First Choice Community Healthcare provides wraparound services to our communities. Our Community Services Department offers many programs and services for our patients to help them with their social and environmental health.

Community Health Workers

Community Health Worker’s at First Choice Community Healthcare provide supportive services to our patients to help improve health outcomes by addressing the environmental/social needs of our patients. CHW’s can connect the patient to community resources, assist in overcoming barriers, advocate, empower, and educate to create self-sufficiency and reduce health disparities.

Services:
  • Assist patients in getting connected to resources and social services for food, utilities, housing, Medicaid, daycare, and transportation.
  • Connect patients with assistance for employment or education.
  • Connect patients to the right resources to help patients who may have legal issues such as immigration, eviction, or other legal issues.
  • Connect patients to external organizations that may be able to help with substance abuse, domestic violence, or behavioral health.
  • Provide a resource list to patients who need assistance with disability, social security, unemployment benefits, or workman’s comp.
  • Advocate for the patient and get them connected to a care coordinator.
  • Offer support and education to obtain self-sufficiency.
  • Assistance for filling out forms or documents to obtain services.

WIC

WIC customer shoppingWIC is a Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children administered by the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, and the New Mexico Department of Health, Public Health Division.   Visit www.nmwic.org for a complete listing of WIC locations.

WIC provides supplemental foods to eligible participants along with nutrition education, breastfeeding support and referrals to health and social programs.

To qualify for WIC you must:
  • Be a Resident of New Mexico
  • Be a Pregnant, Breastfeeding, or Post Partum Woman
  • Be an Infant under one year of age
  • Be a child under 5 years of age
  • Meet Income Guidelines
  • Be determined as nutritionally “at risk” by a health professional.
You will be asked to bring the following to your appointment:
  • The person applying for program participation (this could be you, your baby or your child)
  • Proof of Residency in the county
  • Proof of Identity
  • Proof of Income
  • Immunization Record

Childhood Literacy Program

Reach Out & Read LogoReach Out and Read

Our Reach Out and Read program provides Pediatric Patients from age 6 months to 5 years with a new age appropriate, and culturally appropriate book. The program works with the help of our Pediatric Providers. As a component part of the pediatric visit, the medical provider discusses the importance of reading and childhood development. A new book is then given to the family with a “Prescription to Read”  Reading aloud to a young child promotes development of a part of the brain associated with learning to read. The prescription to read validates the importance of reading to children.

For more information or to donate to this very worthwhile cause, please contact:
First Choice Community Healthcare Administration Office (505) 873-7400