About this Toolkit
Introduction to Rural and Urban Health Innovation
This 100% Toolkit is a guide for organizations and communities working to improve health and well‑being across rural and urban New Mexico. Developed by the 100% New Mexico initiative, active in counties across the state since 2019, it supports county‑level and regional capacity‑building through agency‑ and community‑driven strategies.
The Toolkit is designed for health organization leaders, public health partners, and community collaborators working to improve access to medical care and other vital services that shape health, safety, and quality of life. These include dental care, behavioral health care, safe housing, healthy food, transportation to services, and other supports that help New Mexicans of all ages survive and thrive.
How Rural Health is impacted by Urban Health Systems and Services
New Mexico’s rural residents often travel to urban centers for specialty care, hospital services, and many of the services that shape health and well‑being. Urban systems, in turn, must be fully resourced to serve their own communities as well as the surrounding regions that depend on them. The 100% New Mexico model is designed for this reality: it helps counties strengthen local services while also building connections to regional hubs, so rural and urban health innovation can move forward together rather than in separate silos.
Together, these strategies help communities respond to many of New Mexico’s most pressing and costly challenges, including chronic disease, untreated mental health conditions, substance use, nutrition‑related concerns, and the high costs and inaccessibility of healthcare and other vital services. By aligning local services with regional hubs in an integrated system of care, counties can address these costliest challenges more effectively and create conditions where residents in every community have the opportunity to be healthy, safe, and resilient.
Explore
The topics below present a capacity-building process designed to strengthen rural and urban health innovation across New Mexico. Some readers may choose to move through the first ten topics in order, while others may begin with the sections most relevant to their work.
NOTE: The hubs and courses referenced in this Toolkit are in development and will be released Fall 2026.
Introduction, Part 2
Rural and Urban Health Innovation
The work of rural and urban health innovation, including the 100% New Mexico initiative, works through the lens of the social determinants of health, recognizing that population health is shaped not only by healthcare, but also by the everyday conditions that support safety, stability, and opportunity. This Toolkit is designed to help providers and communities strengthen access to healthcare—across clinics, hospitals, school-based health centers, and community-based providers—while also improving the broader network of services that residents of all ages need to survive and thrive.
Through data tools, solutions hubs, workforce and job-training strategies, courses, funding resources, and technical assistance, the 100% model helps communities move from identifying needs to planning, action, and evaluation. Its purpose is to support practical, systems-level innovation that can be adapted across counties, regions, and partnerships.
For new rural and urban health innovators and current 100% New Mexico initiative participants, the Toolkit offers a clear guide to strengthening local work. For public and private partners investing in rural and urban health innovation, it also shows that New Mexico already has a tested, adaptable model that can help connect county-level action to broader statewide rural and urban health goals.
Building on New Mexico's current infrastructure
New Mexico's just over two million residents are already served by a web of public and private health and social systems, supported by state and local governments. These include state departments and agencies that fund public health clinics, school‑based health centers, hospitals and clinics, and schools that educate the healthcare and human‑services workforce.
Alongside healthcare, government partners support a wide range of services linked to the social determinants of health—housing, food and nutrition programs, transportation, child and family supports, and education and workforce initiatives. The work of rural and urban health transformation is to identify strengths in this statewide system, understand where residents still face gaps, and build on what is already in place so that services work together for communities.
Technology's Impact on Rural and Urban Health
Rapidly evolving data and AI tools can now scan for services, check them against agreed criteria, help flag cost barriers, and update directories as information changes. They can also support online evaluation and feedback processes, so communities can see which services residents actually use and trust, keeping rural and urban service maps current and actionable. Ultimately, innovation and transformation requires a thoughtful blending of human innovation and technology, with providers and communities guiding how these tools are used.
How to use the Toolkit
- Identify your goals, scope, and scale of transformation. Clarify what you want to change, which services and systems are in play, and whether your work is focused on a community, city, county, region, or state.
- Review the ten sections to get an overview. Skim each tool to see the key concepts, activities, models, and tools available, and note which ones align most closely with your current rural and urban health priorities.
- Begin or refine your strategic plan. With a comprehensive view of rural and urban innovation, select the strategies and tools that fit your context and use them to guide your next steps in crafting seamless local system of support.
This Toolkit is an invitation to partnership, offering the flexible 100% New Mexico initiative model that rural and urban innovation efforts can adapt to strengthen health and well‑being in communities.
For more information about the Toolkit, contact 100% New Mexico initiative co-developer, Dr Dominic Cappello cappello@nmsu.edu.