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New Mexico Department of Health Secretary Patrick Allen understands the risks Texas providers now face in delivering care for pregnant women because of state laws restricting abortion access.

The Health Department is referencing those risks as part of a multi-state campaign aimed at bringing health care professionals to New Mexico, a big need for a state that for years has faced a shortage of physicians, to nurses and other health care workers.

鈥淓very day we鈥檙e looking for ways to try to attract more people to New Mexico to meet the health care needs of our state,鈥� Allen said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 become increasingly clear over time that states like Texas and Arizona are creating an environment 鈥� politically and legally 鈥� where providers, I think, are right to have questions and doubts and fears about having their medical judgment second-guessed by the local prosecutor or the legal system generally.鈥�

The one-month campaign from DOH, called 鈥淔ree to Provide,鈥� includes a mix of online advertisements through social media in metro areas in Texas and Arizona, and six billboards posted along the north, northwest, west and southwest regions of the Medical Center Area in Houston, said department spokesman Robert Nott.

The campaign, which cost the state about $350,000, also includes a comprehensive website, , where health care workers can learn more about New Mexico jobs 鈥� including links to the state鈥檚 Health Professional Loan Repayment Program to the Rural Health Care Practitioner Tax Credit Program 鈥� and find job postings with local providers.

In all, the state partnered with roughly three dozen New Mexico hospitals and clinics as part of the campaign. The Health Department put links of those employers鈥� career pages on the campaign鈥檚 website in an easily accessible map that breaks down the state into five regions.

Allen said the state in partnering with those providers had offered its help by consolidating and linking to the clinics鈥� hiring pages as a way of 鈥渃reating a handy place for providers to go to find lots and lots of the health care openings, whether they鈥檙e with hospitals and health systems, or the Department of Health for that matter, all in one place.鈥�

鈥淭hey were enthusiastic,鈥� he said of providers鈥� responses to the campaign. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e like us 鈥� they鈥檙e interested in trying to hire good people, and anything that we can do to make their job openings more visible is a benefit to them.鈥�

New Mexico, like other states, has faced a shortage of health care workers such as physicians and nurses for many years. Thousands more would need to be hired to bring the benchmark provider-to-population ratio back up to par, according to a 2023 annual report from the New Mexico Health Care Workforce Committee.

Tim Johnsen, senior vice president and chief operating officer for Presbyterian Delivery System, said more clinicians joined Presbyterian last year than in any other year in its history. But, he said, even with that growth, 鈥渨e also continue to see the need for more nurses and physicians, as well as other clinical positions such as (emergency medical technicians) and physical and respiratory therapists.鈥�

鈥淲e appreciate this creative effort by the Department of Health to address the recruitment challenge as it is an issue that impacts every community in New Mexico,鈥� he said.

Allen said the department at the end of the four-week campaign will evaluate 鈥渨here we think we are鈥� before deciding to either extend or expand the geographic area of the campaign, which he said could potentially include other southwestern states.

鈥淲e need more of everything everywhere, whether it鈥檚 primary care providers or OBGYNs in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 or practitioners in rural parts of the state,鈥� Allen said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e really trying to aim at that notion of, 鈥楾his is a good place to practice, it鈥檚 a good place to live, and you can come here and practice without some of the risks and concerns that you face in other states.鈥� 鈥