Here to help
Retta Ward on N.M. health
As a child, Retta Ward thought that she might grow up and become a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall in New York, or a concert pianist on the world stage. Instead, the girl who was raised in the small southeast New Mexico town of Hagerman went on to a career in corporate America, public education and public health before her current appointment as New Mexico’s Secretary of Health in January.
The Department of Health was in turmoil when Ward, 59, replaced Catherine Torres, a Las Cruces pediatrician who says she stepped down to spend more time with her family. Torres’ critics, however, say she lacked experience to run the department, and Torres was ultimately blamed for problems in the Developmental Disabilities Supports Division waiver program.
Gov. Susana Martinez cited Ward’s understanding of New Mexico’s public health needs when she asked Ward to shift from head of the state’s Aging and Long-Term Services Department.
Ward says one her goals is to make the citizens of New Mexico among “the healthiest in the country” — no easy feat in a state notorious for high rates of obesity, diabetes, alcoholism, drug abuse, suicide, teen pregnancy and lack of health insurance.
“We need to change our expectations,” she says. “We’ve become accustomed to being ranked high on the bad lists and low on the good lists, but when people change their beliefs they can change outcomes. Cognitive research shows that we perform at the level of our beliefs, not the level of our potential.”
Sage magazine caught up with Ward, who shared insights about what motivates her and how she intends to change New Mexico’s health outcomes for the better.
What are your fondest recollections about growing up in Hagerman?
It was a small farming and ranching town of about 1,000 people and the self-proclaimed alfalfa capital of the world. People grew cotton and chile, and there was some dairy and sheep raising.
When someone died, there was an outpouring of support and food, and people opened their doors for out-of-town visitors who needed a place to stay. If you needed childcare in the afternoon, your neighbors were happy to help. A friend of mine, Maxine Dennis, is in her late 70s and still works fulltime while continuing to informally provide free eldercare services for her neighbors.
What did you do for fun?
We’d go to Roswell, that was the big city for us. Eating at the Furr’s Cafeteria there was a big Sunday afternoon.