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- By Native News Online Staff
Tasked with providing health care to more than 2.6 million Native Americans across the Indian Country, the IHS has a historic vacancy rate of around 30%. At some locations, like the Crow/Northern Cheyenne, the vacancy rate reaches 47%.
The new residential facilities aim to make positions more attractive to medical professionals from outside local areas, where housing options are often limited.
"These new quarters are more than just a building—they are an investment in our workforce infrastructure," said Acting IHS Deputy Director Darrell LaRoche during the opening ceremony at Blackfeet Hospital. "By providing housing for medical professionals recruited from outside the local area, we are removing one of the biggest barriers to joining—and staying—on our team."
The largest of the three facilities opened at Blackfeet Hospital in Browning on Aug. 26. The $20 million complex features 14 units and 24 bedrooms total, including a mix of dorm-style accommodations, two-bedroom apartments, and one-bedroom units. The facility will support healthcare services for more than 8,600 patients served by the hospital.
The following day, the Fort Belknap Service Unit in Harlem celebrated the opening of its new 4-Plex Apartment Building on the traditional territory of the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Nations. Built with $1.8 million in funding, the facility strengthens the service unit's capacity to care for approximately 4,900 patients.
The third facility, the Medicine Spotted Beads Housing Complex, opened on Aug. 28 at Crow Agency in partnership with the Crow Tribe and Northern Cheyenne Tribe. The complex is made up of 18 living units—including studios, one-bedroom apartments, and shared quarters—capable of housing 24 healthcare professionals.
According to the IHS, the construction costs were covered through a combination of Healthcare Facilities Construction Funds, Non-Recurring Expense Funds, and Medicare and Medicaid collections,
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