Sioux San move stopped
New clinic to be built on Sioux San campus By Ernestine Chasing Hawk
Native Sun News Today Staff Writer
nativesunnews.today RAPID CITY – Last week the Indian Health Service announced that plans to build a new health care facility on the Sioux San campus will move forward. Last April Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board announced their intention to assume management of Sioux San through a PL93-638 Indian Self Determination contract with plans to build the new Rapid City Indian Health Clinic on land east of Rapid City donated by local developer Hani Shafai. According to IHS, Sioux San Hospital was approved for a new facility in 2002. In 2016, Congress appropriated $117 million to build a new facility on the Sioux San Campus with plans to demolish several of the existing buildings, leaving the main hospital and two other buildings intact. A design contract was awarded and by June of 2018, Indian Health Service had completed 80 percent of the architectural design at a cost of over one million dollars. Indian Health Service issued the following statement in regard to the decision to build on the Sioux San Campus:
“In order to provide the best quality of care for its patients, the Indian Health Service notified the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board that it will move forward with the remaining design and construction phases for the replacement facility for the Sioux San Hospital. The Indian Health Service will proceed design and construction phase activities for the replacement facility at the existing Sioux San site in Rapid City, South Dakota.” “This decision was made after careful consideration of many factors including current appropriated and planned resources and an evaluation of the proposed alternate site for such features as topography, utilities and roadway access.” “The Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Health Board retains the option to complete design and construction phases for the replacement facility under an Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act Title I construction project agreement.” “IHS is committed to listening to concerns and to working with the tribes. IHS respects treaty rights and the government-to-government relationship with tribes. The care of our patients is IHS's paramount priority, and IHS has the utmost respect for tribal member perspectives and opinions. We welcome any input on how we can better accomplish the IHS mission.”Jerilyn Church CEO of the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board, a consortium of 18 tribes across the Great Plains region, issued a statement in response to the IHS’s decision to move forward with their original plans. “The Shepherd Hills site is part of a long-term Tribal vision for improving services and transforming health care for Native Americans in the region,” said Church. “This includes the potential for physical expansion – nearly impossible in the current site – as well as locating the facility where the patient population is primarily located, and re-purposing the current site rather than destroying it.” GPTCHB stated they disagreed with the difference in the site review process which was conducted in September, “Both GPTCHB and IHS teams evaluated the historic Sioux San site and the Shepherd Hills sites but scored their suitability very differently.” According to the GPTCHB press release, Church is concerned that IHS scored the two sites based on what is currently on the ground and not based on the Shafei’s commitment to complete site contouring, utilities, and road expansions to the Shepherd Hills site. “This short-term approach will negatively impact the tribal health services currently being offered at Sioux San. Construction will have to be completed incrementally, disrupt availability of current services and will not allow for the expansion into a hospital without demolition of the original Sioux San building,” Church stated.
NATIVE SUN NEWS TODAY
Support Native media!
Read the rest of the story on Native Sun News Today: Sioux San move stopped
Join the Conversation
