Health Department expands school-based health centers

SANTA FE – The New Mexico Department of Health is celebrating National School-Based Health Center Awareness Month this February by highlighting significant growth in school-based health services over the past year — improving access to health care for children and adolescents.

The New Mexico Department of Health’s (NMDOH) Office of School and Adolescent Health increased funding for three additional brick-and-mortar school-based centers in 2025, from 59 to 62. NMDOH also increased telehealth and mobile health services from 41 to 52 schools, meaning the agency now has 114 initiatives helping kids stay healthy and in school.

These NMDOH-funded centers served nearly 20,000 school-age children in the 2024-2025 school year – up from about 16,400 the previous year.

These centers serve students from kindergarten through 12th grade statewide regardless of their ability to pay. Services include primary health care, preventive health care, mental health care and referrals for further treatment.

"School-based health centers remove barriers and increase equitable access to health care and resources for children and youth,” said Kristin Oreskovich, clinical operations manager of NMDOH’s School-Based Health Center Program. “They are often the only place students receive health care, especially in communities without many healthcare options.”

The centers have been operating in New Mexico for more than 25 years.

For more information, visit the NMDOH School-Based Health Center Program website and the New Mexico Alliance for School-Based Health Care website.

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Departamento de Salud expande los centros de salud escolares