• NMDOH facilities serve a large variety of New Mexicans around the state in areas of long‐term care, behavioral health, chemical dependency treatment, medical rehabilitation, adolescent programs, and community programs.
• Taking the census can help explain how efficiently a facility is operating by measuring the number of patients that are receiving services.
• Operational beds are those for which sufficient staff are available to provide safe and quality care. The FY18 percent of operational beds occupied is as follows:
  • Quarter 1: 82.6%
  • Quarter 2: 80.9%
  • Quarter 3: 79.7%
  • Quarter 4: 81.6%
  • FY18: 81.1%

        The target of 90% was not met.

• The facilities experience challenges such as direct care staff recruitment and retention issues, inconsistent levels of patient referrals, and stringent Medicare requirements for acceptance and admission.
• The Turquoise Lodge Hospital will focus its efforts on increasing the number of adult patients needing medical detox and inpatient chemical dependency services in an effort to fill more available beds. The New Mexico Rehabilitation Center is continuously working on recruitment efforts to hire sufficient staff to resume all services and fill available beds at that location. Fort Bayard Medical Center continues to explore an expansion of long term care services for veterans as well as trying to minimize denials through thorough review of potential resident needs.

• Children, Youth and Families Department
• State Personnel Office
• NMDOH Developmental Disabilities Supports Division
• NMDOH Public Health Division
• State District Courts
• Referral agencies – clinics, hospitals, long‐term care facilities, assisted living facilities
• United States Department of Veterans Affairs and New Mexico Department of Veterans' Services
• Community members

• Marketing the services and care available.
• Increasing census helps demonstrate quality of care and ongoing communication with referral sources.
• Working with payers to make sure prior approvals and authorizations are in place to assist in making admission process more efficient.
• Full staffing levels in all facilities and services.

• Continuous staff recruitment efforts such as rapid-hire events to recruit health care staff.
• In‐service education and staff development to help improve the quality of care that is being provided. Sharing outcomes with referral sources to assist in generating more patients for the facilities.
• Working with payers to clearly communicate financial needs and services.
• Strengthen admission processes by developing marketing strategies and efforts to assist with increasing referrals.

• Q1‐Q4: Support of facility administrators to assist in marketing and recruitment efforts such as with social media and community events. Hold Rapid Hire events as able to facilitate hiring. Completed.
• Q1‐Q4: Develop and provide educational opportunities for professional staff that will provide credits toward licensure. Completed.
• Q1‐Q4: Work with State Personnel Office as able to fill vacant positions through partnering and assistance of facility staff thus allowing increased census. Completed.
• Q1‐Q4: Increase recruitment efforts by working with New Mexico professional schools ﴾e.g., nursing, therapy﴿ quarterly to bring students into the facilities. Completed.
• Q1‐Q4: Improve communications with payers through financial department staff to collaborate as a team in provision of services. Completed.
• Q1‐Q4: Facilities will increase local community awareness of services provided to encourage interest in their facility usage. Completed.

• In FY17, the occupancy rate of 79.7% exceeded the target of 60.0%. Over the course of FY17, the occupancy rate showed a small variability ranging from 76.0% in July 2016 to 83.0% in February 2017. 
• The NMDOH facilities expect the occupancy rate to increase in FY18 based on the strategies and actions that will be employed for the upcoming year.

• In FY18, the occupancy rate of 81.1% did not meet the target of 90.0%.
• NMDOH continues to work on strategies and relationships with partners to improve the percent of available beds occupied. Recruitment and retention of direct care staff remains a challenge, however improvement efforts are ongoing. Facilities continue to evaluate patient acuity and staff ratios to ensure sufficient staffing levels are available for providing quality patient care, and collaboration with external referral sources and marketing of services is ongoing.