Gallup Independent: IHS money helps keep detox open

GALLUP — The city of Gallup has extended its contract with Na’Nizhoozhi Center Inc. for operation of the detox center through the end of the fiscal year. NCI’s contract ran from Oct. 2 to Feb. 29, and the new four-month extension will keep doors open until June 30.

City Attorney George Kozeliski said the city will put out a request for proposals for long-term operation of the facility this summer. Kozeliski explained they issued an emergency short-term RFP after the Navajo Nation withdrew as the operator of the facility in October because the city wanted to ensure it was open during the winter months.

Currently, the city and McKinley County are working with state and federal of.cials on permanent funding solutions.

“We’ve had a lot of balls in the air for the last month, trying to .nd funding to support the operation of the detox," Mayor Jackie McKinney said.

McKinney said he was happy to report that as of Tuesday, the city received a wire transfer of $234,000 from Indian Health Services. He credited U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich for working with IHS to help fund the detox center.

“They’ve been working with us for the last few months," McKinney said.

During a Senate Indian Affairs Committee meeting Feb. 3, Udall mentioned the struggling NCI Detox and its need for continued funding.

“The NCI Detox Center in Gallup is currently the only detox facility serving the population in the remote and rural part of the state adjacent to the Navajo Nation and the Pueblo of Zuni," Udall stated during the hearing.

He added that 17 people died from alcohol-related incidences including exposure to the cold during the 2014-2015 winter. Udall said IHS needs to be part of the team, considering NCI patients are 98 percent Native American.

Udall said IHS officials recently visited the NCI Detox facility to try and coordinate funding efforts. While the city has bought another four months of operation for the detox center, they are still focusing on long term solutions.

“If the council wonders how can we extend the contract, we need to come up with permanent funding," McKinney stated at a City Council meeting Tuesday.

Besides funding from the federal level through IHS, detox and behavioral health services are financed by the liquor excise tax. In addition to this, the city has applied to the state for an additional $500,000 to fund a behavioral health investment zone.

“We’ve put our applications in for $500,000 of funding to come in and to operate the detox along with other programs like case management and case history," McKinney said.

The funding from the state comes with prerequisites — while a larger portion would go to detox the first year, a portion would be set aside to develop a case history and staff to send recurring detox patients to receive behavioral health services.

“These behavioral health programs are so needed," McKinney said.

He thanked Kevin Foley, executive director of NCI, for his and his staff’s efforts as well as Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital and the Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments.

“This is one of the difficult things," Councilor Yogash Kumar said. “When you’re in Gallup a lot of people realize that these things take a lot of money. ... It’s not a battle we can win but something we have to continue." McKinney responded, “It’s battles we’ll continue to fight. We might win the war eventually. "