Casa de Salud

Thank you for your support, Albuquerque Community Foundation!

Casa de Salud is a local nonprofit clinic that provides healthcare services for immigrants, low-income and uninsured New Mexicans, queer/transgender community members, drug users, and people seeking treatment and recovery for addictions. In 2022, Casa de Salud had more than 7500 patient visits, the majority of those (around 70%) from patients who were uninsured; the rest were mainly covered by Medicaid.

“So much of the work we do is about building power within the community, not just providing services,” said Executive Director, Anjali Taneja. “We feel that we have a responsibility to do this. That's why we advocate for policy and structural change in addition to providing care.”

To learn more about this incredible organization, check out their feature in our 2022 Annual Report by clicking here: https://annual-report.abqcf.org/casa-de-salud/

The South and Midwest are currently experiencing a surge in respiratory illnesses. Stay safe New Mexico, and wear a mask when you go out and get updated on your COVID-19 booster if you haven't already.

Casa de Salud was invited to the Global Ties Albuquerque () annual meeting, as a local partner org. Over the years, Global Ties has brought international visitors in healthcare and other fields, to Casa de Salud, and these experiences have been so rich.

Tonight the US President and CEO of Global Ties spoke, and a local danza group performed.

Thanks and thanks for hosting!

Congratulations to our friends at the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico. And thank you!

We are so excited to announce that Casa Lola is open today! 🎉

Casa Lola is a transitional housing program for transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming New Mexico residents from anywhere in the state (18 years or older) who need a safer, affirming place to stabilize while working toward personal goals.

Learn more and apply to be a resident at tgrcnm.org/casa-lola 🏠💜

JN.1 is behind over 60% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. right now. We must remain vigilant and protect ourselves and our community from contracting this dangerous virus. Remember to mask up and stay up to date on COVID-19 immunizations. To read more of this article, visit: https://buff.ly/4ba0vQT

Friends of Casa de Salud,

As we enter 2024, we wanted to share a bit of what we’ve been up to - and what’s on our plate for the year ahead. We invite your generous support for our community rooted, anti-racist, and independent healthcare and healing work.

At Casa de Salud, we fiercely believe:

- That healthcare is a right.
- That anti-racist care, harm reduction, and cultural humility are guiding values.
- That true access to care means affordable, trusted, dignified care.
- That healing goes beyond healthcare.
- That healthcare has a responsibility to build power with community.
- And that health worker voices - in solidarity with community voices - are powerful.

“Casa de Salud is one of the most adventurous attempts to make healthcare genuinely for the people.”
- Dr Pritpal Tamber

Casa de Salud’s model of care primarily lifts up and centers primary care for immigrants, low-income and uninsured New Mexicans, queer/transgender community members, drug users, and people seeking recovery and treatment for addictions. We see healthcare from a lens that understands histories of inequalities, oppressions, and structural forces. We see the strengths of our community members, as well as the cultural richness that exists around us. It is with this historical analysis and appreciation for the power within our community that we build towards collective wellness and liberation. We situate ourselves in the community as a change agent, developing models for advocacy for patients and organizing for health rights.

Next year, Casa de Salud celebrates our 20th anniversary! In 2024, we aim to continue all of our work above and expand our care beyond our South Valley location (more forthcoming!), expand our staff with new positions, continue to serve uninsured individuals and families in New Mexico, and build out creative innovations in care for our uninsured patients and patients with Medicaid. We are also working to build out a dignified continuum of care for people being released from the county jail, develop community events and health political education, and restore and strengthen our integrative healing options at the clinic. We will continue working to transform care locally and statewide, while building power with community and among health workers.

See much more at the link - www.gofundme.com/f/casadesalud thank you for reading, for your generous support, and for sharing with others!

In solidarity with marginalized communities and with health workers here and internationally.

-the Casa de Salud team

Photo: Bernalillo County Commissioner Stephen Michael Quezada alongside several Casa team members.

