A Memorandum of Understanding has been entered into between the University of New Mexico and Bernalillo County designed to lead to the construction of a new behavioral health triage center.
The capital investment memorandum, which also includes a plan for the selection of a site, has now won the approval of the Bernalillo County Commission.
The project, which has been in the talking and planning stage for more than a year, will be designed to assist those who are in need, but not at the stage of entering a full-service psychiatric hospital.
Altogether, UNM has committed itself to $20 million for the construction of the facility, a figure equal to the amount of the county’s planned investment.
According to the document approved by commission members, the agreement “authorizes the County Manager to award and execute agreements up to $20 million for the crisis triage services on the University of New Mexico Hospital footprint.”
Where exactly the new facility will be built has yet to be decided. But Bernalillo County Manager Julie Morgas Baca hailed the signing of the agreement as an important first step in the facility’s eventual construction, remarking, “We’re seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Two years ago, Bernalillo County agreed to set aside up to $30 million in revenue from a county gross receipts tax for the construction of the facility.
By Garry Boulard
