U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY
Medical sobering center expected to be completed this fall
Xavier Becerra’s visits Albuquerque to highlight $4.2 million in federal dollars for the Gateway Center’s medical sobering center.
“Mejor prevenir que remediar.” That was the message U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra’s mother imparted to him — better to prevent than treat.
Becerra joined U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and Jeremy Jaramillo from Gibson Health Hub tenant Haven Behavioral Hospital to highlight $4.2 million in congressionally directed spending for the Gateway Center’s medical sobering center. When completed, publicly intoxicated individuals will be able to move toward sobriety while receiving supervision and treatment.
Jaramillo said diverting intoxicated people from urgent care and the emergency room could allow others to access urgent and emergency care faster.
“I’ve worked in emergency rooms,” Jaramillo said. “I’ve seen what happens when people are intoxicated, they can fill up the hallways, fill up the rooms. That also means that they are taking space from people that have mental health issues, which is a lot of us — our friends, our family members.”
Luján and Becerra said the program could ultimately be a savings by relieving stress on emergency services such as health care and police and fire departments as well as preventing costly emergency room trips.
Construction on the medical sobering center is expected to be completed in the fall. The next phase of the project, the medical respite wing, should be completed by the end of this year. The city has already spent $21 million on the project, not counting the $15 million building purchase in 2021 or operating costs. The city has a $1 million-per-year contract with Heading Home to run the center.
There’s also $7.9 million in already committed funding and $35.6 million
encumbered in current contracts.
Keller’s draft budget includes $10.7 million for the Gateway Center for fiscal year 2025. The project has received $14.9 million in federal funding so far.
Jaramillo said that it isn’t going to be just psychiatrists and doctors staffing a sobering center. And hiring is a challenge.
“There’s going to be a lot of nurses, a lot of social workers, a lot of case managers,” Jaramillo said.
Luján and Keller highlighted state and federal initiatives to increase hiring in behavioral health, including a request from the city that some of the $4.2 million in federal funding go toward recruitment and retention.
“There’s a complementary set of tools … we’re going to have to work together to continue to make this happen,” Luján said. “Recognizing there’s a shortage of health care providers across the state of New Mexico and across America, we have to do better — and we’re working towards getting that done.”