Los Alamos County Health Council details work plan, pushes Health Action Center planning

Lisa Hampton, chair of the Los Alamos County Health Council, and Jessica Strong, the county’s social services manager, briefed the Los Alamos County Council on Oct. 21 about the council’s 2025 work plan and progress on a proposed Health Action Center.

The Health Council’s work plan lists four primary initiatives: community health outreach guided by a comprehensive health plan; participation in regional behavioral-health work under the state’s Behavioral Health Investment and Reform Act (SB3); continued use and expansion of a closed-loop referral system (UniteUs) to track referrals and service delivery; and targeted local activities such as suicide-prevention and crisis response coordination with police and first responders. Strong said the county holds a Department of Health contract that provides about $40,000, with an additional $40,000 possible depending on initiatives the council pursues.

Hampton described a Health Action Center working group convened earlier this year that included Health Council members and public and nonprofit representatives. The working group met from March through May, developed requirements and recommendations for a centralized social-services facility, solicited public input, and reported back to the Health Council. The council approved the recommendations 9–0 and referred implementation to county project managers and social services; Hampton said the next steps include site selection and architectural renderings.

Strong said social services will expand staffing: once a new program specialist is hired, the department expects six full-time equivalents plus one part-time casual position. She described how social services has shifted from primarily benefits navigation (Medicaid, SNAP) to more homelessness prevention and outreach, connection to Section 8, and coordination with nonprofits that can provide direct cash assistance. Strong also said the county uses UniteUs to track referrals and coordinate post-crisis follow-up.

Councilors asked for additional financial and staffing detail. Strong said staff maintain tables of funding sources (including past Kellogg grant support for the comprehensive health plan and opioid settlement funds used for prevention specialists) and offered to provide before-and-after staffing and funding comparisons. Councilor Reiting requested data on service levels and funding history; Strong said social services has been tracking those figures and will supply them.

The presentation closed with an offer to provide the full Health Action Center working-group report to council members on request; Hampton and Strong said they are available for follow-up meetings and noted some implementation items remain with county project managers.

The council took no formal action on the Health Council presentation during the Oct. 21 work session; no public commenters addressed this item during the opening public-comment block for Health Council business.