Reimagine Healthcare & Healing with Casa de Salud!, organized by Casa de Salud (Photo above: Several Casa de Salud team members photographed alongs… Casa de Salud needs your support for Reimagine Healthcare & Healing with Casa de Salud!

Halloween 🎃 👻 at Casa de Salud.

Photos 1 and 2) A few of our Casa staff.

Photos 3-5) Pumpkin carving party was a great team activity. Last one’s an axolotl!

Beautiful ofrenda, lovingly prepared by team members, for Dia de Los Mu***os.

Front page news! Hear ye, hear ye! Medicaid Forward was on the front page of the Albuquerque Journal. The article focuses on a study that shows that this *gamechanging* proposal would truly benefit all of us - New Mexicans, employers, healthcare providers, and the entire economy. Medicaid Forward would allow people who make more than the current income limit, to buy into the program with affordable premiums.

Clip from the article:

Dr. Anjali Taneja, the executive director for Casa de Salud, a clinic that largely treats the uninsured population and those on Medicaid, told the Journal that the potential increase in reimbursement rates under Medicaid Forward is “a hugely attractive incentive for providers to come to work in our communities or not leave our communities.”

“We have kind of a double-edged issue in New Mexico where we have a growing age of our workforce, meaning more folks closer to retirement, and we have a shortage of clinicians,” Taneja said, adding that with Medicaid Forward, “providers will be able to keep their practices open, make ends meet, provide really good care and focus on supporting the health of their communities.” Taneja added that the estimated number of enrollees in the Medicaid Forward option could also mean less paperwork for providers.

“With Medicaid, I don’t have to think about what co-pay a patient would have for an important medicine at the pharmacy,” she said. “With Medicaid, I don’t have to fill out exorbitant prior authorization paperwork to get routine care OK’d by an insurance company.”
_____

Sources:

“Healthcare Leaders Call Medicaid Forward a Powerful Solution Following Newly Released Study”: https://lnkd.in/g2x9hgVd

Urban Institute Study on Medicaid Forward in New Mexico: https://lnkd.in/ggSVQaud

Casa de Salud () is proud to partner with Little Green Bucket’s compost service () as one of its nonprofit partners! The 1st photo is from day one of our partnership, 2 years ago (Sept 2021), and the 2nd photo is from ’s shoutout to four of its nonprofit partners on National Nonprofit Day last week.

Casa de Salud is a neighborhood nonprofit integrative primary care clinic in the South Valley. The clinic is rooted in high quality healthcare for all, community healing, and anti-racism - while working to change systems and build power with community.

Our entire team cares deeply about the environment and believes that healthcare has a responsibility to decrease dependence on landfills and harmful emissions - while also replenishing our local soil. Our staff at Casa often cook lunches together, as part of team-building and to nourish our dedicated team. The Little Green Bucket compost service has helped us decrease waste greatly and play a part in reducing environmental damage, while supporting another innovative local business.

We are SO excited and proud to represent and participate in the Albuquerque Pride parade this year! This will be Casa’s first parade float and we cant wait to share the final result with you! Come see for yourself! Join us Saturday June 10th, from 10a-11a. Parade starts on Girard & Central - to San Mateo & Central. Here’s our team hard at work preparing our float! Thank you to our community health worker team for this vision!

Q***r health is political!

¡Estamos MUY emocionados y orgullosos de representar y participar en el desfile AbqPride este año! ¡Esta será la primera carroza del desfile de casas y no podemos esperar para compartir el resultado final con ustedes! ¡Ven a verlo tu mismo! Únase a nosotros el sábado 10 de junio, de 10 a 11 a. El desfile comienza en Girard y Central - al oeste de San Mateo y Central

We are SO excited and proud to represent and participate in the AbqPride parade this year! This will be Casa’s first parade float and we cant wait to share the final result with you! Come see for yourself! Join us Saturday June 10th, from 10a-11a. Parade starts on Girard & Central - to San Mateo & Central. Here’s our team hard at work collaborating on float designs.

