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The Health Care Authority’s mission is: We ensure that New Mexicans attain their highest level of health by providing whole-person, cost-effective, accessible, and high-quality health care and safety-net services.

Division of Health Improvement

The Division of Health Improvement (DHI) is the regulatory entity providing compliance oversight for the following areas.

  • Health Facility Licensing and Certification licenses health facilities such as: Acute and Continuing care, long-term care, assisted living home care and hospice, free standing birth centers, community mental health centers and other facilities.
  • Community-Based Programs for the Developmental Disabilities Waiver, Medically Fragile Waiver and the Mi Via Waiver.
  • Conducts investigations of Abuse, Neglect & Exploitation for licensed health facilities and home and community-based Medicaid waiver programs.
  • Operates the Caregivers Criminal History Screening Program (CCHSP) which provides criminal background checks on potential caregivers.
  • Operates the Employee Abuse Registry (EAR) also known as, the Consolidated Online Employee Abuse Registry (COR) which provides background checks for all caregivers, ensuring they have not been disqualified by a substantiated case of ANE. Individuals placed on the EAR are not eligible for hire as caregivers.
  • Operates the Certified Nurse Aide Registry (NAR) and Training program.
  • Certifies all clinical laboratories operating in New Mexico meet health and safety requirements.

        What are you looking for today? DHI FAQs:

        Special Announcement regarding Background Checks:

        The New Mexico Department of Public Safety will be transitioning to a new fingerprint supported background checks provider, IDEMIA, effective May 1, 2023. Electronic fingerprinting can still be completed with Gemalto through the end of the day April 28, 2023. Effective immediately, please mail hard copy fingerprint cards to:

        IndentoGo Cardscan Department: New Mexico Program
        340 Seven Springs Way, Suite 250
        Brentwood, TN 37027

        Additional information is available at Caregivers Criminal History Screening.

        Background Checks for Community Based Waiver Service Providers and Support Caregivers

        Effective January 1, 2022, via this notice, all new hired “caregiver” employees of licensed health facilities and home and community-based Medicaid waiver programs who are defined as a “caregiver” (see 29-17-4 NMSA and 7.1.12.2 NMAC) and hired on or after January 1, 2022, shall be in compliance with 29-17-2 et seq and 7.1.12 NMAC and complete a background check at time of hire.

        See memo Background Check Supplement for complete details regarding background checks for caregivers hired between April 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021 Any caregiver hired during the public health emergency and has not had a fingerprint background check must come into compliance by March 31, 2022.

        Enforcement Activities

        DHI enforcement activities include:

        Health facilities and community based waiver programs found out of compliance may be subject to civil monetary penalties or other sanctions as authorized by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services or state law.

        Voting Rights for Long Term Care Residents

        Organizational Structure

        The Division of Health Improvement consists of staff members located in 4 field offices across New Mexico with a central office in Santa Fe. Our staff have a variety of professional and educational backgrounds and experiences. Many are licensed as psychologists, nurses, physicians, life safety code engineers, architects, social workers and other related fields, who hold bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. We are organized into the following three areas.

        1. Health Facility Licensing and Certification – Consists of District Operations which conducts surveys of Certified Long-term Care health facilities, Program Operations which administers the facility licenses and conducts surveys of acute and continuing care health facilities and the Licensed Oversight bureau which conducts surveys of state licensed only facilities such as, assisted living facilities or boarding homes.
        2. Home and Community Based Waiver Programs – Consists of Incident Management and Quality Management.
        3. Director’s Office – Consists of DHI Administrative Services, Human Resources and the Office of Policy, Planning & Performance Improvement.

        Please see the Human Resources section of our website for a list of Job Opportunities with Division of Health Improvement and obtain our latest organizational chart.


        Customer Satisfaction Surveys

        Has your health facility recently been surveyed by the Division of Health Improvement? If so, we would like to know how we performed.


        Regulations

        Please visit the Regulations page for a complete listing of the rules and regulations which govern the majority of what we do.


        New Emergency Rule and Pending Regulations

        Emergency correction to 8.370.3 Health Facility Licensure Fees and Procedures. The emergency rule can be found on the State Records Center and Archives registry Volume XXXV, Issue 15 publication date 8/13/2024. The corrected rule can also be found on our Regulations page.

        Be sure to visit our Regulations page to view recent updates made to existing rules.


        Notice of Public Hearing

        There are no public hearings scheduled at this time.

        Search Licensed Health Facilities Survey Report of Findings

        Search Medicare Nursing Home Compare

        Nursing Home Compare provides details on nursing homes across the country. This includes nursing home inspection results, staffing levels, enforcement actions that the federal government have taken against the nursing homes and how well nursing home residents were treated in specific areas of care.

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