroom learning in meaningful ways. Students study pollination by learning flower parts and observing bees collect pollen and nectar. A pollination garden with perennials has also been developed to support this work.

Learning Comes Alive in the Garden

This year, the program adds three raised beds divided into 2-by-2-foot plots. Each student chooses seeds from a seed library, plants them, and cares for their own plot. These individual spaces let students explore concepts like photosynthesis while building ownership and responsibility.

The main garden features a mix of flowers and vegetables. Students apply math skills by measuring spacing and planting depth using seed packet instructions.

Additionally, students maintain the garden through hands-on tasks, such as watering, weeding, and spreading wood chips. As the project progresses, learners show strong engagement and willingness to contribute to the garden’s success.

Educators say they find it rewarding to see students take pride in their work. They already look forward to continuing the program next year.

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