Public Information Officers representing several organizations within Doña Ana County have been assembled within a Joint Information Center (JIC) to address ongoing community concerns as information and updates to the COVID-19, or Coronavirus pandemic, continue to develop.
The group will conference on a regular basis to address the most current information and directives at the state level, and assess how they will affect Doña Ana County residents. Information, as it relates to the public, will be disseminated through traditional media channels. Kelly Jameson, Public Information Office for Las Cruces Public Schools, has been appointed as the JIC Director and will be the point of contact for media inquiries related to the local COVID-19 response.
Established by the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA, JICs are established to centralize all communication where personnel with public information responsibilities perform critical emergency information functions, crisis communications and public affairs functions.
Organizations represented within the JIC include the New Mexico Department of Health, City of Las Cruces, Doña Ana County, the City of Anthony, the City of Sunland Park, the Town of Mesilla, the Village of Hatch, U.S. Border Patrol, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces Public Schools, Gadsden Public Schools, Hatch Public Schools, Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility, New Mexico Department of Health, MountainView Regional Medical Center and Memorial Medical Center.
The public can go to www.las-cruces.org for current information on the local response to the COVID-19 crisis.