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NMSU outlines expansion of mental-health workforce training and rural telehealth at Legislative Health & Human Services hearing
Summary
New Mexico State Universitys College of Health, Education and Social Transformation told the Legislative Health & Human Services Committee it is expanding psychiatric nurse practitioner training, promoting dual certification and using telehealth to reach rural areas, while lawmakers pressed the college on school partnerships, Native American recruitment and clinic billing barriers.
New Mexico State University officials described steps to grow the states mental-health workforce during a Legislative Health & Human Services Committee meeting in Las Cruces.
Dean Rick Marlette and School of Nursing director Dr. Alexa Doig told legislators the colleges combined Health, Education and Social Transformation unit (HEST) has increased enrollment, hired additional faculty and is expanding clinical training sites to address persistent shortages of mental-health providers across New Mexico.
HEST leaders said the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) Doctor of Nursing Practice program is delivered as a three-year clinical doctorate, with distance education to enable nurses in rural communities to train without relocating. The college also offers an 18-credit post-graduate certificate allowing nurse practitioners to add PMHNP certification in one year.
"Enrollment is up nearly across the board in our licensure leading accredited programs," Dean Marlette said, describing growth across allied health, social work, nursing and teacher education. Dr. Doig added that the PMHNP program is "the primary program that is educating and training mental health practitioners who have independent scope of practice within New Mexico."
Doig described a push for dual certification so family nurse practitioners can also become psychiatric NPs. The college recently used state endowments and a gift from Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico to recruit faculty and expand training capacity; Doig said Blue Cross gave $500,000, with $300,000 designated to hire a professor of practice to lead recruitment and K-12 outreach. The college also highlighted an early-career hire, Felicia King, a dual-certified practitioner from Las Cruces who will help lead integrated-care initiatives.
Presenters emphasized reliance on clinical partnerships and federal grants to build training sites. Doig cited an opioid workforce education HRSA grant that funded student stipends (about $20,000$26,000 per year) and established dozens of clinical training sites, and a SAMHSA campus suicide-prevention grant that supported QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) training and trainer development on campus.
Lawmakers pressed presenters on operational details. Representative Pamela Herndon asked whether students could serve as interns in newly funded "mental health rooms" in K-12 schools and urged collaboration on suicide-prevention and outreach to Native American communities; Doig said HEST has staff focused on recruitment and can support supervised clinical rotations and project-based evaluations of school programs. Marlette noted a $300,000 recurring state-funded initiative for recruiting Native American teacher candidates and described efforts to indigenize curriculum and expand pathways for tribal students.
Several members raised concerns about contracts at some clinics that restrict nurse practitioners from providing mental-health services inside primary-care settings. Representative Mariana Anaya and others called the practice "disturbing." Doig said the restrictions appear tied to billing and reimbursement complexity and recommended engaging the New Mexico Hospital Association and insurers to explore policy and billing solutions.
Committee members also asked about workforce retention and service in-state. Dr. Doig said alumni surveys indicate high employment rates for advanced-practice graduates (typically 90% or higher) and that many students trained while living in New Mexico remain in-state after graduation.
The NMSU presentation also flagged capacity gaps in diagnostic services: Marlette said the colleges autism diagnostic center is staffed by nine faculty and currently carries an 18-month wait list for youth evaluations, and the college is working to expand capacity.
Committee Chair Representative Liz Thompson thanked presenters and encouraged follow-up collaboration; HEST leaders said they welcome continued input from legislators and partners as they implement curriculum revisions and pursue federal funding to scale training.
The committee moved next to a Legislative Finance Committee briefing on food security.
