Heinrich Delivers Over $5.4 Million to Strengthen Maternal and Newborn Care, Expand Mental Health Care & Substance Use Treatment in Rural Communities

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced three Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) grants he secured totaling $5,416,000 to strengthen maternal and newborn care, improving outcomes for mothers and babies in rural New Mexico, and to expand mental health care and substance use disorder treatment in Gallup and Carlsbad.

Heinrich secured these three grants in the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill.

"Every New Mexican should be able to access affordable, high-quality health care, in their home communities," said Heinrich. "These investments will help ensure that more mothers and their newborns can access the health care they need closer to home, and more folks can access the mental health care and substance use treatment when and where they need it."

Heinrich fought for and secured $3,900,000 for the University of New Mexico's Neonatal Opiate Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS) Project to improve prenatal, delivery, and post birth care for babies and mothers in rural New Mexico. Currently, there is a crisis in rural maternity care in New Mexico. By supporting rural providers, families can access maternity care closer to home - improving outcomes for families and babies in rural New Mexico.

Additionally, Heinrich fought for and secured $516,000 for Gallup Community Health to expand its mental health services to include onsite behavioral health and substance use disorder counseling and case management.

Heinrich also fought for and secured $1,000,000 for Carlsbad Lifehouse to develop a certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic in Southeastern New Mexico.

This is the latest example of Heinrich's longtime work to provide New Mexicans better access to mental health care and substance use disorder treatment.

Heinrich negotiated and passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which included a provision that paved the way for New Mexico to be added to the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Medicaid Demonstration Program. This program provides states with funding to expand access to mental health care and substance use services. In the FY23 Appropriations Bills, Heinrich also secured a $450,000 Congressionally Directed Spending grant for Family and Youth Innovations Plus (FYI+) in Las Cruces to become the first CCBHC in New Mexico, which was instrumental in helping New Mexico eventually qualify for the CCBHC Medicaid Demonstration Program.

Find an extensive list of Heinrich's actions to improve access to mental health care in New Mexico here.

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