Administrative Services BureauReport Abuse, Neglect & Exploitation & Other Reported Incidents and Facility Complaints to:
Division of Health Improvement
INCIDENT MANAGEMENT BUREAU
Toll Free: (800) 584-6057
Phone: (505) 476-9027
FAX: (800) 752-8649
Email Incident Management
Report Complaints Online:
Online Incident Report
Health Facility Licensing & Certification
How to License a Health Care Facility in New Mexico
While the following instructions are generally applicable for any type of facility, different regulations apply to different facility types.
Please obtain and read a copy of the appropriate regulation set for your facility type.
The procedure for initial licensure is as follows:
- To request the Application Packet submit a Letter of Intent describing the type of facility you plan to open, please include your mailing address.
Fax the Letter of Intent to (505) 476-9053, Attn: QA Supervisor. If you need further assistance in obtaining an Application Packet please call (505) 476-9025. - When you are ready to begin your project, write a Program Narrative for your facility, including:
a description of the characteristics of the population to be served,
a description of the services and care to be provided,
a description of anticipated contract services you will use. - Submit the Program Narrative and completed Application Packet and fee required to the Santa Fe Office. Be sure to include the name and telephone number of the person to contact if any further information is needed. Send this information to:
The Quality Assurance Supervisor
Survey Processing Section
Health Facility Licensing and Certification
2040 S. Pacheco St., Second Floor, Room 413
Santa Fe, NM 87505
NOTE: Except for Home Health Agencies, ESRD and Adult Residential Facility with three or fewer individuals, Life Safety Codes apply to all other facility types. - Submit annotated Policy and Procedure manuals to your District Office (see below).
- Early in your planning phase, and prior to beginning any construction, contact the Licensing and Certification Bureau Architect in Santa Fe at (505) 476-9041 to discuss your project and your anticipated opening date. Arrange to provide the Architect with floor plans/blueprints of your building for approval. The Architect may also need copies of your Certificate of Occupancy, local Fire Department Inspection, and (if applicable) EID inspection, prior to authorizing the Life Safety Code inspection. The Life Safety Code inspection is required before a Temporary License can be issued.
- If your facility will handle drugs, Board of Pharmacy approval may be required prior to licensure; you can contact the Board at: (505) 841-9102.
- After your Application Packet, Policy and Procedure Manual and Program Narrative have been approved, an on-site Life Safety Code visit will be scheduled to determine correction of any building deficiencies noted in the Architect's plan review (if one was required), and to determine your readiness to accept individuals into your facility. At the time of your survey, you must have available PPD Certificates or chest X-rays results, for all staff who have any resident contact, and current licenses for all staff who are required to be licensed by the State of New Mexico. Upon successful completion of this Life Safety Code visit, you will be issued a Temporary License. You may then begin providing services.
- When your facility is in full operation, and has served a sufficient number of residents to implement your full range of services, you must make a written request to the District Office for the initial survey.
- Upon successful completion of your initial survey, an annual license will be issued. Thereafter, you are responsible for notifying this Bureau in a timely manner of any changes in program, location or administration and if you are subject to Life Safety Code requirements, any alterations to your facility.
- All Application Packets have step by step instructions. If you have any questions about the licensure procedure, please contact the Health Facility Licensing and Certification office nearest you.
Note: The Application, P & P and Plan review are good for a one-year period, which begins from the date of receipt of Application fee. At the end of the one-year period, the provider is required to submit a new application and begin the process from the start. If the providers need to begin the process over, this will push their survey placement to the end of the list.
