LAS VEGAS, N.M. — A new state-run facility is set to offer more beds to New Mexicans in need of residential substance addiction treatment.
The Epi-Duran Substance Abuse Treatment facility, on the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute’s campus in Las Vegas, will open its doors to patients Monday.
After years of community advocacy and about $5.5 million in renovations to an unused state building, the center will have 20 beds for residential treatment, plus eight more for detoxification.
The facility’s opening comes as New Mexico continues to grapple with the wide-reaching effects of the opioid crisis. While San Miguel County — and much of the U.S. — have seen declining rates of opioid overdose deaths, fatal overdoses in New Mexico increased 21% between 2024 and 2025, from 746 deaths in 2024 to 900 in 2025, according to data from the state Department of Health.
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The Las Vegas facility will be open to patients from throughout the state, but it will allow northeastern New Mexico patients to seek care closer to home, state Health Secretary Gina DeBlassie said in an interview.
It will be the region’s first substance use treatment center, said Tim Shields, the hospital administrator for the state Behavioral Health Institute. Right now, San Miguel County residents seeking treatment typically have to drive to Santa Fe, Albuquerque or even Las Cruces to find care.
“We’re happy to add this facility to the suite of services that we provide, particularly [with] the need that we have here,” DeBlassie said.
The Epi-Duran center is the result of about a decade of organizing in San Miguel County.
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“It’s an invaluable resource here to the region that many over the years have been championing for a long time,” said state Rep. Anita Gonzales, a Democrat from Las Vegas.
Organizers eventually focused their efforts on an unoccupied state-owned building at 3112 Hot Springs Blvd., right across the street from the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute. Renovations totaling about $5.5 million — including a mix of county, state and federal federal funds — began to ensure the building was ready to welcome patients.
Shields said he got involved with the project about two years ago. After the proper approvals from Health Department leaders, the institute agreed to operate the new facility.
That means the Epi-Duran treatment center, with its own medical staff, can share some of the Behavioral Health Institute’s infrastructure — like a human resources department, an in-house pharmacy, a central kitchen, custodial services, and standards and compliance staff, Shields said. The arrangement eliminates barriers to operating the new facility — like the challenge of hiring a pharmacist in Las Vegas — and helps reduce costs.
The treatment center is set up around two central day rooms — one for men and one for women — with a shared nurse’s station, kitchen and laundry facilities in the middle. During an open house Tuesday evening, activities — colored pencils, boxes of dominoes, plastic jars of Play Doh — were already stocked on day room shelves.
Once open, the Epi-Duran center will join two other substance misuse treatment facilities operated by the state Health Department: Turquoise Lodge Hospital in Albuquerque and New Mexico Rehabilitation Center in Roswell.
The facility will accept patients from anywhere in New Mexico and with any type of health car coverage — Medicaid, commercial insurance and no insurance at all, Shields said.
“It’ll be a blend of all of those things. I’m anticipating mostly Medicaid,” he said.
“With the great need that we have here in this area, our biggest goal is to remove barriers in order to access care. … If somebody’s ready for treatment, we’re going to accept them into treatment,” DeBlassie said.
Thank you, this way, people don’t have to go far from home.