New Mexico Libraries Expand Telehealth Access with Soundproof Booths

In some parts of New Mexico, residents must drive two hours or more to reach the closest health care provider. In other words, they live in “health deserts,” explains Bo Ford, digital equity program manager in the broadband department of the New Mexico State Library.

Approximately 24.7% of the state’s residents lived in rural areas in 2023 according to America’s Health Rankings. The trek to access in-person care can be not only long but also hazardous.

“Our roads can be dangerous,” Ford said. “A lot of these small towns have these one lane roads. Then, our New Mexico wind can be really challenging. Putting somebody in that type of danger...it’s really unnecessary.”

Some residents of rural areas no longer need to undertake lengthy and risky journeys to see a health care provider. During the past year, the State Library and the University of New Mexico (UNM) Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center have partnered with seven libraries across the state to construct and install sound-dampening booths that patrons can use for telehealth appointments.

Taking Local Libraries into the Future with Telehealth

The State Library and UNM obtained funding for this initiative via a grant for about $800,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Distance Learning and Telemedicine program. They selected these pilot libraries throughout New Mexico based on criteria such as strong local leadership, broadband challenges and limited access to health care in the communities they serve, according to a one-pager Ford created to promote the project.

• Aztec Public Library
• Mescalero Community Library
• Octavia Fellin Public Library
• Fort Sumner Public Library
• Bayard Public Library
• Columbus Public Library
• Hobbs Public Library

The booths cost approximately $12,000 each and are 7 feet wide by 7 feet long and 10 feet tall. Equipped with computers and internet access, these private spaces offer library patrons a place to attend telehealth appointments as well as pursue other activities, such as recording podcasts and completing homework assignments, Ford explains.

“It’s a place where you can have privacy and confidentiality,” he said.

So far, the project has gone well and shown signs of sustainability. Ford notes that the current project team is open to potential partnerships with health care providers, although they haven’t formed any such alliances at this time.

“A lot of partnerships are evolving, including with our department of health,” he said.

The New Mexico initiative is part of a larger trend: Libraries elsewhere in the nation have pursued similar projects. For example, the 2023 AARP Community Challenge funded telehealth booths to expand access to care through the Southern Oklahoma Library System.

Plans for Continued Care Access Expansion

The goal is to eventually place 14 telehealth booths in libraries across New Mexico, further extending access to care for residents in rural areas, according to the one-pager.

At this point, about a year in, Ford explains the project is at the evaluation stage, with meetings held once per month to assess data from the seven pilot libraries. So far, the feedback from libraries and patrons has been positive.

“It’s a big help,” Ford said. “It’s a game changer for some places.”

The project has requested additional funding from the approximately $211 million New Mexico was recently awarded for fiscal year 2026 through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Rural Health Transformation Program. That financial support could fuel additional improvements in health care access throughout the state.

“This isn’t a one-off thing,” Ford said. “It's part of the general purpose of the library: promoting access to information. We want to make sure that our libraries are equipped to share information and provide resources. Done the right way, we can partner with the department of health and community health workers . . . we’re doing our best.”