http://youtu.be/di14rPC-Kjs
The new College of Education Community clinics located at the Arrowhead Medical Academy will include a Mental Health and Wellness Clinic, and a speech and hearing Center. Something Marlene Salas- Provance, assistant dean for college community clinics, says is currently underserved in Southern New Mexico.
“The speech and hearing, and mental and behavioral health are high need areas,” Salas- Provance says. “That means that people in the community cannot get all the services that they need. And also there is a shortage of health care providers in both of these fields.”
While services at these clinics will not be free, Salas- Provance says they will not turn away someone just because they can’t afford it.
“The mission of New Mexico State University is a service mission and an outreach mission,” Salas- Provance says. “We’re not going to turn away people, if someone needs our service we are going to take care of them. That’s the unique thing about us, is that we’re not the doctors office down the street. We can provide a unique relationship for the patients and the families, and we’re going to be able to see them when they can’t afford. Now, of course we have to pay the bills, and keep the clinic going just like anyone else does in the community.”
The clinics will offer training for graduate students while they complete their degree, and it will also give the high schoolers at the Arrowhead Medical Academy a first- hand look at the professions.
“Probably allow them to see areas of study that they have never seen before,” Salas- Provance said. “I foresee that we’re going to new counselors, new audiologists, new speech pathologists more than we’ve ever seen before. Because now they are going to be exposed to these areas of health care.”
She says these are good job fields for students to be thinking about.
“One of things that’s great about both of our fields,” Salas- Provance said. “Counseling, and audiology, speech pathology is there is a 100% job rate. So, students that want to get jobs will be going into the health care professions because those are the areas that are looking for providers.”
They will start seeing patients at the new clinics this summer.
