Los Alamos County Health Council Meeting - February 5, 2026

The Los Alamos County Health Council met on Thursday, February 5, 2026, from 12:00 PM to 1:38 PM in a hybrid format (Municipal Building Room 110 and Zoom). Chair Lisa Hampton was absent; Vice-Chair Marna Riedel presided. The meeting focused on a comprehensive presentation by Social Services Manager Jessica Strong reviewing the Social Services Division (SSD) and the Health Council's role, followed by a robust discussion on restructuring meetings, forming working groups, and aligning the council's work plan with the county budget.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No public comments were made during the meeting.

Discussion Items

• Social Services and Health Council 101 Presentation (Jessica Strong): Strong provided an in-depth overview of SSD's organizational structure, services, and community partnerships. Key points included: the division's growth from a small team to a larger staff (including a new outreach specialist); services for homelessness (estimated 50-75 unhoused individuals), food security, healthcare assistance (HCAP), and opioid settlement fund management (over $800,000 allocated over five years). She highlighted harm reduction efforts (free Narcan distribution at multiple sites, with over 200 attendees at a community Narcan training) and the upcoming regional behavioral health grant ($2 million) aimed at creating a crisis continuum across Judicial District 1 (including Los Alamos, Santa Fe, Rio Arriba counties and eight Northern Pueblos). Strong also reviewed the Health Council's mission, its role as an advisory body to the County Council, and deliverables tied to the New Mexico Department of Health contract (approximately $105,000 for the current year).
• Future Meeting Structure and Working Groups: Members discussed the challenge of limited time during regular monthly meetings for substantive work. Suggestions included: separating educational speaker series into evening events, creating working groups to tackle specific priorities from the Comprehensive Health Plan (CHP), and using the upcoming work plan submission to formalize these changes. County Council Liaison Melanee Hand advised that the council can propose structural changes (e.g., different meeting days/times, working group formation) in the annual work plan, which is tied to budget approval. She also noted ongoing regional transportation efforts that intersect with health council goals.
• Minutes Approval: The minutes from the January 8, 2026 meeting were not approved; approval was deferred to the March 6, 2026 meeting due to discrepancies in recording the discussion on council member terms and the vote for chair.

Key Outcomes

• Deferred approval of January 2026 minutes to the March 5, 2026 meeting (minutes to be corrected).
• Agreement to develop a formal work plan that includes proposals for working groups, potential evening meetings for educational content, and alignment with the Comprehensive Health Plan. The work plan will be submitted for review by the County Council's work plan review committee.
• Next meeting scheduled: March 5, 2026, at 12:00 PM, with an update from Stephanie Gonzalez on aging initiatives and a continued discussion on dividing action items among working groups.
• Action items from discussion: Chair Riedel and staff will circulate the presentation slides; members were encouraged to reflect on priorities and potential working group participation before the March meeting.
• No new votes or formal decisions were taken, but consensus was reached to pursue a more action-oriented meeting format and to leverage the work plan process to implement changes.