Black Health New Mexico

Black Health New Mexico – The HIA will collect data to identify recommendations and language for improved health literacy.

Black Health New Mexico Farm to Table:

The work of Black Health New Mexico is focused on a community-centered model that encourages community-defined interventions to public health problems, specifically health outcomes that disproportionately impact Black mothers, infants, and families. BHNM understands that interventions that seek to improve health outcomes, must be deeply rooted in and influenced by the expertise, leadership and lived experience of the communities most impacted. But having solutions does not equate to having resources to implement them.

According to the weathering theory most Black women are about seven years older biologically because of the toxic stress that we live under due to racism in America. That means that we are literally aging faster because of toxic stress. We have high maternal mortality rates, high rates of diabetes, high rates of cardiovascular disease, and higher death rates around specific chronic conditions. As a result, our goal at Black Health New Mexico is to take care of our communities all of time knowing the type of challenges that we face, especially around our health are occurring all of the time.

Racism is not going away overnight, there are very few policies at the institutional, organizational, and bureaucratic levels that are going to make this happen. So, infusing our communities with goodness; including access to care, access to good food, and access to one another in a caring loving and accountable way is essential for our sustainability. And for Black people and people of color, for marginalized people in general, we understand that all of the issues that we face are intersectional. You can’t talk about taking care of moms and babies and not talk about the access that they have to good, nutritious food-not just food in general. At Black Health New Mexico, we understand that our issues are intersectional and our solutions have to be.

Black Health New Mexico was initially funded by HEP to conduct a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) by engaging in a collaborative process with non-black medical providers and black childbearing persons, birth equity advocates and birth-workers. The intent was to collect data to identify recommendations and language for improved health literacy. However, due the COVID-19 pandemic, Black Health New Mexico shifted course to best respond to community needs and implemented a Farm to Table program. Please view this important short film introducing Black Health New Mexico’s Farm to Table program and you can download the discussion guide here.