New Mexico has expanded one of its nursing homes in Las Vegas to include psychiatric care for senior patients in the facility, a press release said.

According to the release, Meadows Home at the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute increased the number of beds, nearly tripling the total capacity of the facility, and will also include an expansion in nurses specialized to treat patients facing psychiatric needs. 

“This 50% increase in bed capacity will make a real difference for New Mexicans in need,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a press release. “There’s no substitute for specialized care. Behavioral health care is health care, and we need to keep pushing all across the state for expanded services and accessibility. Today marks another good step in that direction.”

The facility, which first opened in 2012, expanded once before from 36 beds to 108 beds, the release said. 

The expansion includes adding 54 more beds, creating a total of 162 beds, and additional skilled nurses in specialized psychiatric care for residents who previously have been or would be denied admission into other nursing homes do to their psychiatric needs, according to the press release.

All new skill psychiatric nurses are certified by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and it is licensed by the Department of Health. 

The total cost of the project was approximately $24 million and was managed by the Facilities Management Division of the General Services Department, the press release said.