New Mexico Department of Health

Let's Talk New Mexico 7/18 8a: Thousands of New Mexicans with intellectual and developmental disabilities have waited years to get access to group homes, therapies and other services. We’ll discuss the plan Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced this month to get everyone off the waitlist for the developmental disability (DD) waiver program over the next six years. Have you or someone you know been on the waitlist? What would it take to get everyone the services they are eligible for in a timely fashion? Email us your thoughts at LetsTalk@kunm.org, or call in live during the show.

The state is looking to hire hundreds of new employees over the next two weeks. Agencies will accept walk-in applicants at “rapid hire” events in Carlsbad, Roswell, Farmington, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Las Cruces. 

Flu season is here and state officials are urging people to get vaccinated.

Around 36,000 people across the country die each year from the flu, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There’s been a sharp uptick in confirmed West Nile virus cases this year, alongside recent heavy rains.

The state Department of Health and Governor Susana Martinez are advising people to take precautions against the mosquito borne disease.

The state Department of Health has struggled to quickly process applications for the medical cannabis program, and supplies sometimes run short. Lawmakers have proposed a bill that could address those issues and improve access for patients.

Flu season starts next month. The state Department of Health is asking people to get vaccinated before the disease starts to spread.

Lawmakers are trying to stop the planned closure of a youth detox center in Albuquerque. The Turquoise Lodge detox service was funded by the state three years ago, but now the Department of Health says not enough kids are using it and the money needs to be redirected to services for adults.

The New Mexico Department of Health is reporting a nine percent drop in drug overdoses in 2015.

New Mexico health officials are reporting the first confirmed case of measles in the state since 2012. The one-year-old victim was released from the hospital yesterday, but health officials are taking the opportunity to remind residents to get vaccinated.