The 24TH NAVAJO NATION COUNCIL
Office of the Speaker

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 12, 2020

Navajo Nation Council designates Rehoboth site for replacement Gallup Indian Medical Center facility

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. —  The location for the replacement of the Gallup Indian Medical Center (GIMC)  facility was approved by the 24th Navajo Nation Council on Thursday that identifies the Rehoboth site property located east of Gallup, New Mexico. The approval vote on Navajo Nation Council Legislation No. 0143-20 will allow the Indian Health Service (IHS) and Navajo Nation to proceed with suitability studies for the Rehoboth site after nearly 15 years of site evaluations.

Council Delegate Edmund Yazzie, sponsor of Legislation No. 0143-20, explained, “This has been in the talks with our Congressional people up in D.C., it’s been in the talks with our past presidents. It was in the talks when President Ben Shelly was on, and then President Russell Begaye, and then right now with President Nez.”

The current GIMC facility was built in 1955 and is one of the most active facilities in the IHS system. GIMC reported more than 250,000 outpatient encounters and about 6,000 inpatient admissions annually. The facility maintains one of the largest staffs among all IHS facilities in the country.

Delegate Yazzie explained that, for years, local Navajo Nation chapter communities have passed resolutions requesting a new site be chosen so the project could proceed. The current GIMC facility, which is located within the City of Gallup, has been limited by space. That has led to patients needing specialized medical attention being transported to places like Phoenix and Albuquerque.

“Our Congressional leaders up in Washington, Udall and Heinrich, are waiting to see the outcome of this legislation,” said Delegate Yazzie. “Let’s show them that we do need this hospital. Let’s show them that we are ready to go.”

The aging GIMC is experiencing severe limitations in expanding services and specialties. Without a decision by the Navajo Nation to proceed with a particular site, the GIMC replacement facility project could not proceed with development.

The initial Phase 1 of the project was conducted by IHS staff and Navajo Nation representatives in 2005. In 2013, Navajo leaders, including then-President Russell Begaye, asked IHS to evaluate additional sites not included in the original Phase 1.

A Phase 1 Update was agreed upon and in November 2018, site visits were conducted. The update concluded that the Rehoboth site was the top location of the four surveyed, as reported in the IHS Site Selection Evaluation Report (SSER).

In the 2018-2019 time frame, yet another update was requested by NavajoNation President Jonathan Nez that included a new tribal property within the Fort Wingate Depot Activity (FWDA). Since then, an evaluation team comprised of Navajo Nation representatives and IHS personnel, again, ranked the Rehoboth site as the top site. The evaluators’ assessments of the Rehoboth site were unanimous.

Since the election, members of the 24th Navajo Nation Council understood President Nez’s desire to seek alternative locations for the GIMC replacement that supported potential economic development. However, prolonged delays in developing alternative proposals prompted the action by the Naabik’íyáti’ Committee Thursday.

Under 2 N.N.C. §701(A)(7) of the Navajo Nation Code, the Naabi’íyáti’ Committee of the Navajo Nation Council is empowered to assist in the development of programs designed to serve the Navajo People and the NavajoNation.

“Even if we started today, we’re looking at ten years from today,” reported Navajo Area Indian Health Service (NAIHS) Director Roselyn Tso to the Naabik’íyáti’ Committee. Though it may take years to complete the construction of the facility, Director Tso indicated that the Navajo Nation and surrounding stakeholders continue to lose time, and with it, important resources.

The decision to proceed with the Rehoboth site was made with all Phase 1 materials in-hand along with the recommendations of Navajo Department of Health evaluators and others.

In a June letter to Delegate Yazzie, Director Tso reported that a total of 12 potential construction sites have been identified through the Phase 1 process, to date. So far, the Rehoboth site remains the top-rated site identified through Phase 1 of the IHS SSER.

“The evaluation team consisted of nine members, including three Navajo Nation Health Planners, three NAIHS staff, and three IHS Headquarters representatives,” said Director Tso in her letter. The latest update was finalized and approved in November 2019.

That same month, IHS submitted a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) to the Navajo Nation for $200,000 to proceed in evaluating the Rehoboth site under Phase 2.

On Jan. 31 of this year, IHS received the Navajo Nation’s confirmation of its desire to enter into a Public Law 93-638 Construction Project Agreement (CPA) for Phase 2.

Now that the Rehoboth site has been established as the Navajo Nation’s preference, the process can proceed with Phase 2 of the GIMC replacement project. Phase 2 will include a legal survey of the site, flood plain clearance, soil reports, archaeological and historical survey data and an environmental assessment. Information from Phase 2 will be utilized to further determine the site’s suitability for construction.

The decision was made by the Naabik’íyáti’ Committee of the 24th NavajoNation Council, which has final authority for Legislation No. 0143-20. The committee’s membership includes all 24 council delegates elected from among 110 local Navajo Nation chapter communities.