Telehealth Services for Pregnant Women in Northeastern New Mexico
The United States continues to face a growing shortage of gynecologists and obstetricians. In 2018 the Association of American Medical Colleges published that half of the counties in the U.S. lack a single OBGYN. This means that pregnant women often have to face long treks for care during pregnancy and if you live in rural New Mexico, you might have to travel over 3-hours to access pregnancy-related services.
The good news is that there have been substantial improvements when it comes to telehealth services for pregnant women and ROAMS is helping to bring telehealth services to pregnant women in Northeastern New Mexico. If you are pregnant and live in Colfax, Harding, Mora, Taos, or Union county you may have access to the following telehealth services.
Learn more about Telehealth:
Telehealth OB Appointments For Pregnant Women
Regular check-ins with your OBGYN or primary care practitioner are very important during your pregnancy, but oftentimes the commute to your care provider’s office can be long and might discourage you from making it to your appointment.
If you live in Union County New Mexico, you can have an Telehealth-OB appointment from the Union County General Hospital Health Clinic in Clayton. The Clayton Health Clinic provides Tele-OB appointments to connect you with an OBGYN provider at Miners Colfax Medical Center in Raton.
Maternal-Fetal Medicine Telehealth Appointments
If you have a high-risk pregnancy, it is likely that you will need to have bi-weekly or monthly appointments and Ultrasounds with a Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) specialist located in Santa Fe or Albuquerque. Instead of making the 3-8 hours round trip drive to see the MFM, you now have the same high quality access and Ultrasounds via Telehealth. Tele-MFM visits including your high quality Ultrasounds are available from Miners Colfax Medical Center (MCMC) in Raton, and Women’s Health Institute (WHI) in Taos with the MFM at Pinon Perinatal.
Home Telehealth Kits
Home Telehealth Kits that include: a Tablet, a Plus Oximeter, Blood Pressure Cuff, Blood Glucose Meter, Scale and Fetal Heart Monitor are available to you at no charge. You can use this kit for self monitoring at home and for high quality Home to OB Telehealth appointments from the comfort of your home. Your OB provider will prescribe the free kit. It is most often used by pregnant women living in rural areas where OB care is not easily accessible.
Our Home Telehealth service also includes free access to Educational Pathways for: Normal Pregnancy, Postpartum, Diabetic Pregnancy, and High Blood Pressure Pregnancy. Educational videos and information is texted to you over time during the pre and post natal period. Contact your OB provider or Family Navigator to enroll.