PBS documentary 'HEROs for Health' highlights the plight of rural health care in New Mexico

New Mexico has 33 counties.

Thirty-two of them are classified as health underserved.

Poverty and long waits impact care.

Rural clinics and hospitals are being affected by federal cuts.

“The Land of Enchantment is in the middle of a health care crisis,” Dr. Ben Daitz, says. It was impetus for the documentary “HEROs for Health.”

Daitz and crew worked on the documentary for about a year and a half — touching every corner of New Mexico to highlight the state of rural health care in the state.

“HEROs for Health” will air at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22, on New Mexico PBS, channel 5.1. It will also be available to stream on the PBS app.

The film follows members of University of New Mexico’s Health Extension Regional Offices (HEROs) program, which works to improve community health by focusing on the social drivers of health such as housing, food, income, education and transportation for rural and underserved families in New Mexico.

Daitz says HEROs are community organizers who link their community’s health needs to UNM and other supportive resources.

Daitz, who is a filmmaker and a family practice physician at UNM Hospital, says the HEROs program aims to improve health equity and access in rural and underserved communities in New Mexico by linking local needs with university resources.

Created by UNM, the program is designed to address health disparities in rural and marginalized communities by connecting the resources of the UNM Health Sciences Center with local populations to improve health outcomes and promote health equity. HEROs focus on social determinants of health, which include factors like economic stability, education and access to health care services.

Daitz says while in production, he wanted to cover a significant portion of the state.

“There are some interesting programs across the state,” he says. “We followed Mary and Zach Ben, who live in Shiprock and are doing some innovative things with nutrition for the people on the Navajo Nation.”

The Ben family founded Bidii Baby Foods, which is an Indigenous baby food line created to increase access to traditional foods in early childhood.

Zach Ben says the mission of the company is to reconnect Indigenous families with the longstanding relationship between earth and parenting.

“We believe that there is a direct connection between nurturing the land and nurturing our children,” Zach Ben says in a statement. “By understanding how to grow traditional crops and preparing them for young children we are actively dismantling systems of oppression and rematriating Indigenous food ways.”

Daitz says he also wanted to bring food and housing insecurity into the conversation because it’s a national issue and hasn’t been reported on effectively.

“We have lots of poor students and it’s endemic,” he says. “When you have these students choosing food over education, then it immediately impacts the economy. It’s a shame.”

Daitz says the HEROs program is expanding and there are seven regional and 20 partner HEROs around the state.

“The state lost 248 physicians in the last five years,” Daitz says. “New Mexico has the highest malpractice premiums in the country. We’re an outlier. I think we need to have these conversations because health care in New Mexico is in jeopardy. Hopefully during the Legislature, we can address the shortages with medical compacts. Most states have joined these. There needs to be a change.”