sa国际传媒官网网页入口

Addiction is 鈥渧ery prevalent鈥� in Roswell, said Trent Carter, who owns and runs the local treatment clinic Renew Health.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of folks that are struggling,鈥� said Carter, who opened the clinic three years ago.

But Carter said other rural New Mexico towns are also grappling with high rates of addiction, pushing him to open a slate of new clinics in the southern portion of the state.

Renew Health is one of four organizations receiving a share of $5.4 million, state officials said this week, part of $46 million approved by state legislators this year for the Rural Health Care Delivery Fund.

鈥淓very New Mexican deserves access to quality health care close to home,鈥� Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement. 鈥淩ural health care providers are lifelines in their communities. This funding is a bold investment in the health and dignity of our rural communities, ensuring no New Mexican is left behind.鈥�

Three other entities are getting money, including Santo Domingo Pueblo, which will use $2 million to expand behavioral health and primary care services, state officials said.

Clovis-based Multicultural Evaluation and Consultation Associates will use $1.6 million to enhance maternal health care coordination in Curry, Chaves, Do帽a Ana, Lea, Quay and Roosevelt counties. Meridian Behavioral Health, based in sa国际传媒官网网页入口, will expand reentry services for children in state custody in Cibola, San Miguel, Sandoval, Torrance and Valencia counties with $759,141 from the fund.

The Rural Health Care Delivery Fund, established last year with an initial $80 million, aids health care projects in counties with fewer than 100,000 people. Championed by Lujan Grisham during the 2023 session, 52 organizations received a share from that pool of money.

Pumped with more cash during this year鈥檚 session, the fund has so far received 77 applicants, New Mexico Health Care Authority spokeswoman Marina Pi帽a said.

She said the state will announce more awardees next month, noting that the first four approved this week were part of an expedited group called 鈥渁ccess champions.鈥� The funding as part of the second cohort will run through June 2027.

Carter, a nurse practitioner, said the funding will help open Renew Health clinics in Alamogordo, Clovis and Hobbs over the next several months. He also has plans for more clinics in Artesia and Socorro.

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter which corner of the state you go to, you鈥檙e going to find these same prevalent issues (of addiction),鈥� Carter said. 鈥淒own here in the southern part of the state, there seems to be very few resources and this is where I鈥檓 located, so trying to make an impact here and then spreading it across the entire state is the goal.鈥