Rural New Mexico Public Health Trends

Tatiana Torres

I spoke with Carol Morgan, the head nurse of the Portales, NM Public Health Department. The five leading trends were as follows:

Chlamydia and Gonorrhea are a major problem in the Southwest. Chlamydia and Gonorrhea are sexually transmitted infections that can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease. High school age people and certain young adults lack certain knowledge and come in to the department to receive treatment.  Many times one of the partners will receive treatment but the person that transmitted the infection does not receive treatment.  Thus, the disease can have a ping pong effect.

Salmonella outbreaks happened earlier this year. The peanut plant in Portales contracted Salmonella and unfortunately, spread peanut butter products throughout the country. The department recognized the problem and the peanut plant had to be shut down. Until the plant can clean up the contamination, the plant will remain closed.  The peanut plant was good source of money that added to the economy of Portales.  Due to the outbreak, many people were laid off of work.

Men and STD testing are not common at the public health department. Most of the patients that come in to receive treatments and medicines are women and children.  Men tend only come in for testing when the have a serious problem. Those individuals that have multiple sex partners usually lie about how many partners they have actually had. Depending on the situation, one can usually assume that certain individuals have had more sexual partners than what they tell the health care workers.

 Immunizations are given at the public health department. Child vaccines are well-administered to the public. The workers give information to patients that give tell them about when to come in for their next booster shots.  They also privately call individuals about when they need to stop by the department. There are certain protocols to leaving messages on the phone. It is vital that everything remains confidential.

Family Planning is an important part of the Portales Public Health Department. However, there can be conflicts of interest because Portales is such as small town.  Health care providers work with people that they know, as well as with the children of the people they know. Many teenagers come into the department to receive birth control.  It is vital that confidentiality is kept between provider and patient. So, even if the provider knows the child’s parents, it has to be up to the child to tell their parents that they are using birth control. Teenagers may tell their parents or they may not tell their parents. The choice is up to the patient not the provider.