New Hospital to Start Serving Native Americans
Cheyenne River Health Center, a Recovery funded project in South Dakota’s Indian Country.
On January 17, a newly built Indian Health Service (IHS) hospital began taking patients from the 9,300 Native Americans residing in the counties of Dewey, Haakon, Meade, Potter, Sully, and Ziebach in South Dakota.
The Cheyenne River Health Center, located in the north-central part of the state, was constructed using $84.5 million in Recovery funds from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The 138,000-square-foot facility replaces the former Eagle Butte IHS Hospital, which had become too small to serve the needs of the community.
IHS describes the new hospital as “a modern, technologically advanced facility with enough space and staff to provide an expanded level of health care services specifically designed to meet the needs of the Cheyenne River population.”
The Recovery Act provided a total $500 million through HHS/IHS for:
- Construction of priority health care facilities
- Maintenance and improvement of buildings
- Undertaking water and wastewater sanitation projects
- Purchase of critical medical equipment and health information technology
Recovery Funding Goes To Community Health Centers
Community Health Centers across the country have received Recovery Act assistance through Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant programs. The Recovery Act provided $500 million to HRSA’s Community Health Center Programs to support increased demand at existing and new service sites. The Recovery Act also provided $1.5 billion in funding for construction, renovation and health information technology equipment. More than 1,100 centers have received funding to make capital investments and hire additional staff. These Federally Qualified Health Centers serve people regardless of their ability to pay.
Visit the Department of Health and Human Services website to read more about how three community health centers in California, Nebraska, and Alabama are using Recovery funds.
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