Regional Crisis Care meeting set for Tuesday

Area residents who want to know more about a planned Regional Crisis Care Center in Clovis are invited to a meeting from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Clovis Civic Center, 801 Schepps Blvd.

Mya Cappellino, director of marketing with Initium Health, said the meeting will include officials from Curry, Roosevelt, De Baca, Quay, and Union counties, as well as officials from Clovis, Portales and Fort Sumner.

Cappellino said representatives from Clovis Community College and Eastern New Mexico University will also be there, sharing details and answering questions about the planned center.

“The state-of-the-art center will be designed to provide immediate support and intervention for individuals facing mental health crises and will be able to serve as many as 50 area residents at a time,” Cappellino said.

The center will prevent patients having to travel to Albuquerque, Amarillo, Lubbock, or Las Cruces, Cappellino said.

“The state Legislature has allocated $10 million and an 18-acre site has been secured,” Cappellino said.

The site is on West 21st Street near Plains Regional Medical Center.

“Getting care close to home makes financial sense and also medical sense because having friends and family nearby for support improves outcomes,” said James Corbett, a longtime behavioral health advocate and principal with Initium Health, the Denver health care consulting firm that’s supporting the project.

“This facility is much needed for not only our area but our state. For decades we have had the same few mental/behavioral health facilities in the state. Locally we do not have enough mental health providers to keep up with the need,” Portales Police Chief Chris Williams wrote in an email to The News.

Cappellino reported topics of discussion at the meeting will include:

• Learning about the features and benefits of the new center.

• Discovering how area residents can contribute to its development and success.

• Experts involved in the project answering community concerns and questions.

“For our overall health as a community and for eastern New Mexicans that may be struggling with substance use disorder or other challenges, it’s important that we make every effort to bring more robust crisis intervention care and inpatient care closer to home,” Clovis Mayor Mike Morris wrote in a text message to The News.

Curry County Manager Lance Pyle told The News, “the importance of this project cannot be overstated. Communities nationwide are struggling with behavioral health crises driven by mental health and substance use concerns.”

“The meeting is an opportunity for the public to hear updates, ask questions, provide feedback, and engage with the planning process. With the partnership of the five counties and three cities, we want to be as transparent as possible and ensure this facility meets our community needs,” Pyle wrote.

More information: [email protected] or 716-601-8161.