The Providers

Much of the population of rural America does not have adequate access to health care. The El Centro Family Health system in northern New Mexico covers 22,000 square miles and has a chronic shortage of healthcare providers. Filmed over the course of three years, “The Providers” follows three practitioners in the El Centro system in their daily work and private lives. A primary care physician treats her patients stricken by the opioid epidemic with common sense and grace. A nurse practitioner provides home care visits infused with consideration and kind regard that keep his patients alive while his own home life suffers. A native New Mexican, rooted in his community as a healthcare administrator, battles personal demons to keep his clinic open and create opportunities for those who are willing to remain and give back as he has done. These three stories put a human and humane face on the health care crisis facing the United States today.