It’s only been about a year since the city opened a first responder receiving area at the Gateway Center on Gibson Boulevard, but the time to find a new operator has arrived.
The University of New Mexico’s Office for Community Health (under the UNM Health Sciences Center umbrella) has held the contract to operate the unit — a place where the city’s first responders can drop off people experiencing homelessness who are in crisis to have their circumstances assessed and next steps planned out.
The area doesn’t provide medical services, but has private assessment rooms and 10 beds. The unit is advertised as being open 24/7 and is considered a more desirable alternative than an emergency room, which is often where those in crisis are transported by default, especially at night.
UNM’s contract expires in March, but said last Wednesday that it has agreed to stay on until July 1 to give the city more time to find a new operator. The city’s request for proposals for a $1.3 million annual contract expires Feb. 18. A transition period for a new operator would ostensibly take place some time between March and July. It would also require an emergency procurement by the city for any extra months UNM stays beyond its current contract.
“Their primary concern was that we stay there until July 1, and we’ve agreed to do that,” UNM Health Sciences Center & UNM Health System communication director Chris Ramirez said Wednesday.
“The City thanks UNMH for playing a crucial role in opening the First Responder Receiving area,” was all Health, Housing & Homelessness Department spokesperson Connor Woods would say about the situation Wednesday in an email to City Desk ABQ.
HHH is the city department that oversees the entire Gateway network across the city.
The situation entered the spotlight during an Albuquerque City Council meeting on Monday, Feb. 3 when City Councilor Renée Grout asked Chief Administrative Officer Samantha Sengel to explain why UNM had lost interest.
“UNM has said that they will not renew their contract to operate the Gateway receiving center because the city is an unstable contractor,” Grout said. “Is [the city] actively looking for another provider?”
Senegal said the city had been “assessing the situation.”
“I do have ongoing meetings myself with UNM,” she said. “I think the communication was from an employee at the receiving center, and to be honest, I don’t want to speak for UNM, but I don’t want to rest on what was stated by that individual. I would like the opportunity to speak with UNM and allow them to make a final decision about their circumstances.”
“I’m really concerned. It just opened, and there’s already some issues, so we don’t want that,” Grout said.
One of UNM’s remaining connections with the city’s Gateway network will be as a referring agency for clients entering its recently opened medical respite unit.