xxAACP Newsletter, Volume 14, Number 2, Spring 2000
News From the Southwest: New Mexico
AACP members help out in New Mexico
The New Mexico Department of Health, Behavioral Health Services Division (BHSD) is planning to bring AACP Board member Ken Minkoff, MD in to help with strategies and training on integrating mental health and substance abuse services for people with dual disorders. The BHSD was created four years ago by merging the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Divisions. The Division is also in the process of implementing a major systems change. In July, it will contract with regional care coordinating (RCC) entities rather than with individual provider agencies. The RCCs will be expected to facilitate the integration of services and address unmet services needs in the region. Chris Cline, MD, Medical Director for BHSD and Michael Bogenshutz, MD, director of the Dual Disorders Program at the University of New Mexico (UNM) Mental Health Center, will be working with the other BHSD staff and Dr. Minkoff in developing the strategies for the state.
One of the upcoming seminars for second year residents at the UNM Department of Psychiatry will feature AACP Board members Wes Sowers, MD and Ken Thompson, MD (both from Pittsburgh, PA) using televideo. The topic will be the "new professionalism" concept and the value of dialogues with consumers on service system issues as described by Drs. Sowers and Thompson in recent issues of the Community Psychiatrist. They will be joined by two Pennsylvania consumers. In the next session of the seminar, the UNM residents will have their own dialogue session with New Mexico consumers.
New Rural Sponsorship Program for UNM Residents
With the goal of having residents get to know rural communities of New Mexico better and earlier in their residency, the Rural Psychiatry Program at UNM established the Rural Sponsorship Program. Residents accepted into the Program will be able to visit a rural community at least twice per year starting in PGY 2. They will talk to the local agency psychiatrist once a month to get more of a feel for the challenges and benefits of rural practice and will spend two days per week at the site in the PGY 4 year. Also included in the benefit package is attendance at an AACP meeting with one of the Rural Psychiatry faculty. For more information, contact me at the e-mail address below.
Many areas of New Mexico are recruiting psychiatrists to work in
community mental health, and we may have new medical director positions
with the RCCs, once the entities have been selected. Anyone interested in
coming to the "Land of Enchantment" to work, please contact me at CPederson@salud.unm.edu.
Back to Spring
2000 Table of Contents