P003: Epidemiology Response Division
What We Do
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.
Who We Serve
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.
How We Impact
ERD provides services through six bureaus: Vital Records and Health Statistics (BVRHS), 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 New Mexico 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 New Mexico 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.
Budget
FY19 OPERATING BUDGET: $27,106,500
- General Funds: $9,915,700
- Other Transfers: $614,200
- Federal Funds: $15,951,500
- Other State Funds: $625,100
Accomplishments
- New Mexico’s opioid overdose death rate for 2017 had a slight decrease.
- On-site delayed birth registration and birth certificate issuance events were provided throughout the state with more than 1,500 customers served creating/issuing about 650 birth certificates.
- The number of emergency department facilities reporting syndromic surveillance data increased by three to 33 of 36.
- The 2018 State of Health in New Mexico Report, the state health assessment, is being disseminated.
- The Vigilant Guard Exercise After Action Report identified communications platforms to be used in events or emergencies and led to the creation of a Disaster Animal Response Team.
- The number of pharmacies dispensing naloxone increased to 295 out of a total of 369 out-patient pharmacies in NM.
- An upgrade of the New Mexico EMS Tracking and Reporting System (NMEMSTARS), the New Mexico EMS patient care report database, was completed allowing for continued submission of New Mexico data into the national EMS database and comparison of New Mexico data with national data.
- Because of federal funding for Zika virus surveillance and control, referrals for services for the families with children with any type of birth defect were substantially increased.
Measures
Clear Impact Suite is an easy-to-use, web-based software platform that helps your staff collaborate with external stakeholders and community partners by utilizing the combination of data collection, performance reporting, and program planning.