Region 6 opioid collaboration outlines mobile crisis unit, treatment center and digital outreach for Grant County

Shawn Hartley, who presented on behalf of the Region 6 Opioid Remediation Collaboration (ORC), updated the Grant County Board of Commissioners on regional overdose trends and local projects aimed at prevention and treatment.

Hartley said New Mexico saw 948 overdose deaths in 2023 and 775 in 2024 per CDC-based reporting, and that Region 6 (including Grant County) reported 68 overdose deaths in 2024, a slight increase from 66 in 2023. Hartley highlighted an increase in fentanyl- and methamphetamine-related overdose deaths and emphasized prevention and emergent response strategies. “Substance use is a disease. It's just like diabetes,” Hartley said, arguing for increased treatment access and lower-barrier services.

Key ORC deliverables for the coming period included a $971,000 award to support a mobile crisis unit serving Region 6 (an RFP has been posted and a review committee formed), and a $1,000,000 award to convert an existing long-term care facility in Lordsburg into an accredited adult residential treatment center. Hartley said the mobile crisis unit RFP is in final review and the operator selection and start-up work are imminent.

Hartley also described prevention tools rolled out in Grant County: a Deterra mailout that reached more than 13,000 households to support safe medication disposal, expanded Narcan distribution, and a Digital Therapeutics app customized with local provider directories and a 24/7 peer specialist. Hartley said Grant County had 768 988 calls in the past year (a 250% increase in call volume) and that the ORC is promoting the app and school-based outreach (an $86,000 MOU with Silver High School for prevention outreach).