County Health and Human Services outlines behavioral-health services, crisis response and a push for local psychiatric residency

Doña Ana County Health and Human Services staff briefed the commission on behavioral-health programs, crisis response and workforce initiatives, and asked for support coordinating state funding for supportive housing and for local endorsement of plans to host a psychiatric residency program with the University of New Mexico.

Jamie Michael, Director of Health and Human Services, said the department employs roughly 50–60 staff, many trained in Mental Health First Aid, and contracts with multiple community providers to deliver behavioral-health services. "One of the most impactful things that we are able to do is provide funding to providers in the community that provide direct care direct treatment services to people in the community," Michael said, noting the department’s Health Care Assistance Program underpins many contracts.

Michael highlighted the Crisis Triage Center and said the department’s largest contract element supports that service. She described school-based substance-use prevention that, after curriculum redesign tied to internal professional development, produced a 40 percent pre/post knowledge change in recent classes (up from about 7 percent prior to redesign). On overdose prevention, Michael said the county distributed almost 2,000 Narcan kits in 2024 and trained nearly 400 people.

The department supports 988 crisis-line outreach and operates an online resource-and-referral platform, Connect Doña (ConnectDonana), backed by community-health workers. Michael described coordinated efforts under the Stepping Up initiative—assisted outpatient treatment, medication for opioid use disorder, jail reentry navigation and competency diversion supports—and said a transitional supportive housing proposal will be brought to the commission with a budget revision on the next business meeting agenda.

Michael also asked for commission support for a proposed psychiatric residency sponsored by the University of New Mexico. Under the proposed model, residents would spend the first year at UNM in Albuquerque and then three subsequent years at local facilities, including outpatient rotations at La Clinica and inpatient work at Mesilla Valley Hospital. Michael asked commissioners to help demonstrate local support for the residency and for a broader graduate-medical-education consortium that might include Memorial Medical Center and other hospitals.

Commissioners raised questions about leveraging opioid-settlement funds, potential changes to local DWI funding that support about a quarter of the department workforce, and how Medicaid billing permission for in-jail services could reduce county correctional-health costs. Michael asked the board to consider support for coordinating state housing dollars, as HB2 includes a $10,000,000 housing appropriation for Las Cruces and Doña Ana County, and to consider a county resolution endorsing graduate-medical-education efforts.

Ending: Michael said staff will invite commission members to meet UNM representatives and will return with budget revisions on transitional supportive housing and an opioid settlement investment plan; the commission voiced general support for pursuing a psychiatric residency and coordinated housing funding.