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- By Native News Online Staff
The Ak-Chin Indian Community has been selected by the Indian Health Service (IHS) to develop a new Tribal healthcare facility under the IHS Joint Venture Construction Program.
“We are deeply grateful to IHS for this powerful partnership, which will enable us to replace our current aged and inadequate health clinic to meet the needs of our growing population,” Ak-Chin Chairman Gabriel Lopez said. “A new health center will be a huge step toward increased self-governance and greater control of Ak-Chin healthcare.”
Lopez said the investment honors past leaders who worked to improve healthcare access. “Our Elders can remember the all-day travel that was once required in order to seek medical treatment in the early days,” he said. “Going forward, this new health center with comprehensive services will ensure high-quality care is available right here and will make a real difference in the quality of life for the Ak-Chin people.”
Ak-Chin is one of seven 2025 recipients nationwide and the only Tribe in Arizona selected for the program. It is also the first Tribe in the Phoenix area ever chosen to participate. The funding will help replace the Tribe’s decades-old clinic, which is just over 2,000 square feet and no longer meets the needs of community members and other IHS-eligible patients.
Lopez was notified of the selection last week during a meeting with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Under the program, Ak-Chin will finance construction of the new facility and lease it to IHS at no cost. IHS will then provide federal funding for staffing. Since 1991, the program has supported the opening or expansion of 30 Tribal health facilities nationwide.
“Quality healthcare for every American is a moral duty and the cornerstone of a stronger nation,” Secretary Kennedy said. “For more than 30 years, the Joint Venture Construction Program has shown what true partnership can achieve – building health, hope, and opportunity across Indian Country as we continue the mission to Make America Healthy Again.”
The health center will be built on a roughly 14-acre site in the Ak-Chin Indian Community in northwestern Pinal County. Facility design will be developed in consultation with IHS, and Tribal leaders are seeking comprehensive services, including primary care, dental, behavioral health, specialty care and more.
Arizona’s congressional delegation backed the project.
“Tribal health outcomes have suffered because communities don't have the same access to care as everyone else. This project helps change that by expanding high-quality, local care in the Ak-Chin Indian Community,” U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego said. “I’m proud to have supported Ak-Chin’s application, and I’ll keep working with Chairman Lopez to see this important project completed.”
“I want to thank the Indian Health Service for its support of the Ak-Chin Indian Community,” U.S. Rep. Eli Crane said. “This is a historic investment in rural healthcare. The new facility will provide critical support, expand access to quality care, and help close longstanding gaps in Arizona’s Second District.”
Groundbreaking is expected in about a year, following planning and design work with federal partners. Construction is estimated to take 18 to 24 months.
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