The University of New Mexico (UNM) Health Sciences Center is excited to announce the launch of the New Mexico Palliative Care ECHO Program, a vital initiative designed to enhance care for individuals in New Mexico facing serious illnesses and end-of-life situations. This innovative program, leveraging the successful Project ECHO model, aims to equip healthcare providers across the state with the expertise needed to deliver high-quality palliative care within their own communities.
Lisa Marr, MD
Dr. Lisa Marr, Chief of the UNM Division of Palliative Medicine, along with associate professor Dr. Chris Piromalli, is leading this crucial program. Dr. Marr emphasizes the pressing need for palliative care expertise throughout New Mexico, stating, “The need for palliative care expertise, across New Mexico, is staggering. Through the New Mexico Palliative Care ECHO Program, we hope to improve access and support for primary palliative care throughout the state.”
Palliative care is specialized medical care focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of serious illnesses, ultimately improving the quality of life for both the patient and their family. Despite its importance, access to palliative care in New Mexico is critically low. The Center to Advance Palliative Care has given New Mexico a grade of “D” for palliative care access, highlighting the urgent need for improvement.
The New Mexico Palliative Care ECHO Program is strategically designed to address this gap. By utilizing Project ECHO’s proven tele-mentoring model, the program will connect specialists at UNM with healthcare providers in rural and underserved areas of New Mexico. This model empowers local practitioners to gain expert knowledge and best practices in palliative medicine without leaving their communities, effectively building local capacity and strengthening healthcare systems across the state.
Participants in the program will benefit from the guidance of an interdisciplinary team of experts, including physicians, advanced practice providers, pharmacists, social workers, and chaplains. The curriculum will cover a comprehensive range of essential topics in palliative care, such as effective pain management strategies, complex symptom management, care coordination techniques, addressing spiritual and existential suffering, and enhancing communication skills with patients and families. Integrative approaches to care will also be explored.
Dr. Sanjeev Arora, founder and director of Project ECHO, underscores the program’s significance: “The people of New Mexico deserve to have access to the best practice care to make them and their loved ones comfortable in the late stages of their life. We are very proud to be using ECHO to help health care workers across the state learn and develop the skills they need to help their patients and communities.”
The New Mexico Palliative Care ECHO Program warmly welcomes a diverse range of healthcare professionals, including physicians, nurses, advanced practice providers, social workers, community health workers, chaplains, and pharmacists. Interested individuals are encouraged to register online at no cost to participate in this transformative initiative and contribute to improving palliative care access throughout New Mexico. Continuing education credits will be available for various disciplines.
This program represents UNM Health Sciences Center’s ongoing commitment to serving the diverse population of New Mexico and ensuring access to quality, cutting-edge healthcare for all New Mexicans, regardless of location. Project ECHO, celebrating 20 years of knowledge dissemination, continues to empower local providers and improve well-being in communities around the globe.
