IHS Awards $2M to City of Gallup to Prevent Alcohol-Related Deaths in McKinley County, New Mexico

The Indian Health Service Division of Behavioral Health has awarded $2 million through a cooperative agreement to the city of Gallup, New Mexico, to prevent alcohol-related deaths among their large American Indian and Alaska Native population by providing withdrawal management and shelter services at the Na’Nizhoozhi Center, Inc. The facility is a leading detox and inpatient drug and alcohol rehab center in Gallup.

“The Preventing Alcohol-Related Deaths program will enhance our commitment and partnership with the city of Gallup, the Gallup Indian Medical Center, and local tribes,” said IHS Director Roselyn Tso. “These withdrawal management services are critical to the American Indian and Alaska Native population in the region and we must continue working with local entities to build clinical and behavioral health capacity to prevent alcohol-related deaths.”

The city of Gallup will increase access to community-based prevention programs while providing services by implementing six key program components:

1. Social withdrawal management services;
2. Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment services;
3. Outreach services to support clients;
4. Counseling services;
5. Intensive case management services; and
6. A recruitment/retention program to train local community members and those with lived experience to enter into the behavioral health field through the “Grow Our Own” initiative.

The NCI will also incorporate the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Treatment Improvement Protocol 45 – Detoxification Services into their programming, provide safe housing to the unsheltered, establish community partnerships, provide transportation to and from the emergency department, and provide clinical and behavioral support to clients entering the center.

A consensus among clinical and subject matter experts is that withdrawal management services alone do not provide the full spectrum of alcohol and substance use disorder treatment, but can serve as a pathway to seeking treatment and as a component in the continuum of care for alcohol and substance use disorders.

The IHS Division of Behavioral Health, part of the Office of Clinical and Preventive Services, serves as the primary source of national advocacy, policy development, management, and administration of behavioral health, alcohol and substance use, and family violence prevention programs for American Indian and Alaska Native people. Learn more about the IHS Alcohol and Substance Abuse Branch, which aims to reduce the incidence and prevalence of alcohol and substance use among American Indians and Alaska Natives to a level at or below the general U.S. population.

The IHS, an agency in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov , provides a comprehensive health service delivery system for approximately 2.7 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who belong to 574 federally recognized tribes Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  in 37 states. Follow the agency via social media on Facebook Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov , Twitter Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov , and LinkedIn Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov .