Governor awards $20 million to expand rural primary care – 32 health care organizations to strengthen services statewide

SANTA FE - Thirty-two rural health care organizations will share $20 million in Rural Health Care Delivery Fund awards to expand primary care services across New Mexico.

The fiscal year 2026 awards support projects that strengthen local health care capacity and improve access to coordinated, person-centered care in underserved areas - from tribal communities in Cibola County to frontier clinics in Catron County.

"We created this fund because rural health care providers were struggling to keep their doors open, let alone expand," said Lujan Grisham. "These awards will help meet a pressing need for care in rural communities that have gone too long without adequate services."

The Rural Health Care Delivery Fund was established by the New Mexico Legislature in 2023 to help rural providers offset operating losses and start-up costs for new or expanded services. This funding cycle prioritized primary care projects from Medicaid-enrolled providers that address documented community needs in underserved areas. Specific grant amounts are being finalized.

Funding recipients:

Northwestern New Mexico

• Cañoncito Band of Navajo Health Center, Inc. (To'hajillee): Tribal land in Cibola and Sandoval counties
• CHRISTUS St. Vincent: Torrance County
• Cibola General Hospital: Cibola County
• Duke City Primary Care: McKinley County
• First Nations Community HealthSource: McKinley and Rio Arriba counties
• Gallup Community Health: McKinley County
• Las Cumbres Community Services, Inc.: Rio Arriba County
• New Mexico Premier Health, LLC: Valencia County

Northeastern New Mexico

• Alta Vista Regional Hospital: San Miguel County
• Breath of My Heart Birthplace: Mora, Rio Arriba, San Miguel and Taos counties
• El Centro Family Health: San Miguel, Rio Arriba, Guadalupe, Harding, Colfax, Mora and Taos counties
• Guadalupe County Hospital: Guadalupe County
• Picuris Medical Center: Tribal land in Taos and Santa Fe counties
• Presbyterian Medical Services: Rio Arriba and San Miguel counties
• Sunrise Clinics: Guadalupe, San Miguel and Mora counties

Southwestern New Mexico

• Border Area Mental Health Services, Inc.: Grant and Luna counties
• Catron County Cowboy Clinic, LLC: Catron County
• Fort Bayard Medical Center: Grant County
• Mimbres Valley Medical Group: Hidalgo County
• Monte Bello Medical, LLC: Luna County
• New Mexico State Veterans Home: Sierra County
• Renew Health: Luna and Grant counties
• Southwest Therapeutics: Luna County

Southeastern New Mexico

• Artesia General Hospital: Chaves and Eddy counties
• Aspire Healthcare LLC: Luna and Chaves counties
• Ben Archer Health Center: Lincoln County
• Lovelace Medical Group: Chaves County
• Meridian Behavioral Health, Inc.: Otero County
• Nor-Lea Hospital District: Lea County
• Pinnacle Gastroenterology, LLC: Otero and Lincoln counties
• The Psychiatric Care Center LLC: Chaves, Curry, De Baca, Lea, Quay and Roosevelt counties

For more information about the Rural Health Care Delivery Fund, visit hca.nm.gov/primary-care-council.