Turquoise Lodge Hospital in Albuquerque, one of only two adult drug and alcohol treatment programs operated by the New Mexico Department of Health, offers a structured path to recovery in a state with some of the highest rates of drug overdose and alcohol-related deaths in the country. The hospital provides treatment to an average of 500 people annually with primary diagnoses of substance use disorder. Founded more than 70 years ago, it moved to the city of Albuquerque-owned Gateway Center in 2019 as part of a comprehensive hub offering housing, mental health, and substance use treatment services.
Tory McCaffrey, 47, credits Turquoise Lodge with saving his life. He started drinking around age 13, and by his 30s was in severe crisis: “I drank black-out; I drank in the hopes that I wouldn’t wake up.” He later found sobriety and will celebrate two years sober later this month. During his 28 days in inpatient treatment, he followed a steady routine of morning walks, counseling sessions, and mindfulness activities. He then transferred into an intensive outpatient program, which he described as a “perfect anchor” to maintain sobriety after the structured inpatient environment.
Treatment structure and challenges
Turquoise Lodge provides three to ten days of medical detoxification before approximately 30 days of inpatient treatment, then intensive outpatient treatment designed to help people abstain from drugs or alcohol. The facility has capacity for up to 20 patients at each level. It’s currently operating at about 60 percent capacity, despite the systemic problem of addiction visible throughout New Mexico. New Mexico had the highest alcohol-induced death rate of any U.S. state in 2023, and despite declines across the country, the state had the seventh-highest overdose mortality rate in 2023.
Jackie West, a licensed professional clinical counselor, supervises the intensive outpatient treatment program and has held every role in the counseling department since 2001. She’s observed trends shift from heroin in the early 2000s to meth, and now fentanyl, which she said has “really rocked the world,” though alcohol abuse has remained constant. Hospital Administrator Jeff LaMure, a recovering alcoholic, said Turquoise Lodge helps patients find the “well-traveled path” toward sobriety: “If you really are ready to make changes and you want to do everything you need to do, then there’s opportunities. There’s lots and lots of support. There’s a way out.”
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/state-run-turquoise-lodge-hospital-in-albuquerque-offers-path-to-sobriety/article_82b20b60-b6d3-4fc5-9ad7-870a02df60e1.html