Location for Doña Ana Co. reproductive health center expected to be announced next month

Las Cruces from the foothills of the Organ Mountains in Doña Ana County Monday, April 22, 2024. The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center and reproductive health advocacy organizations plan to announce the location of a new state-funded reproductive health clinic in the county in two to three weeks. (Photo by Leah Romero for Source NM)

The location for New Mexico’s $10 million reproductive health clinic in Doña Ana is slowly getting closer to a public announcement. 

Dr. Eve Espey, an instrumental organizer in the project, said the different groups involved are in the final stages of vetting properties and deciding on a location in the county in Southern New Mexico. She said she anticipates an announcement within the next month. 

“We are very close,” Espey said. “I think we’ll be able to talk about it in two to three weeks.”

The project was initially announced to the public by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham through an executive order in August 2022. She said it is a way to increase access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion services. 

Espey, chair of the University of New Mexico’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, represents UNM Health Sciences Center, one of the four planning organizations on the project that also includes Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, Bold Futures and Strong Families New Mexico. 

The university’s health sciences center is acting as the local fiscal agent to spend $10 million appropriated in 2023 by the state legislature through a capital outlay bill.

Bold Futures Executive Director Charlene Bencomo added that “tangible progress” has been made in securing a location.

Espey said the group hopes to break ground this summer and is working to meet that goal, a timeline the governor’s office said it is aiming for in an email with Source New Mexico several weeks ago.

On Monday, Lujan Grisham spokesperson Michael Coleman affirmed the project remains a priority for the governor’s office 

“Gov. Lujan Grisham is determined to expand reproductive health care options in New Mexico, and the Dona Ana County clinic is an integral part of this effort,” Coleman said. 

Espey said project updates were sparse this past year because organizers are tasked with building a new model that required work between multiple agencies. On top of that, funding moves slowly between multiple government channels.

She said much of that work is finished.

“I would say that given the pace of bureaucracies, things have actually happened at a very rapid pace,” she said. “We can expect the pace to pick up very quickly at this point.”

Espey notes that reproductive health clinic planning began ahead of federal abortion ban

Espey explained that the creation of a clinic began with a grant application to the Collaborative for Gender + Reproductive Equity. UNM Health Sciences, Bold Futures and Strong Families wanted to identify where a reproductive health clinic could reduce inequalities. Doña Ana, McKinley and Santa Fe counties were the three areas their study determined resources should be targeted to consider a new clinic.

“I think it was the combination of the community perspectives, the economic feasibility, the demographics that ultimately landed us on Doña Ana County,” Espey said. “In retrospect, that seems super obvious because of what’s going on in Texas, but that was actually not the case when we started the project.”

Espey said reproductive health deserts still exist and create further need for services in the state, and additional clinics in McKinley and Santa Fe counties are still possibilities.

Lujan Grisham’s executive order brought the state into the mix, established initial funding and allowed the four groups to collaborate on the new facility in Doña Ana County.

Next steps

While work on choosing a location is the major focus right now, Espey said work continues simultaneously on finding an architect to contract with, developing a staffing plan and an advisory board. 

Bencomo told Source New Mexico several months ago that she predicted the clinic taking another two years before it is open to patients. Espey said the prediction is reasonable, but organizers are also working “to shorten that timeline as much as possible.”

As for funding, the $10 million appropriation was made solely for construction of the clinic. Espey said organizers are developing a business plan for the clinic, but they anticipate needing more monetary support to ensure the clinic continues to operate once open. 

“We would love to propose that to the legislature and also to private foundations and other funders,” she said.

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