Doña Ana County awards opioid‑settlement contracts to La Clinica, Elite Methadone and Summit Behavioral Health
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Sign Up Free
Summary
The commission approved awarding opioid settlement funds to La Clinica de Familia, Elite Methadone Clinic and Summit Behavioral Health (with a reduced award to Summit) to expand medication‑assisted treatment and rural access; county staff described RFP process, evaluation and monitoring plans.
The Doña Ana County Commission voted on Feb. 24 to award contracts using opioid‑settlement funds to three providers to expand medication‑assisted treatment (MOUD), warm handoffs and recovery services across the county.
Jamie Michael, director of Health & Human Services, described a two‑year RFP process that prioritized services for Spanish‑speaking and rural communities and settings such as emergency departments and the detention center. She recommended contracts with La Clinica de Familia (proposed ~ $1.2M over two years to expand MOUD in rural, Spanish‑speaking communities), Elite Methadone Clinic (including a mobile unit to reach remote communities) and Summit Behavioral Health to serve justice‑involved populations; Michael said Summit’s expected award had been revised downward in negotiations from about $600k to roughly $200k.
"We received five completed proposals," Michael said, describing a joint city‑county advisory evaluation and selection process and naming Pivot as the contracted evaluator to monitor outcomes and refine logic models. The county emphasized that funds will not be used for services reimbursable by Medicaid and that contracts are intended to build sustainable capacity.
Commissioner Chaparro asked about youth‑focused and justice‑involved services; Michael and staff described plans to pursue state behavioral‑health trust funds for juvenile services and to use opioid funds primarily for medication initiation, mobile outreach and gap costs not billable to Medicaid. Athena Huckaby, the department’s newly hired special projects manager, will help coordinate implementation.
The board unanimously approved the awards and related funding action by roll call. Staff said executed contracts and evaluation language will require further negotiation and will be monitored and reported to the commission.
What’s next: Contracts will be finalized and executed; staff expect to issue awards and begin services by March and to return to the commission with evaluation frameworks and subsequent funding rounds for populations not yet covered (for example, maternal‑child services).