A roundtable discussion New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham hosted on Sept. 7 with healthcare providers and elected officials underscored Grisham’s goal of exploring how to invest in healthcare.

The roundtable discussion was held in the McKinley County seat of Gallup, a region that was one of the U.S.’s epicenters of the early COVID-19 pandemic, a press release said.

“The city of Gallup, and McKinley County as a whole, were disproportionately affected by the pandemic in the spring of 2020,” the press release said. “McKinley County, in fact, still has the highest rate of total cases per 100,000 people.”

McKinley County reported a total 13,390 cases of the coronavirus with 489 deaths, according to USA Facts. On Sept. 8, the county had 32 new coronavirus cases and one coronavirus death.

McKinley County is second to Los Alamos County for the percentage of the eligible population fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, the press release said.

As of Sept. 8, 70% of New Mexico residents, or more than 1.4 million people, received at least one vaccine dose, the USA Facts tracker said. Sixty percent (over 1.2 million people) in the state had been fully vaccinated.

“We know that poverty is a significant driver of health outcomes,” Lujan Grisham said in the press release. “And we know that McKinley County faces some of the most challenging health circumstances in our state – a high rate of alcohol-related deaths, a high rate of diabetes and a high rate of food insecurity.”

The coronavirus pandemic exacerbated McKinley County’s health care challenges, Lujan Grisham said.

“I’m grateful to the local leaders for their willingness to meet with me to discuss how we can enhance access to primary care, how we can invest in meaningful behavioral health treatment, how we can recruit and retain a high-quality healthcare workforce in the region and so much more,” Lujan Grisham said.