The Epidemiology and Response Division (ERD) monitors health, provides health information, prevents disease and injury, promotes health and healthy behaviors, responds to public health events, prepares for health emergencies, and provides emergency medical, trauma, vital registration, and sexual assault-related services to New Mexicans.

ERD serves all New Mexicans, particularly those at risk for injury, disease, and health emergencies, and those in need of emergency medical services, trauma care, birth certificates, and death certificates.

ERD provides services through six bureaus: Vital Records and Health Statistics (VRHS), Health Emergency Management (BHEM), Emergency Medical Systems (EMS), Environmental Health Epidemiology (EHEB), Infectious Disease Epidemiology (IDEB), and Injury and Behavioral Epidemiology (IBEB). In addition, the Community Health Assessment Program (CHAP) operates the online NM Indicator-Based Information System (IBIS) providing data on numerous health-related measures; and the Health Systems Epidemiology Program (HSEP) analyzes and disseminates hospitalization and emergency department data.

VRHS annually registers approximately 26,000 births and 17,000 deaths, and issues over 250,000 birth and death certificates. VRHS also analyzes and distributes data to numerous agencies and organizations to assist them in improving the health of New Mexicans. By working at the state, regional, and local levels through public and private partnerships BHEM enables New Mexicans to prevent, detect, report, respond to, and recover from health-related emergency and disaster incidents. The EMS Bureau administers the Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Trauma, and Stroke/STEMI (Heart Attack) programs. EMS assures licensure for over 8,000 NM Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs).

EHEB conducts surveillance on conditions associated with environmental exposures (e.g. drinking water, air, and soil), provides information to other programs and the public, and implements interventions. IDEB performs surveillance for notifiable infectious diseases and conducts epidemiologic field investigations associated with those diseases, investigating over 10,000 potential cases each year. IDEB and EHEB also provide an on call service, responding to over 5,000 calls annually from healthcare providers, state agencies, educational facilities, the general public, and others seeking advice and recommendations. IBEB analyzes alcohol- and drug-related public health problems; supports substance abuse prevention programs and policy initiatives; provides injury prevention services for infants, children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly; and conducts studies in injury epidemiology. IBEB also conducts the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System annual survey of about 9,000 adults as well as the Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey of about 30,000 mid- and high school students to provide state, county, and school district level data on risk behaviors and resiliency factors.

FY18 OPERATING BUDGET: $28,188,700

• General Funds: $12,002,700
• Other Transfers: $766,200
• Federal Funds: $15,012,100
• Other State Funds: $407,700

• Program evaluation capacity is being enhanced through federal funding.
• New Mexico's drug overdose death rate dropped in the state rankings from 8th highest in 2015 to 12th in 2016. 
• The number and percentage of retail pharmacies that dispense naloxone has increased substantially from 26.5% in FY16 to 60.9 % in FY17 and still climbing at 72.6 % for FY18.
• Emergency department syndromic surveillance uses are expanding to tracking non-fatal overdose, suicide attempts, and influenza.
• A new trauma center, the first in Doña Ana County, was designated.
• Crisis standards of care are being developed to increase the number of tools available to be used in a major public health emergency.
• The older adult falls death rate decreased continues to decrease from 91.6 deaths/100,000 in 2016 to 87.9 deaths/100,000 in 2017.  At the same time the number of health care providers and older adults trained in evidence based fall prevention approach continues to increase with a total of 710 at the close of FY18.