New Mexico Pharmacists Association News & Resources

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

Lex Garcia — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 18:17:56 GMT

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and make sure people know where to turn when they or someone they care about needs support.

This is especially important within our own profession. Research highlighted by APhA found a suicide rate among U.S. pharmacists of approximately 20 per 100,000, compared with 12 per 100,000 in the general population.

September 20 is Pharmacy Workforce Suicide Awareness Day, recognized by pharmacy organizations across the country to bring attention to the mental health and well-being of pharmacists, student pharmacists, pharmacy residents, and pharmacy technicians.

Whether you are looking for support for yourself, concerned about a colleague, or simply want to be better prepared to recognize and respond to someone in crisis, we encourage our pharmacy community to use and share the resources below.

Immediate Crisis Support

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text 988 for free, confidential crisis support.

Crisis Text Line
Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.

Suicide Prevention & Mental Health Resources

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
Education about mental health and suicide prevention, resources for those affected by suicide, and advocacy and support programs.
https://afsp.org/

CDC Suicide Prevention Resources
Suicide prevention information, data and statistics, communication resources, and tools for public health professionals.
https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Free resources covering suicide warning signs, frequently asked questions, prevention, and steps you can take to help someone who may be struggling.
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/suicide-prevention

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
Mental health education, crisis resources, and resources for Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.
https://www.nami.org/

Learn How to Help

Mental Health First Aid
Training designed to help participants recognize and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges and connect someone with appropriate support.
https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/

QPR: Question, Persuade, Refer
QPR teaches three practical steps anyone can learn to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and help connect someone with support.
https://qprinstitute.com/

Our pharmacy community takes care of people every day.
This month is also a reminder that we have to take care of each other.

If you are struggling, please reach out. If you're worried about a colleague, check in. A conversation, a connection, or simply reminding someone that support is available can matter.

And a reminder: NMPhA’s
Resilience Rx CE is available for FREE
to support the well-being and resilience of our pharmacy workforce.

Updated NMDOH Statewide Standing Orders for Pharmacists

Lex Garcia — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 18:07:15 GMT

The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) has updated its Statewide Standing Orders for Registered Pharmacists under Chief Medical Officer Miranda Durham, MD.

The updated standing orders include a new OTC barrier method standing order, and NMDOH has also created a new prescription-style reference sheet summarizing the active statewide standing orders available to pharmacists.

The current statewide standing orders include emergency contraception, OTC barrier methods for contraception, home pregnancy tests, progestin-only oral contraceptives, naloxone, COVID-19 home tests, and 2026–2027 COVID-19 vaccines.

Download the current NMDOH Statewide Standing Orders Rx Sheet below.

For the most current standing orders and additional information, visit the NMDOH Statewide Standing Orders webpage:
https://www.nmhealth.org/about/phd/otcso/

Current Rx sheet is valid through August 30, 2027, unless withdrawn by NMDOH

OTC-Statewide-StandingOrders-Rx-Sheet-2026-EN.pdf

Meet Our Incoming President-Elect: Trey Howard

Lex Garcia — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:29:27 GMT

The New Mexico Pharmacists Association is pleased to welcome Robert Wayne "Trey" Howard as our incoming President-Elect.

Trey is an independent pharmacist, entrepreneur, and passionate advocate for community pharmacy whose leadership reflects a deep commitment to strengthening the profession and supporting pharmacists across New Mexico.

With years of experience building and growing pharmacy operations from the ground up, Trey understands firsthand both the challenges and opportunities facing today's pharmacists. His career has been defined by innovation, operational excellence, and a willingness to embrace new ideas that improve patient care while ensuring pharmacies remain sustainable and successful.

Throughout his career, Trey has demonstrated a talent for optimizing workflows, implementing efficient systems, and helping organizations adapt to an evolving healthcare landscape. His practical experience managing independent pharmacy operations provides valuable perspective as NMPhA continues its work to advance the profession, advocate for pharmacists, and improve access to care for New Mexicans.

Beyond his operational expertise, Trey is known for his collaborative leadership style and solutions-oriented mindset. He believes that by working together, pharmacists can continue expanding their impact as trusted healthcare providers while navigating the rapidly changing healthcare environment.

As President-Elect, Trey will work alongside the Executive Council and Board of Directors to help shape the Association's strategic direction and prepare to lead NMPhA in the years ahead.

Please join us in congratulating Trey on his election. We look forward to his leadership and the contributions he will make to both our Association and the pharmacy profession throughout New Mexico.

Welcome, Trey!

