Health council working group readies recommendations for community health action center; local early‑childhood group launches resource guide

The Los Alamos County Health Council's working group on a community health action center plans one more meeting to finalize recommendations and will present them to the Health Council at its Aug. 2 meeting, members said.

Karen (Los Alamos Early Childhood Collaboration representative) noted a recent name change for the local early‑childhood network: “Baby Nut did change its name to the Los Alamos Early Childhood Collaboration in March,” she said. The group described maintaining a provider directory and launching a new parent resource guide for prenatal through age‑5 services.

The working group described its task as defining the requirements for a community health action center and mapping the “net” of services that would help people who fall through gaps in local supports. Jessica (social services staff) and her team organized tours of local providers and partners, the working group said, including social services offices, La Clinica del Norte and the Department of Health. The group also plans site visits to Espanola’s Casita de Canada, McCurdy Ministries, Samuel Defonso’s new community center and the Esperanza Health Center outside Moriarty.

Jordan (Jessica’s office) is assembling a short survey to collect feedback from former social services clients about what worked and what did not in existing services. Jessica’s team has also prepared several case studies the working group will run through its model to check for gaps.

Members said the working group suspended weekly meetings for the summer but intends to reconvene once to compile its recommendations; social services will lead next steps after the council presentation. The working group currently includes four health council members — Jill, Heather, Tyler and one other — and other community stakeholders, the group said.

The Los Alamos Early Childhood Collaboration also described maintaining its provider directory, available via FSN and Family Support Network (FSN) web links and on a Google Doc, and distributing a postcard with a QR code to the resource guide. The guide’s scope was described as prenatal through age 5.

Members framed the center concept as facility‑agnostic for now: the working group is cataloguing the kinds of rooms, services and partner organizations (nonprofits, food distribution, Veterans Affairs, clinical partners) that would be required if the county acquired or repurposed a facility for consolidated services.

Ending: The working group aims to finish its recommendations in time for the Aug. 2 Health Council meeting; social services staff will coordinate the public survey and follow‑up implementation steps after the presentation.