¡Estamos MUY emocionados y orgullosos de representar y participar en el desfile AbqPride este año! ¡Esta será la primera carroza del desfile de casas y no podemos esperar para compartir el resultado final con ustedes! ¡Ven a verlo tu mismo! Únase a nosotros el sábado 10 de junio, de 10 a 11 a. El desfile comienza en Girard y Central - al oeste de San Mateo y Central

The New Mexico Public Health Association’s Annual Conference is this week, and our Casa de Salud team is excited to present two sessions!

Several staff members and health apprentice fellows will present “Health Apprentice Fellowship: A Model for Transforming and Diversifying the Healthcare Workforce” - on Friday May 19th from 10:20-11:05am. Thank you Andrea (Health Apprentice Fellowship Developer), Yuri and Rocio (Clinic Flow Coordinators), and Jose and Kira (Health Apprentice Fellows).

And our Executive Director Dr Taneja is presenting “Building Power with Community and Creating Anti-racist, Integrative Healthcare Systems” on Thursday May 18th from 2-330pm.

Check out the NMPHA at www.nmpha.org, where you can explore the full schedule. The conference starts today! And it’s all virtual. There’s still time to register.

Photo: a number of Casa’s staff (former apprentices!) and health apprentice fellows.

Please join and say hi to our Community Health Worker team who will be tabling at the at South Valley Pride Day Sunday 4/23/2023, at the Westside Community Center (just down the road from Casa de Salud).

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Únase y salude a nuestro equipo de trabajadores de salud comunitarios que se presentarán en el Día del Orgullo de South Valley el domingo 23/04/2023, en el Centro Comunitario Westside (en la calle de Casa de Salud).

We are proud of our lovely team of Casa de Salud staff and health apprentice fellows (pictured here) who presented at last year’s UNM Health Professions Symposium. Look out for our table and presentation on Casa de Salud’s Health Apprentice Fellowship for students interested in health professions, at this this year’s Health Professional Symposium on Saturday April 15th! Symposium: https://hps.unm.edu/. And if you’re interested in applying to become a Health Apprentice Fellow, check out www.casadesaludnm.org/apprenticefellowship

Join us at this weekend’s health fair - FREE, FUN, FOOD, EDUCATION AND RESOURCES! Visit our Casa team this Saturday April 15th at the West Mesa Community Center from 11am-3pm. Address: 5500 Glenrio Rd NW, Albuquerque, NM 87105. A showcase of amazing community resources, services, and information! Plenty of fun for the whole family! COME OUT AND PLAY!

¡Féria de Salud! ¡DIVERSIÓN, COMIDA, EDUCACIÓN Y RECURSOS! Visite y únase a nuestro equipo de Casa este sábado en el Centro Comunitario de West Mesa de 11 am a 3 pm. 5500 Glenrio Rd NW, Albuquerque, NM 87105. ¡Una muestra de muchos recursos, servicios e información increíbles de la comunidad! ¡Mucha diversión para toda la familia! ¡SALGA A DIVERTIR!

Losing medicaid soon due to Covid unwinding? We understand this can be confusing and stressful. The reason for this is because the Emergency Covid Funding that helped support medicaid and other services will expire as of April 31st. There are other options available to you for medical care such as BeWellNM.com which can provide you with medical insurance at a low monthly cost to you, some as low as $10 a month. Visit BeWellNM.com or Call to speak with one of our CHWs for additional information! 505.907.8311

Los servicios de Medicaid vencerá para muchos el 31 de Abril, los fondos de emergencia de Covid se terminaron. Pero hay otras opciones disponibles para su atención médica, se llama BeWellNM.com que le proporciona salud medica un costo mensual tan bajas como $ 10 por mes! Llama para hablar con un trabajador comunitario para obtener más información 505.907.8311 o visite BeWellNm.com

Free at-home COVID tests are still available but not for long! Get yours while supplies last! Our community health workers can help you too, call us at 505-907-8311.

Las pruebas caseras gratis de COVID todavia estan disponibles, pero no por mucho tiempo! Consigue meintras que duran!

