Doña Ana County reopens Crisis Triage Center; county and state officials, providers celebrate ribbon cutting

Doña Ana County held a ribbon-cutting Jan. 17 to mark the reopening of its Crisis Triage Center, a 24-hour facility intended to provide immediate care for adults 18 and older experiencing mental health or substance-use crises.

The ceremony brought together county leaders, state officials and providers. Jamie Michael, director of the Health and Human Services department for Doña Ana County Government, opened the event and thanked staff and community partners. Representative Doreen Gallegos credited recent legislation she carried for allowing the center to reopen, and Annabel Martinez, deputy director for stakeholder collaboration at the New Mexico Health Care Authority’s Behavioral Health Services Division, highlighted the center’s role as an extension of the state 988 crisis line.

The center will be operated by Summit Behavioral Healthcare and staffed with behavioral-health and medical personnel to provide integrated care. Summit staff named at the ceremony included a psychiatric medical director identified as Dr. Sanger, psychiatric nurse practitioner Michelle Erdogan, and primary-care provider Jaime Sanchez of Elite Primary Care. Summit and county speakers said the facility will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year and provide a safe, short-term place for people in crisis and connections to follow-up services.

“Sometimes when you don’t get it right the first time, you gotta go back and do it the second time,” Representative Doreen Gallegos said, describing adjustments to the enabling legislation that she said better matched community needs. Annabel Martinez noted the center’s connection to the statewide 988 system, saying the county had more than 3,000 connections to the 988 line since the state launched that service and that the Crisis Triage Center would be an important local follow-up resource: “having a crisis ... center is so important to have that extension of the support for the community.”

Sandy Manuel of Summit Behavioral Healthcare described the team that will run the center and thanked county and state partners, peers and first responders for their roles in reopening the facility. Javier Coneco, a community member who said he had previously received services and later employment through local programs, gave a prayer and brief remarks at the ceremony, saying the center had been “important” to his recovery.

Local business and civic groups joined the celebration. The Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce presented proclamations supporting the reopening and partnership with Summit Behavioral Healthcare.

Organizers emphasized the center’s role in diverting people in crisis from emergency departments and providing on-site psychiatric assessment, nursing care and peer support. Summit staff listed clinicians and support positions working at the center, including clinicians, nurses, peer-support specialists and a discharge coordinator to link guests to post-visit care.

The ribbon-cutting proceeded after remarks and prayers; organizers invited attendees to tour the facility and celebrate with refreshments. No formal votes or policy actions were taken at the ceremony.

The county and Summit officials said they expect the center to accept adults 18 and older and to coordinate with first responders and state behavioral-health resources as caseloads require.