Navajo Area Indian Health Service
The Navajo Area Indian Health Service (NAIHS) is one of 12 regional administrative units of the Indian Health Service (IHS), in the US Department of Health and Human Services. The NAIHS delivers health services to a user population of over 244,000 American Indians in five Federal service units on and near the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation is one of the largest Indian reservations in the United States. The Navajo Nation consists of more than 25,000 contiguous square miles and three satellite communities, and extends into portions of the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. NAIHS primarily delivers health services to members of the Navajo Nation and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, and also provides services to other Native Americans, including Zunis, Hopis, and other American Indian beneficiaries. The five (5) Federal Service Units (SUs) include Chinle, Crownpoint, Gallup, Kayenta, and Shiprock SUs.
NAIHS provides inpatient, emergency, outpatient, public health, and other services at four hospitals: Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility, Crownpoint Health Care Facility, Gallup Indian Medical Center, and Northern Navajo Medical Center (Shiprock, NM). These inpatient facilities comprise a total of 222 hospital beds. The Kayenta Health Center in Kayenta, AZ will transition to begin operating as an Alternative Rural Hospital in late 2017 by offering ten short stay nursing beds and ambulatory surgery. Navajo Area also has seven full-time health centers providing outpatient, community health, preventive health, and other services. There are also five part-time health stations.