Communities to Careers

The HSC Office for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion continues its efforts to enhance opportunities for a cadre of future health professionals. To provide a unified and concise brand, our programs will be known under the umbrella Communities to Careers: Growing New Mexico's Diverse Healthcare Workforce. The programs previously known as HEALTH-NM, the NM HCOP Academy, and Building Outstanding STEAM-H Students (BOSS) will constitute Communities to Careers.

Working alongside community-based partners, Communities to Careers is creating regional health workforce development hubs with K-20 programming opportunities, partnerships, and community-based networks to further develop a talented and diverse applicant pool of qualified individuals for health professions programs.

Communities to Careers is aimed at "growing our own" diverse workforce, and is comprised of a series of evolving, highly integrated programs preparing underrepresented, underserved, and economically and/or educationally disadvantaged students from across the state. Our programs empower students with the academic success and social readiness needed to enter and graduate from a health professions program. The program team and community partners are committed to students and ready to support successful completion of their education and training as future health professionals. New to the team is Amy Greene, Program Manager for the Health Careers Opportunities Program (HCOP) grant. She joins Octavio Muñoz, Program Manager, in leading the Community to Careers programmatic efforts.

The mission of Communities to Careers is to diversify New Mexico's health professions to better reflect the population of the state, and improve its provision of health services through cultural humility and linguistic proficiency. Serving around 650 middle and high school, undergraduate, graduate and post baccalaureate students each year, programs are held at the University of New Mexico and various rural communities statewide.

Effective June 1, 2019, Communities to Careers implemented a Health Careers Academy in partnership with UNM Health Sciences Rio Rancho Campus. This program aims to serve the growing need for engagement with youth in the regional area of Rio Rancho, including tribal communities west of Albuquerque and Rio Rancho.

Effective September 1, 2018, with Health Resources & Services Administration grant funds (HRSA Grant D18HP32135), Communities to Careers programmatic opportunities were implemented in the regional areas of Las Vegas and Farmington, NM, and at Santa Fe Indian School. Program implementation will also occur in Hobbs, NM in 2022. By weaving together programs, resources, and partners fostered over the years, Communities to Careers is building multi-level, multi-partner capacity to meet the growing needs of New Mexico's rural and medically underserved communities.

Learn more about our programs by visiting our website. Questions? Contact Teresa Madrid, Director of Programs at 505-272-2728, TMMadrid@salud.unm.edu, or HSC-diversity@salud.unm.edu.