Dr. Lex Garcia, NMPhA's New Executive Director

Lex Garcia — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:14:58 GMT

New Mexicans to Know: Dr. Lex Garcia takes over executive directorship at NMPhA

By Wende Schwingendorf – Managing Editor, Albuquerque Business First
January 7, 2025

Dr. Alexandra “Lex” Garcia has some big shoes to fill. As the new executive director of the New Mexico Pharmacists Association, she takes over from her predecessor, who held the post for 34 years.

She is the first executive director in the organization's 96 year history, whose primary mission is to advance, protect, and promote high-quality pharmacist-provided patient-centered care in New Mexico, who has her Doctor of Pharmacy degree, and the first woman to hold the post.

“My predecessor, Dale Tinker, has laid an incredible foundation over the last three decades. I am very excited to step into this role to expand upon that strong foundation with a new perspective and bring along my experience of being a practicing pharmacist. I'm hoping to bring a boots-on-the-ground approach to the organization and continue to further our impact throughout the state.”

Garcia is a 13th-generation New Mexican from Peñasco. She received her undergraduate degree from New Mexico State University and her doctorate from the University of New Mexico. She says she “has healthcare in her blood” and is the granddaughter of Mardoqueo Chacon, the founding member of El Centro Family Health, a group of health clinics in the northern part of the state. It was his lifetime of service to expanding access to care in rural New Mexico that first inspired her to enter the profession.

Following graduation, she went into retail pharmacy, where she learned the importance of cultivating relationships with her patients. She then joined a telehealth startup, which got her interested in healthcare innovation and pharmacy regulations. Her interest in advocacy work piqued when she witnessed a friend who successfully changed access to prosthetic and orthotic coverage in New Mexico by working with the state legislature. These combined experiences fuel her passion for healthcare reform.

Albuquerque Business First recently visited with Garcia to learn about how she discovered advocacy work, her new role at the NMPhA, and what lies ahead.

Albuquerque Business First:

Talk a little bit about some of the things you have going right now, not just legislatively but within the profession.

Dr. Lex Garcia: One thing I’m excited about is a work group we've established between NMPhA, the UNM College of Pharmacy, the Board of Pharmacy, state health systems pharmacists, federal pharmacists, and other stakeholders in order to find common ground within our profession and go into our advocacy work aligned and stronger together.

The NMPhA will be speaking in support of several bills impacting pharmacists and pharmacies. More than 90% of pharmacists that graduate from UNM stay and practice in New Mexico; this exemplifies how dedicated our pharmacists are to serving their communities.

What we are seeing is that the monopolistic practices of pharmacy benefit management (PBM), combined with low reimbursement rates, are driving our pharmacies out of business and leaving New Mexicans without a place to get their medication.

Albuquerque Business First:

What are some of the national trends you’re seeing now?

Dr. Lex Garcia: What we’re focusing on now is utilizing pharmacists’ abilities to their full scope. The curriculum of pharmacy is robust. Any pharmacist in practice now either has a Doctor of Pharmacy degree or at least 20 years of experience, and what we’re starting to see is that we’re not taking full advantage of the training, knowledge, and skills of our pharmacists.

New Mexico led the charge on pharmacists’ prescriptive authority. In 1993, the Legislature passed the pharmacist clinician certification, which allowed pharmacists to get additional hands-on training in order to prescribe in our state. For example, a pharmacist can take this certification along with 300 additional patient encounters, establish a protocol with a physician, and they are then able to treat a patient in the same way a nurse practitioner or physician assistant would.

I'd love to see a future where our pharmacists, our medication experts, will be able to help expand access to care in New Mexico by prescribing laboratory tests and medications. Pharmacist prescribing not only reduces the time you have to wait to get an appointment with a provider, but lightens the load for the entire healthcare system.

Albuquerque Business First:

Is there anything else important that you’d like to talk about?

Dr. Lex Garcia: I'm excited about the work we are doing to give pharmacists the ability to treat common conditions. For example, if someone tests positive for COVID, if trained to do so, their pharmacist can prescribe medication on the spot rather than requiring the additional step of getting a prescription from their doctor or an urgent care clinic.

We recently worked with the Medical Board to set up a protocol for uncomplicated urinary tract infections that can be treated directly by a pharmacist.

A national statistic shows that 88% of Americans live within five miles of a pharmacy, highlighting the critical role that pharmacists play in our communities. By empowering pharmacists, we can strengthen the trust and relationships they build with patients, enabling them to go beyond dispensing medications to prescribing and managing care.

Welcome to the new NMPhA website!

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:47:49 GMT

We have been working hard since last year to update our branding to reflect the dynamism of our industry and our growing organization. This new site is built with our members in mind, so please explore the new site, including the membership directory and pages on the other side of the membership login.