Regional mental health facility being studied

A feasibility study to construct a regional mental health facility that would include Quay County in its coverage area is underway by a Denver-based consulting firm.

Initium Health, the consultant, stated in a Feb. 2 news release it “will assess gaps in behavioral health services and will provide recommendations for the construction of a regional facility to fill those gaps.”

The release stated it is working with local healthcare providers, local officials, military representatives, fire responders, schools and others “to develop a broad understanding of the behavioral health needs of the region.”

Curry County government posted Initium’s news release on social media and its website last week. The release states the study involves the cities of Clovis and Portales and the counties of Quay, Curry, Roosevelt and De Baca.

The study began in mid-January and is expected to be finished by April 30. Residents are welcome to give their views on mental health and substance-abuse disorder needs by emailing Kate Bailey, senior consultant at Initium, at [email protected].

The Quay County Commission in March 2021 approved a memorandum of agreement to partly pay for the study. Its share of the $60,000 cost was 4%, or $2,400.

The action occurred about the time Quay County manager Richard Primrose retired and county emergency manager Daniel Zamora took over his post.

Primrose at the time supported the feasibility study, and Zamora concurs.

“We have a huge need in Quay County and this area,” Zamora said in a phone interview last week. “The only (mental) hospital in this area is the one in Las Vegas. I think everyone agrees it’s a struggle to get folks that need help the help they need because of the limited capacity they have up there. It’s the only state hospital in the entire state of New Mexico. This would help relieve some of that.”

Initium Health noted that many residents suffering from mental health of substance-abuse issues have a difficult time receiving the care they need, citing this data:

• Residents must travel 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours or more to receive inpatient mental health care.

• In fall 2021, 21.6% of New Mexico adults experienced symptoms of anxiety and/or depression and expressed an unmet need for counseling or therapy, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

• Emergency services respond to hundreds of calls each year for people experiencing a mental health crisis. This places a large burden on police and emergency services and does not provide the care that is needed for an individual in crisis.

The number of deaths by suicide in Quay County jumped from one in 2019 to seven in 2020, the most recent data available.

Many New Mexico officials said they saw more strain on mental-health resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. But data indicate Quay County saw elevated rates of suicide deaths years before.

The Quay County Health Council, in response to the jump in suicide attempts and deaths, concentrated more of its efforts on suicide prevention, including the distribution of free gun locks. Firearms are used the most during suicide attempts.

Quay County Assessor Janie Hoffman in late 2020 also launched a “Make the Call; Don’t Leave Us Behind” suicide-prevention campaign after she estimated 10 deaths by suicide had occurred that year in the county.

The Curry County Commission last week heard from James Corbett, a principal with Initium, on the company’s plans for the study.

Subjects will include the need for the facility, costs of land and construction, recruitment of staff, operational costs, a business plan and potential grant funding.

Curry County District 1 Commissioner Robert Sandoval asked about the cost of the facility. County Manager Lance Pyle said the feasibility study would be followed by explorations of total cost and funding sources.

Steve Hansen of the Eastern New Mexico News contributed to this report.