On August 4, 2025, Hidalgo Medical Services (HMS) provided notification to the Grant County Manager and Commissioners that they are terminating the Tu Casa agreement entered into in 2017.
Although HMS will no longer provide services at the Tu Casa facility, HMS will continue providing the same services at its other 12 clinic locations for the various behavioral health outpatient services that HMS has effectively delivered since opening in 2018. These services include substance use treatment, comprehensive community support, care coordination, crisis intervention, group therapy, medication-assisted treatment, neuropsychological testing, outpatient counseling, peer support services, psychiatric medication management, psychosocial rehabilitation, and supportive housing are offered by the respected and professional behavioral team of over 22 licensed clinicians.
This decision to terminate the Tu Casa agreement was a difficult one and was made necessary by several factors, primarily the County Commissioners' recent public statements regarding considerations made for Tu Casa service provider options, voiced dissatisfaction with current services, and the recently released vote of no confidence. The "Letter of No Confidence" issued by the County Commission on July 10, 2025, specifically mentioned Tu Casa and accused HMS of mismanagement and failing to provide its patients with the care they need, which we strongly dispute. Due to these public comments and statements, the HMS Board of Directors has decided to terminate the agreement with Grant County. This vote of no confidence and the County Government's public statements disparaging a healthcare provider have real operational and financial consequences.
HMS was selected by Grant County as the service provider in 2015, before the design and building of the Tu Casa facility. HMS has provided substance misuse and behavioral health outpatient services to approximately 190 individuals and 460 clinical visits a month through 2024 at the Tu Casa facility since 2018. In 2025, the number of individuals seeking services at Tu Casa is 160 per month, on average.
Following the Crisis Triage Center (CTC) regulations being promulgated by the state originally in 2015 and amended in 2018, HMS opened and operated the 23-hour CTC in late 2020, during the COVID pandemic. CTC services were provided for two months, but HMS was required to close after two months due to the substantial financial losses incurred due to low utilization of services.
The state convened a special work group, Crisis Triage Center Learning Community, in 2021 to advocate for new regulations that would support the successful operations of crisis triage center services in rural New Mexico. Former Chief Behavioral Health Officer, Dr. Teresa Arizaga, participated in this work group until her departure from HMS in June of this year. These new regulations were promulgated and went into effect on July 1, 2024.
HMS, Grant County, the Town of Silver City, CHI-PHI, and State agencies, have partnered for many years to develop and advocate for funding, models of care to support rural substance misuse and crisis services, through general ongoing meetings, legislative advocacy, the Grant County Sanctioned Tu Casa Advisory Board, and most recently the Grant County Crisis Response Planning Committee.
HMS is a Federally Qualified Health Center 330 Grantee under 42 USC 245b and a deemed Public Health Service Employee under 42 USC 233(g)-(n).
