SENATE MEMORIAL 48

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2019

INTRODUCED BY

Pete Campos

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

DECLARING SUPPORT FOR THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE RECOVERY CENTER IN THE NORTHEAST REGION OF NEW MEXICO.

 

     WHEREAS, drug abuse, alcohol abuse and addiction are serious and growing problems within Mora, San Miguel and Guadalupe counties in northeastern New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the effects of drug and alcohol abuse are devastating to those dealing with addiction, and to their families, friends and the community as a whole; and

     WHEREAS, depression and suicide are also serous health problems, with suicide rates in New Mexico at least fifty percent higher than United States rates over the past twenty years, according to department of health statistics; and

     WHEREAS, in 2017, suicide was the ninth-leading cause of death in New Mexico; and the New Mexico counties in the northeast with the highest suicide rates are Taos, San Miguel and Torrance counties; and

     WHEREAS, deaths resulting from drug abuse, alcohol abuse and addiction are at historically high levels in Mora, San Miguel and Guadalupe counties and elsewhere in northeastern New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the economic effects of drug abuse, alcohol abuse and addiction on Mora, San Miguel and Guadalupe counties and the other communities of northeastern New Mexico are devastating, including the burden on health, law enforcement and detention resources; and

     WHEREAS, detoxification and treatment services are crucial elements in the fight against drug abuse, alcohol abuse and addiction; and

     WHEREAS, northeastern New Mexico lacks public detoxification inpatient and outpatient treatment options; and

     WHEREAS, local collaborative four, serving Mora, San Miguel and Guadalupe counties, is engaged in joint efforts with the city of Las Vegas, alta vista regional hospital, New Mexico highlands university, el centro family health, Mora valley community health services, Pecos valley medical center, the New Mexico heroin and opioid prevention and education initiative and several other local agencies to open detoxification and treatment facilities within the community; and

     WHEREAS, the city of Las Vegas and San Miguel county have set aside funding and partnered with other local agencies to apply for additional funding through grants and to facilitate increased access to behavioral health services, including those directed at drug abuse, alcohol abuse and addiction; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico highlands university was awarded a one-hundred-thousand-dollar ($100,000) per fiscal year prevention grant by the New Mexico office of substance abuse prevention beginning in 2014 to establish the San Miguel county substance abuse prevention coalition; and

     WHEREAS, the San Miguel county substance abuse prevention coalition includes a comprehensive data-driven strategic plan that includes prevention strategies directed at changing the intervening variables that contribute to drug abuse and binge drinking; and

     WHEREAS, el centro family health and local collaborative four were awarded a two-hundred-thousand-dollar ($200,000) planning grant by the federal health resources and services administration for the semillas de esperanza opioid response initiative, which includes conducting a needs assessment and regional opioid use profile and developing architectural plans for a comprehensive recovery center; and

     WHEREAS, the semillas de esperanza opioid response initiative builds on the successes over the past year to conduct the necessary planning as a multi-sector coalition to build a better pathway for the prevention and treatment of and a system for a sustained recovery from opioid use in the coalition's area; and

     WHEREAS, in a region that is experiencing health professional shortages, ensuring that there are adequate providers to serve the area is essential; and

     WHEREAS, a comprehensive recovery center is being planned by local collaborative four and its partners during 2019 with a proposed implementation in 2020; and

     WHEREAS, the comprehensive recovery center will offer prevention, intervention, harm reduction and treatment programs provided by established community agencies in the local collaborative four region; and

     WHEREAS, the comprehensive recovery center will provide vocational training to help patients obtain jobs following their treatment; and

     WHEREAS, the comprehensive recovery center will also provide community gardening to teach self-sustaining skills while providing nutrition and support to the community; and

     WHEREAS, the comprehensive recovery center will participate in developing an economic development plan to help the local economy through job growth and an increased tax base; and

     WHEREAS, the comprehensive recovery center will offer outpatient and long-term inpatient services to help sustain patients' recovery; and

     WHEREAS, the comprehensive recovery center will offer a holistic approach to recovery, using culturally relevant programming and local healers who practice traditional healing rooted in the community; and

     WHEREAS, the comprehensive recovery center will include a drop-in center for community members needing a safe location to rest, increasing public safety; and

     WHEREAS, collaboration with other behavioral health programs and systems in the state and development of a comprehensive recovery treatment center would serve the inpatient treatment needs of all counties in the broader northern New Mexico region, particularly the northeastern counties in which no inpatient treatment facility currently exists; and

     WHEREAS, the problems of drug abuse, alcohol abuse and addiction are regional and demand cooperation and resources from all levels of government, as well as from the nonprofit and private sectors;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the problems of drug abuse, alcohol abuse and addiction be recognized as creating a public health crisis in the northeast region of New Mexico, including local collaborative four's service area of Mora, San Miguel and Guadalupe counties; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the senate be requested to declare its commitment to supporting the planning and development of a comprehensive recovery center in northeastern New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the senate be requested to declare its support of a regional approach to reducing drug abuse, alcohol abuse and addiction, incorporating all levels of government, as well as the private and nonprofit sectors, in the fight against drug abuse, alcohol abuse and addiction; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the county managers of Mora, San Miguel and Guadalupe counties, the mayor of the city of Las Vegas, the mayor of the city of Santa Rosa, the mayor of the village of Pecos, the mayor of the town of Vaughn, the chief executive officer of alta vista regional hospital, the president of New Mexico highlands university, the chief of operations of el centro family health, the chief executive officer of Mora valley community health services, the chief executive officer of Pecos valley medical center, the New Mexico heroin and opioid prevention and education initiative, the administrator of the New Mexico behavioral health institute at Las Vegas, the administrator of the Guadalupe county hospital in Santa Rosa, the administrator of the miners' Colfax medical center and members of the New Mexico congressional delegation.

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