Casa de Salud is hiring a Community Health Worker (CHW) to join a team of 3 full time CHWs. Our CHW team is leading a new and critical initiative for COVID-19 vaccine equity, Health Literacy, and Behavior Health to support and empower the community we serve through Outreach, Education, Advocating and Resource Navigation.
- Full-time position
- Must be bi-lingual fluency in Spanish and English
- Pronounced Interpersonal skill and Passion to serve our community
- Reliable transportation
- Experience in community outreach and engagement

If you are interested in applying for this role or for other positions available (including pathways navigator case manager, social worker/therapist, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, physician, or physician fellow in reimagining healthcare), please check out www.casadesaludnm.org/jobs for more information about how to apply. We'll also be posting for a few other jobs in the coming weeks, so check back. And please feel free to share this post!

We are honored to share our 2022 highlights and path forward to 2023. Please take a look, support with a donation if you can, or support in one of the other ways listed (share this link, help us find excellent clinicians, follow us on insta, twitter, and facebook, etc). Happy new year to all!

At Casa de Salud, we fiercely believe:
- That healthcare is a right.
- That anti-racist care, harm reduction, and cultural humility are critical.
- That healthcare has a responsibility to build power with community.
- That true access to care means affordable, trusted, dignified care.
- That health worker voices, in solidarity with community voices, are powerful.

Reimagine Healthcare & Healing with Casa de Salud!, organized by Casa de Salud (Photo above: Several Casa de Salud team members photographed alongs… Casa de Salud needs your support for Reimagine Healthcare & Healing with Casa de Salud!

Rachel was soooo excited to learn that she had won Casa De Saluds Vax2Win drawing for the month of April! Every month, Casa De Salud hosts a 100 dollar gift card raffle to anyone who participates by scheduling and obtaining their Covid vaccine through us. We continue to seek ways in supporting and empowering our community!

Rachel estaba tan emocionada de saber que había ganado el sorteo VacunaseYGane de Casa De Salud para el mes de abril. Todos los meses, Casa De Salud organiza una rifa de tarjetas de regalo de 100 dólares para cualquier persona que participe programando y obteniendo su vacuna Covid a través de nosotros. ¡Seguimos buscando formas de apoyar y empoderar a nuestra comunidad!

As we strive to empower our community. Our Casa family in collaboration with NMDOH are extremely excited to announce that we will once again offer Covid-19 vaccine & boosters at our Clinic! Every Thursday from 11am - 4pm. Our Community Health Workers will provide added support by assisting with walkins-in, at home covid-19 test distribution and resource navigation. Come visit us!

Mientras nos esforzamos por empoderar a nuestra comunidad. ¡Nuestra familia Casa de Salud en colaboración con NMDOH está extremadamente emocionada de anunciar que una vez más ofreceremos vacunas y refuerzos Covid-19 en nuestra Clínica! Todos los Jueves de 11a-4p. También nuestros trabajadores de salud comunitarios brindarán apoyo adicional para la distribución de pruebas caseras de covid-19 y navegación de otros recursos. ¡Ven a visitarnos!

*FREE TAX PREPARATION* File your taxes with support from AARP Tax Aides! We're hosting two upcoming events:
- Saturday, Apr 2 @ Vizionz-Sankofa
- Saturday, Apr 9 @ Homewise

💻 Register @ go.abqcf.org/taxprep
Appointments are required and space is limited. Translators will be onsite...

Casa De Salud is excited to help in as many ways as we can! We are excited to introduce our "Monthly Vaccine 100 gift card giveaway" -- We want encourage dialog with our Community Health Workers on how important it is to get vaccinated against Covid-19!

¡Queremos ayudar de tantas maneras como sea posible! ¡Nos complace anunciar nuestro sorteo mensual de tarjetas de regalo de vacunas de "$100"! ¡Queremos alentar las conversaciones con nuestros trabajadores de salud comunitarios sobre la importancia de vacunarse contra el covid-19!