In 2015, Grant County selected Hidalgo Medical Services (HMS) as the service provider to provide substance misuse treatment in Grant County. HMS worked closely with the county to open the newly constructed Tu Casa facility. At the time, Dan Otero, HMS CEO, and Dr. Neal Bowen, HMS CMHO, worked with other community and state leaders to attain licensure to become a Community Mental Health Clinic (CMHC). Tu Casa opened its doors to provide outpatient behavioral health treatment as a CMHC. Later, HMS attained licensure to provide Crisis Triage Center (CTC) at the same facility. Once the state issued reimbursement rates to HMS and appropriate staffing levels were achieved, Tu Casa CTC opened its doors to provide crisis stabilization treatment for anyone experiencing a behavioral health crisis for up to 23 hours a day, seven days a week. The CTC was opened at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic; unfortunately, due to our inability to maintain the daily patient projections for sustainability, the CTC lost over $70,000 a month for two consecutive months. HMS had to make the difficult decision to close the CTC services temporarily.

Since this closure, HMS has participated in the state-sponsored CTC Learning Collaborative. This included working with the Behavioral Health Services Division (BHSD) and the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) along with other agencies around the state which are at different levels of operation within this service licensure level. This has allowed the state to recognize that the CTC model (as per the current regulations) is not sustainable in our rural and frontier communities. This Learning Collaborative led the state to create a modified model of the CTC called the Community Calming Center (CCC), which is designed to be sustainable in smaller communities.

"HMS is excited to move to this new model considering the significant need for these critical services in our community," stated Dr. Teresa Arizaga, HMS Chief Behavioral Health Officer. The final two steps to open these services include an official notification from HSD to HMS on the reimbursement rates for the CCC (still pending) and the hiring of needed healthcare professionals to provide services. The CCC, once operational, will provide crisis stabilization services 23 hours a day, seven days a week.

Over the last couple of years, HMS and its community partners have also sought and received funding from the legislature for $1.6 million to support the planning, designing, constructing, and operations of a much-needed 14-day crisis stabilization unit which is planned to be located within the current Tu Casa facility. "HMS extends its gratitude to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, Lt. Governor Howie Morales, local legislators Senator Siah Correa Hemphill and Representative Luis Terrazas, County Manager Charlene Webb, the Grant County Commissioners, local healthcare advocate Susie Trujillo, the Tu Casa Advisory Board, and many other community leaders, for their continued support to improve access to behavioral healthcare services," stated Dr. Dan Otero, HMS CEO.

Having the CCC and the 14-day stabilization unit in place will allow HMS to provide the complete spectrum of crisis stabilization services to anyone experiencing a substance use crisis or mental health crisis. Currently, Tu Casa continues to provide outpatient behavioral health services, including substance misuse assessment and treatment, mental health assessment and therapy, psychiatric medication management, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), and crisis intervention during our regular working hours of operation. HMS also works with a 24-hour crisis line to provide services to people in crisis after hours as we work towards a fully functional CCC and 14-day crisis stabilization unit. We encourage anyone to utilize 988 if one is experiencing or knows someone experiencing any behavioral health crisis.

Hidalgo Medical Services is a Federally Qualified Health Center 330 Grantee that provides comprehensive medical, behavioral health, dental, family support, and senior services in Hidalgo and Grant Counties. For more information visit www.hms-nm.org or call 800-575-1HMS.