The Bernalillo County commission on tuesday August 27 took several actions meant to expand the newly minted Bernalillo County Healthcare Authority. That included approving nearly $800,000 in funding for programs.
More than half of that – $463,000 – will go to expand an observation and assessment center for people needing detox.
The center is based at the county’s Comprehensive Assessment & Recovery through Excellence, or CARE, campus. Director of Behavioral Health Services Jessica Jaramillo-Salazar said most of that funding will go to staffing.
“With that amount, we’ll be able to have a couple of more nurses that are specifically for observation and assessment, what we have seen is we’re kind of in a little bit of a crisis,” she said. “We are hearing from our clients that the fentanyl pills…it’s a shortage. And so, a lot more people are needing detox.”In a move that seeks to ease logistical challenges, the commission also approved $300,000 for software that would allow better communication among different behavioral health providers, both with the county, and private health services.
The City of Albuquerque is working with the commission on the project and will be contributing to the annual operating costs as well.
Commissioner Eric Olivas pointed out that previous attempts for similar programs at different levels of government have failed because providers often didn’t have the resources to onboard the systems, or pay for staff who would be necessary to ensure they run properly.
“Providers are a little bit skeptical of this stuff, because, A, they’ve seen them come and go before,” he said. “But, B, I think the more powerful reason is that they just haven’t had the support.”But Wayne Lindstrom, who heads the county’s Behavioral Health Division, says the county will provide both a carrot and a stick to ensure proper data entry and sharing. It will offer financial and logistical assistance to providers to set up the system, and penalties for those who don’t comply, although he didn’t offer details.
And lastly, the state approved four appointments to the new Healthcare Authority’s Advisory Board.
The board will help Lindstrom in setting policy and leading the county’s Behavioral Health Authority.
Support for this coverage comes in part from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
Ed’s Note: This story originally aired Monday Sept. 2
