LORDSBURG, N.M. – County healthcare services provider Hidalgo Medical Services announced today the transition of senior care services at four of its five locations as identified by the Non-Metro Area Agency on Aging (NMAAA).

The HMS CEO and Board of Directors issued notification letters of its service termination today, in compliance with its contract with the NMAAA. The notification states that 60 days after the letter date, HMS will return all responsibilities for the senior centers back to the agencies identified by the NMAAA, due to rising operational costs.

The centers in Silver City, Gila, Santa Clara, and Mimbres will transition to agency management 60 days from the date of the notification letter. Operation of the Lordsburg center will continue due to requirements in HMS’ lease agreement with Hidalgo County.

HMS supported more than 560 seniors in 2024 by providing congregate meals at five senior centers in Hidalgo and Grant Counties and home-delivered meals to homebound seniors.

The medical nonprofit also provided seniors with means of critical transportation to and from medical and healthcare appointments, social services, meal programs, shopping, recreational activities, and other destinations throughout Hidalgo and Grant Counties.

HMS has been forced to take funds from healthcare delivery to operate senior services, which is not a sustainable model in the long term and does not align with HMS’ primary mission to provide primary care, behavioral health, dental, and enabling services for Hidalgo and Grant Counties.

“The rising operational costs have regrettably forced us to adhere to our original healthcare mission,” said Dan Otero, HMS CEO. "Our recent success with service delivery was based on many factors such as outstanding and committed staff, ending senior wait lists, paying our staff a living wage with annual performance-based increases, and enhancing meal and service quality through enhanced operational efficiencies; however, in the end we cannot continue without adequate funding and at the expense of negatively impacting healthcare delivery.”

As a Federally Qualified Health Center and ambulatory care provider, HMS has operated senior centers in Lordsburg since 2007 and Silver City, Santa Clara, Gila, and Mimbres since 2017, with patient satisfaction and performance ratings of between 4.6 and 4.7 out of 5. However, rising costs have outpaced federal, state, and local funding.

 The HMS CEO and Board of Directors confirmed all its senior service programs and support services will remain active throughout the transition period to ensure no loss of service or care for county senior citizens.

Media Advisory:

For any press queries concerning HMS and its programs and operations, please contact Merritt Hamilton Allen at merritt.allen@voxoptima.com or by phone at 703.624.7980.

About Hidalgo Medical Services:

HMS in its current form was established in 1995 in Lordsburg NM, with $35,000 in New Mexico Rural Primary Health Care Act funding and four family medicine physicians rotating two days per week from Silver City. With the advent of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), HMS obtained funding for the Silver City Community Health Center. ACA also helped expand the number of people receiving private and public (Medicaid) health insurance, which has helped HMS provide an ever-increasing range of quality services in Hidalgo and Grant counties. HMS is a Federally Qualified Health Center 330 Grantee under 42 USC 245b and a deemed Public Health Service Employee under 42 USC 233(g)-(n).