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Phoenix Area- Committed to Caring

Colorado River Service Unit

Colorado River Service Unit- Parker Hospital

London Bridge spans an oasis in the desert. The stakes get wet and wild at a riverside gambling town. A fantasy land of red rock and aquamarine waters subdue the impatient hand of time. Choose the isolation of a canyon or a gregarious resort community. This is northwestern Arizona, home to five diverse Indian tribes.

The Native Americans

Numbering more than 5,200, the Indians who live here are comprised of the Colorado River Indians (an ethnic mix of Mojave, Hopi, Navajo, and Chemehuevi), Hualapai, Havasupai, Chemehuevi, and Fort Mojave tribes.

The most well-known tribe is the Havasupai, whose approximately 500 members inhabit a remote village on the floor of the Grand Canyon. Once a farming society, the residents now rely on the mule train that brings down their food and modern-day necessities five days a week.

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Colorado River Service Unit
Parker PHS Indian Hospital
12033 Agency Road
Parker, Arizona 85344
(928) 669-2137

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The Chemehuevi Indians, displaced during the creation of Lake Havasu, now live on the California side of the Colorado River.

You will find all the tribes in this region are bilingual. You will also see a respect for old and new ways. Health care here gives you the opportunity to view several Indian cultures from a unique perspective.

Parker, Peach Springs, and Supai

The Colorado River Service Unit is located in the town of Parker and is also the site of the Parker Indian Hospital. Convenient to the Colorado River and Chemehuevi reservations, the hospital is less than an hour's drive by most residents.

Parker is a self-sustaining town and most Service Unit employees live here or in Lake Havasu, only 38 miles away. Peach Springs serves the Hualapai Reservation and is more remote. It's about an hour from Kingman, the nearest major city. Most isolated is Supai, in the Havasupai Reservation. When you live here, you rely on foot, hoof, or helicopter power for supplies and transportation.

The climates here range from the low to high desert, with elevations from 420 feet in Parker to about 4,000 feet at Peach Springs. Hot summers are offset by the many water sports in the area and by the ideal temperatures in fall, winter and spring.

All the locations provide their own special advantages. Lake Havasu is alive with recreational activities, and is home to the famous London Bridge.

Laughlin, NV, is the favorite gambling town of the locals, and is right across the Colorado. Cool your heels in the thick pine forests of northwestern Arizona. Or spend your spare time splashing beneath magnificent Mooney Falls. Nowhere else can you travel to so many different worlds in so short a time.

Parker Indian Hospital

From this facility, you will be providing quality health care to the members of all five tribes. The 20-bed JCAHO-accredited hospital is staffed by five physicians and one physician's assistant. We provide the Indian community with general medical care and pediatric services. Specialty outpatient services are provided on-site by IHS, by contract specialists or by off-site referrals. Obstetric patients are generally sent for delivery to local private facilities. Patients requiring surgical and more complex hospitalizations are referred to Phoenix Indian Medical Center, about 150 miles distant.

Peach Springs Health Center

Peach Springs Health Center This 40-hour ambulatory care facility supplements the hospital's health care. General outpatient services, dental care, and preventive services are provided by one physician and one physician's assistant. A contract emergency medical service offers after-hours transport of patients to Kingman.

Supai Clinic

Supai Clinic Vital ambulatory care is given to this obscure canyon village by a physician. Because of its isolation, transportation and communication remain important health care issues.

Chemehuevi Clinic

Chemehuevi Clinic A recent addition to the Service Unit, this small facility provides ambulatory care three days a week. Medical services for the Fort Mojave tribe are available through the private medical community in Needles, CA.

Fort Mohave Clinic

Services are provided by the tribe.

Community Health Services

Our continuing goal is to elevate the Indians' health status to the highest possible level. The programs we offer include public health nursing, social services, mental health, substance abuse, health education, environmental health, and nutritional services. Help the people in the Land of Blue-Green Waters. Assist another tribe in bettering its life. As part of our health care team, you will not only sharpen your skills, you'll receive the gratitude of a community.

Phoenix Area Indian Health Service
Two Renaissance Square • 40 North Central Avenue • Phoenix, AZ 85004-4424

This file last modified: Monday December 20, 2004  3:31 PM