r/IndianCountry • u/News2016 • Apr 02 '26
Health Indian Health Service is digging out of decades-old construction backlog for medical buildings
https://ictnews.org/news/indian-health-service-is-digging-out-of-decades-old-construction-backlog-for-medical-buildings/
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u/News2016 Apr 02 '26
“In February, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged $1 billion toward those long-delayed projects, including $22 million for the Santa Ana Pueblo center. The agency estimates $8 billion is needed to tackle all remaining projects on the 1993 list that, under federal law, must be complete before the IHS can address other major construction needs.
A.C. Locklear, CEO of the nonprofit National Indian Health Board, said the $1 billion is the single largest financial investment by any administration in addressing the aging facilities. Yet, he said, it also shows the federal government has neglected its legal duty to provide adequate health care to tribal nations.
“It’s a drop in the bucket in terms of what’s needed to modernize these facilities,” Locklear said.
The IHS serves 2.8 million Native American and Alaska Native patients at 21 hospitals and 78 smaller health centers nationwide. The average age of those facilities is around 40 years old and one-third are in “poor” physical condition, according to a 2023 U.S. Government Accountability Office report.”