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Do帽a Ana County commissioners secured a new healthcare provider for the county detention center Tuesday morning, ensuring services will continue uninterrupted as YesCare withdraws .

In a special meeting in Las Cruces, the commissioners unanimously approved a contract committing nearly $4.5 million for Tucumcari-based Thrive Medical Services to cover medical and mental health services for inmates and detainees through 2026.

The emergency procurement averts a threatened lapse of services as YesCare, formerly known as Corizon Health, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month and failed to meet payroll in multiple states where it operates, including New Mexico.

On May 15, the county stepped in to cover back pay for YesCare鈥檚 employees at the detention center, paying from funds that had already been budgeted to pay the contractor. YesCare indicated at that time that it could cease operations in two to three weeks, according to Deputy County Attorney Cari Neill, setting the county scrambling to cover a gap while preparing for a new bidding process ahead of 2027.

Commissioners expected to approve a stopgap agreement with Tennessee-based provider WellPath, but county staff pulled the agreement just ahead of the vote after WellPath鈥檚 final cost estimate came in 鈥渟ignificantly higher鈥� than it had proposed initially.

As of Tuesday, YesCare indicated it could stay on long enough for a transition to services with Thrive, anticipated for the middle of June.

With the stopgap secured, Commissioner Christopher Schaljo-Hernandez recommended the county develop operating procedures addressing the problem after staff advised there was not set policy nor clear state oversight for a circumstance where a detention health care provider fails.

The commissioners were also dismayed that staff had no public presentation for Tuesday's meeting and that no representatives from Thrive were present. The agreement was made available to commissioners just 24 hours ahead of Tuesday鈥檚 meeting, but commissioners complained about a lack of follow-up and general communications from the detention center. Commissioner Susie Kimble stated she learned of an assault on a detention center employee last month from news reports several weeks later. Three inmates are facing federal assault charges for allegedly beating a guard unconscious.

鈥淲e need communication, and right now we鈥檙e not trusting in the communication we get from the detention center,鈥� Kimble said as Commissioner Susana Chaparro called on the detention center鈥檚 director, Bryan Baker, to make regular presentations to the commissioners at their business meetings moving forward.

The six-month contract with Thrive does not guarantee it will be the provider after 2026. County staff anticipate a new bidding process could produce a final agreement in October.

Algernon 顿鈥橝尘尘补蝉蝉补 is the Journal鈥檚 southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.